South Dakota
There is no state tattoo license in South Dakota. The Department of Health sets statewide minimum standards in its rules, and your city licenses and inspects you on top of that. The state sets no minimum age: a minor can be tattooed only if a parent or legal guardian has signed a consent form, and you have to post a notice saying so. Keep a record of every patron for 2 years.
What the record must capture
- Patron name
- Patron address
- Patron age
- The consent form
- The locations and description of the tattoos
The state rule makes you record the patron's age but names no ID check. Your city may ask for more, Sioux Falls, for instance, wants a government photo ID from license applicants.
"A tattoo or saline tattoo removal artist shall keep a record of each patron which includes name, address, age, consent form, the locations, and description of tattoos. This record shall be available for inspection and kept for a period of at least two years." - S.D. Admin. R. 44:12:01:15
A license on a phone in South Dakota
South Dakota does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.
What we read: SDCL ch. 32-12 (Drivers' Licenses) full text via the South Dakota Legislature's API (sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-12.html?all=true), 2026-09-11, searched for mobile/digital/electronic license language: none (only 'digital photograph' on the card and electronic Selective Service forwarding). SD DPS driver licensing pages (dps.sd.gov, which now redirect into sd.gov/dps) name no mobile license. No 2025-26 bill found. Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and TSA lists (2026-09-11): South Dakota absent.
On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in South Dakota a saved photo is only ever a picture of a card: a copy for your file, never proof of age.
Minors
18+. Minors only with conditions. South Dakota sets no floor age. A minor may be tattooed if the minor's parents or legal guardian have signed a consent form authorizing it, and you have to post a notice, where clients can see it, saying it is illegal to tattoo anyone under 18 without that signed consent. Doing it without consent is a Class 2 misdemeanor under SDCL 26-10-19.
"A minor may not be tattooed or have a tattoo removed unless the minor's parents or legal guardian have signed a consent form authorizing the tattoo or tattoo removal." - S.D. Admin. R. 44:12:01:13
On waivers.tattoo: turn on Tattooing 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 South Dakota requires.
Piercing a minor
18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. The minor's parents or legal guardian have to sign a consent form authorizing the piercing. The rule asks for nothing else, no presence, no ID, no notary, and the shop has to post a notice saying a piercing under 18 without that signed consent is illegal.
The chapter's definition of body piercing names no ear exception at all, so an earlobe is covered like any other site.
S.D. Admin. R. 44:12:02:13 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 South Dakota requires.
What the consent form must say
"A tattoo or saline tattoo removal artist may not provide services to a patron without first obtaining a signed consent." - S.D. Admin. R. 44:12:01:13
Health history and aftercare
The state rule requires no health-history questionnaire, but it bars tattooing anyone with a visible skin lesion or infection, anyone known or suspected to have a contagious disease in a communicable stage, and anyone under the influence of alcohol or mind-altering drugs. Written care instructions go to every patron, and the rule writes the 7 lines they have to carry: bandage off after 24 hours, wash gently with mild soap and water, antibacterial ointment at least twice a day, no direct sun for 2 weeks, no swimming or soaking until healed, no scratching or picking, and contact your doctor if redness or swelling develops.
"The artist shall provide written instructions regarding the proper care and precautions for a new or newly removed tattoo to each patron." — S.D. Admin. R. 44:12:01:32
Texting your clients in South Dakota
9am to 9pm, the client’s local time. Never on Sundays. S.D. Codified Laws § 37-30A-1 et seq. (Telemarketing); hours and Sunday ban at § 37-30A-3(2); definitions at § 37-30A-1; exclusions at § 37-30A-8; damages at § 37-30A-14, in force since 2020-07-01. It names text messages, so a text counts.
Consent. The chapter sets no affirmative consent standard. It regulates only an "unsolicited consumer telephone communication," and a text is not unsolicited if it is sent in response to an express request of the person texted, in connection with an existing debt or contract, or "[t]o any person with whom the telemarketer has an existing business relationship" (SDCL § 37-30A-1(5)).
Your own clients. Yes, twice over, and with no time limit. (1) SDCL § 37-30A-1(5)(c): a communication "[t]o any person with whom the telemarketer has an existing business relationship" is not an "unsolicited consumer telephone communication," so the 9am-9pm/no-Sunday rule does not reach it. (2) SDCL § 37-30A-8(1) takes the whole chapter off "a merchant who operates an established business that has a fixed permanent location, who displays or offers consumer goods or services for sale on a continuing basis, and less than twenty-five percent of total new sales are made by unsolicited consumer telephone communications", which describes a tattoo shop. Section 37-30A-8(2) adds a "clear, preexisting business relationship" exclusion.
It reaches your sender too. A service that texts on your behalf is inside this rule with you. Hiring one does not move the duty off the shop.
Place unsolicited consumer telephone communications to any residence which will be received before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the consumer's local time or place any unsolicited consumer telephone communications on Sunday The text
Private right of action, but only for a WILLFUL act or practice: SDCL § 37-30A-14 gives a consumer "twice the actual damages suffered or five hundred dollars, whichever is greater," plus court costs and attorney fees. A willful violation is also a Class 1 misdemeanor (§§ 37-30A-13, -16).
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 9am to 9pm, the client’s local time, and never on Sundays. 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. South Dakota 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
The state writes the floor and stops there, no state permit, no state artist license. Any municipality may license tattoo artists, license and inspect shops, and set sanitation standards, as long as they are at least as strict as the Department of Health's. In practice the city you are in is who you register with.
Tattooing and Body Piercing minimum sanitation standards (ARSD art. 44:12)
- City of Sioux Falls, Licensing (Health Department), City Code ch. 122 · Sioux Falls, the state's largest city
The rules include an inspection section and inspection fees, and the patron records must be available for inspection; in a city like Sioux Falls the city licensing office is the door you deal with.
Licensing
Your shop. No state license. Whether you need a shop license depends on your city, Sioux Falls, for one, licenses both the shop and every artist in it under City Code ch. 122.
Your artists. No state artist license either. Cities that regulate typically license the artist as well and want bloodborne-pathogen training and a photo ID with the application.
South Dakota 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.
- 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.