Licence for tattooing and piercing

Do you apply tattoos, piercings, or permanent make-up in the Netherlands? You need a licence to do so. You must work according to hygiene and safety regulations. And you need to follow minimum age requirements.

Applying for a tattoo and piercing licence

In order to obtain a licence, you need to submit an application form (in Dutch) to the Municipal Health Service for your municipality (in Dutch). The licence is for 1 specific location and valid for 3 years. If you perform these activities in more locations, you need to apply for a separate licence for each location.

All licensed tattoo and piercing studios, beauty therapists, and jewellers are listed in a database on the National Centre for Hygiene and Safety's website (LCHV, in Dutch).

You do not need a licence (in Dutch) for:

• medical tattoos
• henna tattoos
• some forms of body modification, for examnple scarification
• piercing of earlobes

However, you must keep to the hygiene rules.

Dispensation for events

Do you want to organise an event where visitors can get tattoos, piercings, or have permanent make-up applied? You have to apply for dispensation (in Dutch).

Hygiene and safety when tattooing and piercing

You must comply with the hygiene regulations (in Dutch) referred to in the Tattooing and Piercing (Commodities Act) Decree (Warenwetbesluit tatoeëren en piercen). There are guidelines for:

• piercing (in Dutch)
• piercing of ears and nostrils (in Dutch)
• applying tattoos and permanent make-up (PMU, in Dutch)

If you work in accordance with LCHV's guidelines (in Dutch), you will automatically comply with the law.

You must also inform your customers about the risks associated with tattooing and how to take care of their skin after application. It is also important that your customers sign the consent form (in Dutch). Regulators can request to inspect your consent forms.

The colours used to apply tattoos and permanent make-up (in Dutch) must be microbiologically and chemically safe. A list of banned chemicals can be found in Annex XVII of the REACH regulation.

Please note: The technical requirements imposed by the Netherlands on tattoo colours differ from those of other EU Member States. If a tattoo colour is already permitted in another EU Member State, the Dutch government may only prohibit its sale in the Netherlands in exceptional cases.

Minimum age

Minimum ages apply to tattoos and piercings. The rules for tattoos also apply to permanent make-up and cosmetic tattoos. You are responsible for checking your customer's age (in Dutch).

• You are not allowed to apply a tattoo or piercing on a person under the age of 12. You are allowed to pierce their earlobes.
• You may only apply a tattoo or piercing on minors between 12 and 16 years of age, if their parents or carers have given their explicit consent. A parent or carer must be present when you apply the tattoo or piercing.
• You are not allowed to apply tattoos on the head, neck, wrists, or hands of children aged 12 to 16. The same applies to genital piercings.
• Girls under 16 are not allowed nipple piercings.

Tattoo and permanent make-up removal

Do you provide laser removal of tattoos and/or permanent make-up? You must comply with the Care Sector Quality, Complaints, and Disputes Act (Wet kwaliteit, klachten en geschillen zorg, Wkkgz). You must, for instance, have an independent complaints officer and keep records of your clients. If you make a mistake, you must include it in the client’s files.

Online application procedure via Message Box

You can apply for a licence for hygienic tattooing and piercing also via Message Box. Message Box is a secure email system that enables you as an entrepreneur to exchange digital messages with Dutch government agencies.