Vermont

What the form asks in Vermont

Vermont’s rule names things the standard waiver form did not ask. A shop in Vermont gets them by default: the questions on its form, the rest on its record in the shop app.

• An allergies question: medicines, ointments, soaps, latex, anything put on the skin“Allergies to latex - Persons with allergies to latex can react to latex gloves used by the practitioner. ... Allergies to antibiotics - Persons with allergies to antibiotics can react to antibiotic ointment applied to the skin.” (Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(F)(2)(c)(3), (4))
• A bleeding-disorder question“Hemophilia, other bleeding disorders, and use of anticoagulant medications - Persons with these conditions can bleed excessively during and after the procedure.” (Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(F)(2)(c)(6))
• The medications and blood thinners question, always on“Medications - Blood thinners (Coumadin, Warfarin, and aspirin) affect bleeding.” (Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(F)(2)(c)(7))
• An explanation of the procedure, acknowledged in the consent (on every form)“an explanation of the procedure” (Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(F)(1)(a)(1), (b)(1))

What the record must capture

• Client name
• Client address
• Client phone number
• The date of the procedure
• Medical conditions disclosed
• A description of the procedure
• The practitioner's name

Digital records. Vermont says so outright. Electronic documentation, including scanned paperwork or profession-specific software, may be used in place of printed forms, as long as it captures the client's signature. (Vermont OPR, Tattooist and Body Piercer FAQs)

"You are required to retain client files for a minimum of two years from date of first treatment." - Vermont OPR, Tattooist and Body Piercer FAQs; rule at Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(E)(9)

A license on a phone in Vermont

Vermont does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.

What we read: Vermont DMV home and 'License Overviews & Resources' pages (dmv.vermont.gov), 2026-09-11: no mobile identification offered or announced (the 'Types of Licenses & IDs' page refused a script with 403). 23 V.S.A. § 116 read in full (legislature.vermont.gov). S.326 (2026 DMV bill, as passed both chambers): no mobile-ID change. Apple App Store search for a Vermont ID app: none. Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and TSA lists (2026-09-11): Vermont absent.

On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in Vermont 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. Vermont sets no floor age in the statute. What it requires is written consent from the minor's parent or guardian; the rules have that consent signed in the practitioner's presence, and OPR's own guidance uses a Minor Tattooing Consent Form. Tattooing a minor in violation of that is unprofessional conduct. Note the separate rule that the artist must be 18, nobody under 18 may practice tattooing in Vermont.

"A tattooist may not tattoo a person under the age of 18 without the written consent of the minor's parent or guardian," which "must be signed ... in the presence of the tattooist" - Vermont Rules for Tattooing and Body Piercing § 3.6

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 Vermont requires.

Piercing a minor

Not set by the state. No state age rule for a piercing. Vermont sets no age rule for a piercing: the state's own rules say the body piercer laws are silent on minors and tell registered piercers to use sound judgment, and no shop is required to pierce a minor. With no state requirement to satisfy, this shop's own applies: a parent or legal guardian present, signing the waiver themselves, and showing government photo ID, with a copy kept in the client record.

Only the LOWER LOBE, and only when done with a Director-approved instrument, by the person on themselves, by a parent or guardian if the subject is a minor, or by a household member if the subject is an adult. Everything else on the ear is body piercing.

3 V.S.A. § 127 (professional-regulation penalties); tattooing a minor in violation of § 4102 is unprofessional conduct under 26 V.S.A. § 4108(3)

Vermont Rules for Tattooing and Body Piercing § 3.6; 26 V.S.A. § 4102(c) 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 Vermont requires.

What the consent form must say

• An explanation of the procedure
• That tattooing is permanent
• That removal may not be complete and may leave scarring
• The complications: bruising, scarring, bleeding, skin or blood infection, allergic reactions to inks or jewelry, nerve and tissue damage
• For an oral piercing, that it can cause bleeding, infection and tooth damage
• A question on alcohol or drugs in the last 8 hours
• A question on whether it has been more than 2 hours since the client last ate
• Questions on heart valve conditions, herpes, latex and antibiotic allergies, diabetes, bleeding disorders, blood thinners, autoimmune disorders and pregnancy
• A place for the client to sign and date it

"The form must include the following questions" - Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(F)(2); the contents at § 3.2(F)(1). The four § 4.1 disclosures are not consent content - they are made by posting, and a separate document says they were made.

Health history and aftercare

Vermont's rules put health questions on the client form, recent alcohol or drugs, whether the client has eaten in the last 2 hours, and conditions including mitral valve prolapse, herpes, latex and antibiotic allergies, diabetes, hemophilia, blood thinners, autoimmune disorders and pregnancy. Written and verbal aftercare is required, covering wound care, what healing looks like, activity limits, and the signs of infection.

Code Vt. R. 04-030-310 § 3.2(F)(2) (client health questions); § 3.3(E) (tattoo aftercare)

Texting your clients in Vermont

8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. Vermont has no telephone-solicitation or texting rule that goes past federal law, so federal law is the whole of it here. A marketing text to a cell phone needs prior express written consent: a signed agreement that names who may text, says the texts may be automated, and says the person does not have to agree in order to buy anything. A client can take that back any way they like, and you have 10 business days to stop.

No person or entity shall initiate any telephone solicitation to … any residential telephone subscriber before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time at the called party’s location) The text

47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1), (e). The hours reach a text because the rules set forth in paragraph (c) and (d) of this section are applicable to any person or entity making telephone solicitations or telemarketing calls or text messages to wireless telephone numbers.

What we read in Vermont: Read the full section list of 9 V.S.A. ch. 63 and then read §§ 2464 (telemarketing transactions, it is about electronic funds transfers, not solicitation timing), 2464a, 2464c, 2464d and 2464e in full at legislature.vermont.gov. Searched the chapter for "text message", "SMS", "8 a.m.", "9 p.m.", "hours". NOTE: the starting-point cite 9 V.S.A. § 2461b is "Regulation of propane", not a telephone provision. Also checked for a Vermont Attorney General consumer-protection rule setting calling hours; none exists, and the AG's own consumer material points to the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule's 8am-9pm window.

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. Vermont 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

OPR licenses the individual tattooist, registers the shop, and writes the infection-control rules with the Commissioner of Health. The OPR Director may inspect a shop; the first inspection is free, and a second inspection of the same premises under the same owner within 2 years can carry a $100 reinspection fee.

Tattooists and Body Piercers

The OPR Director may inspect shops and a shop has to pass inspection to be registered; the client files are part of what the Director looks at.

Licensing

Your shop. Yes. A shop may not operate without first registering with the Office of Professional Regulation and paying the fee, and it has to name one licensed person responsible for the shop's cleanliness and sanitation.

Your artists. Yes. A tattooist license from OPR takes a registered apprenticeship of at least 1,000 hours within 2 calendar years under a licensed supervisor who has been practicing at least 3 years, plus a 3-hour course in universal precautions and infectious diseases.

The licensing page

Using a generic waiver app in Vermont

A generic waiver app is one form builder for every industry — rafting outfits, gyms, trampoline parks and tattoo shops all start from the same blank template. The tattoo part is yours: you write the questions, you keep them current when the rule changes, and you find out whether you got it right when an inspector reads your file.

In Vermont that is 3 things to set up and keep in step yourself:

• An allergies question: medicines, ointments, soaps, latex, anything put on the skin
• A bleeding-disorder question
• The medications and blood thinners question, always on

On waivers.tattoo, a shop in Vermont gets all of it the day it starts. Your page opens with Vermont’s questions already on the form, your client signs on their own phone, and the signed waiver prints what they answered.

Vermont 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