Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Department of Health registers both the tattoo artist and the parlor; a parlor renews by March 31 each year after an inspection, and artists renew in December. Nobody under 18 gets a tattoo except for medical purposes, which needs a physician's authorization plus the parent's written notarized consent. Keep every patron record 5 years in a bound book with pre-numbered pages, with a copy of the photo ID you checked.
What the form asks in Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s rule names things the standard waiver form did not ask. A shop in Rhode Island gets them by default: the questions on its form, the rest on its record in the shop app.
- A photo of the client's ID (on every form)“A copy of the photo ID shown as proof of age” ("These records shall be maintained for a minimum of five (5) years after the date on which the patron was tattooed" - 216-RICR-40-10-15 § 15.5.7)
What the record must capture
- The date the client was tattooed
- Client name, address, phone, and age
- A copy of the photo ID shown as proof of age
- The location and design of the tattoo
- The tattoo artist's name
The shop takes photo ID as proof of age, a driver's license or military ID, and keeps a copy for every patron.
"These records shall be maintained for a minimum of five (5) years after the date on which the patron was tattooed" - 216-RICR-40-10-15 § 15.5.7
A license on a phone in Rhode Island
Rhode Island does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.
What we read: RI DMV 'Licenses & IDs' and 'Driver's Licenses' pages (dmv.ri.gov), 2026-09-11: no mobile or digital license offered or mentioned. R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-10 index (rilegislature.gov): no mobile/electronic license section. Search for a 2025-26 digital-license bill: none found. Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and TSA lists (2026-09-11): Rhode Island absent.
On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in Rhode Island a saved photo is only ever a picture of a card: a copy for your file, never proof of age.
Minors
18+. No minors, even with a parent. The only route under 18 is medical. It needs a physician's notarized authorization, the parent or guardian's written notarized consent on the Department's form, the parent present, government photo ID for both the minor and the parent, and proof of the relationship. Ordinary parental consent does not work.
"Every person who shall tattoo any minor under the age of eighteen (18)" commits a violation, except for medical purposes under subsection (b) - R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-9-15(a)
On waivers.tattoo: your form takes 18+ for a tattoo in Rhode Island, and tells the client which rule says so.
Piercing a minor
18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. The minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian and that adult gives written consent, showing proper photographic identification such as a driver's license. A copy of the consent and a copy of the adult's photo ID go in the client record, kept 5 years.
'Body piercing' is defined as penetrating the skin excluding the earlobes, so a lobe piercing falls outside the registration rules and the minors clause.
R.I. Gen. Laws s 23-1-39(c); 216-RICR-40-10-14 s 14.4.5(E)(1); records at s 14.5.8(A)(4) The text
On waivers.tattoo: turn on Piercing under 18 in Settings and a client under 18 gets a parent-or-guardian section — who they are, how they are related, their own signature, and a photo of their ID. The signed waiver prints what Rhode Island requires.
What the consent form must say
"Parlor patrons receiving a tattoo/permanent make up procedure from an apprentice must be informed ... in writing, and acknowledge via a dated signature" - 216-RICR-40-10-15 § 15.4.3(B)(4)
Health history and aftercare
The rule does not require health-history questions; it requires the artist to examine the area for sores, lesions, wounds, skin disease or signs of drug use before starting. Aftercare is mandatory and must be given both verbally and in writing.
"the tattoo artist shall advise the patron, both verbally and in writing, on the care of the tattoo and shall instruct the patron to consult a physician at the first sign of infection" - 216-RICR-40-10-15 § 15.4.5(A)(2)(n)
Texting your clients in Rhode Island
8am to 9pm, the client’s local time, from federal law. Rhode Island sets no hours of its own. What it does set is different in kind: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-61-3.5(a) (Telephone Sales Solicitation Act); hours at § 5-61-3.6 and § 5-61-2(2), in force since 2003. It names text messages, so a text counts.
Consent. The text-message rule is not built on consent, it is a flat prohibition with relationship-based exceptions. The escape a shop uses is § 5-61-3.5(a)(3): an existing relationship plus an offered opt-out. There is no statutory consent form, and consent alone (without a relationship) is not one of the listed exceptions.
Your own clients. "This section shall not apply to text messages transmitted by a business that has an existing relationship with the subscriber if the subscriber is offered an option not to receive text messages from that business." no time limit on the relationship, but the opt-out offer is a condition, not a courtesy. Separately, the chapter's definition of "telephonic seller" at § 5-61-2(10)(vi) excludes "A person soliciting business from prospective purchasers who have previously purchased from the person making the solicitation or the business enterprise for which the person is calling", also with no time limit.
It reaches your sender too. Its own words are “transmit, or cause to be transmitted”, so a service that texts on your behalf is inside this rule with you. Hiring one does not move the duty off the shop.
no person or entity conducting business in this state shall transmit, or cause to be transmitted, a text message advertisement to a cellular telephone or pager equipped with short message capability The text
§ 5-61-3.5(b): "Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) per violation." Same for the hours section, § 5-61-3.6(b). Chapter-wide civil remedies at § 5-61-5.1: a purchaser may recover triple the amount actually paid to the telephonic seller plus reasonable attorney fees; the AG may seek a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation and injunctive relief; any person may seek injunctive relief.
Federal law is the floor under it: 8am to 9pm, the client’s local time, prior express written consent for a marketing text, and a STOP honored within 10 business days (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1), (e)).
What to do
- Ask separately. A yes to marketing texts belongs on its own tick, not folded into the box a client has to accept to get tattooed. Keep it with the date and what it said.
- Text between 8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. An area code is not where somebody lives, so when you cannot tell, use the tighter window.
- Honor a STOP that day. Federal law gives you 10 business days. Same-day is the version nobody argues with, and it is what the carriers expect.
- Keep the count low. Rhode Island sets no cap and neither does federal law, but a shop that texts a client more than a couple of times a month is teaching them to reply STOP.
Who inspects you
One state agency registers both the person and the place, there is no local layer. A parlor applies at least 90 days before it opens, with floor plans, an equipment list and its operating policies, and gets inspected before its annual renewal.
Tattoo artist and tattoo parlor registration (Licensing Unit)
A parlor is inspected in connection with its annual renewal, which falls on March 31; authorized representatives may also inspect at any reasonable time. The inspector expects the patron book with its pre-numbered pages on site, along with the ID copies, and checks the parlor against the equipment, layout and policies it registered.
Licensing
Your shop. A tattoo parlor registers with the Department of Health, the application goes in at least 90 days before opening, and renews by March 31 each year following an inspection.
Your artists. Every tattoo artist registers with the Department of Health, must be at least 18, completes an 18-month apprenticeship or equivalent training, passes an aseptic-technique check, and renews each December.
Rhode Island in our state-by-state posts
- Texting your tattoo clients: the hours, the caps, and all 51 state rules
- Can a minor get a tattoo with parental consent? State by state
- Can a minor get a piercing with parental consent? 45 states say yes, each on its own terms
- Do you have to ask health questions before a tattoo? 20 states say yes. Here are the questions.
- Do you have to give tattoo aftercare instructions in writing? 38 states say yes.
- Is a tattoo consent form signed on a phone legal? Yes, since 2000. Here is what your state adds on top.
- What has to be on a tattoo consent form? 32 states say. Here is every line they name.
- 26 states make you check ID before a tattoo. The other 25 give you a reason to.
- How long do you have to keep tattoo consent forms? Every state, one table
This page summarizes public regulations in plain language so you know what to look for, with the section each point comes from. It is not legal advice. Your local health department has the final word; ask them, and bring your records.