Registrations for tattooing and other skin piercing treatments in the South Lakeland area

Apply for a personal or premises registration to carry out skin piercing treatments in the South Lakeland area. This includes tattooing, body piercing, electrolysis, acupuncture and semi-permanent skin colour.

You must register with us to carry out treatments that involve piercing the skin. You will need a:

  • personal registration - for all practitioners, regardless of whether you're employed or self-employed
  • premises registration - the premises you work from must be registered

The registrations cover:

  • cosmetic piercing, including ear piercing
  • tattooing 
  • electrolysis 
  • acupuncture
  • semi-permanent skin colouring, including semi-permanent make up

The registrations do not cover services like Botox and dermal fillers. 

Before you apply, you should read the relevant byelaws and guidance.

How to register

If you want a personal registration and a premises registration you'll need to complete the two forms separately.

Application forms 

You can send your application to us at South Lakeland House or by email. Our contact details are at the end of this page. 

Documents to provide with your application

Premises registrations

If you’re registering a premises, you must include:

  • a plan of the premises, highlighting the area to be used or registered
  • details of relevant planning permission (if any)
  • a copy of the public liability insurance (minimum £5 million)
  • a copy of the waste contractor agreement for the premises 

Personal registrations

We need the below items to complete your personal registration:

  • a passport sized photograph 
  • a copy of your relevant qualifications
  • proof that you have public liability insurance (minimum of £5 million)
  • a copy of the waste contractor agreement for the premises you work from

Fees

The fees for personal and premises registrations are: 

  • application to register a premises: £171
  • application for a personal registration: £179

You can pay your application fee: 

  • in person at South Lakeland House, by debit card, credit card or cheque 
  • over the telephone, using a debit or credit card on 0300 373 3300
  • by post, by sending a cheque to South Lakeland House 

You can find the full address for South Lakeland House at the bottom of this page. 

Please make cheques payable to Westmorland and Furness Council. 

What happens after you apply

One of our health and safety officers will contact you to arrange an inspection. 

You must ensure that procedures, equipment and facilities used: 

  • are safe and hygienic 
  • prevent the spread of disease
  • follow health and safety rules

The officer will check if you meet health and safety requirements, along with the relevant byelaws and guidance.

Although there are no powers to refuse registration, you'll be guilty of an offence if you fail to comply with the byelaws. You can be fined and/or have your personal or premises registration suspended or cancelled.

Once you have your personal registration, you'll be able perform those treatments in other premises that are registered for the same treatments. 

We’ll also add the registrations to our public register for:

Varying your registration

If you want to change the activities and services you provide, you'll need to apply for a variation to both your personal and premises registrations. For example, if you're only registered for cosmetic piercing but you want to start tattooing too.

The variation would be subject to a fee and an inspection. If you would like to vary your registrations, you should discuss this with us first. Our advice will depend on your current registration and the changes you would like to make. You can find our contact details at the end of this page.   

Legislation and guidance

Guidance Toolkit

The Chartered Institute for Environmental Health have published a Tattooing and Body Piercing Guidance Toolkit. 

The Institute developed this for local authorities, practitioners and businesses. The toolkit helps us to control risk and ensure we treat applications, inspections and monitoring the same way. It also helps you to understand the standards you must meet. 

Legislation

Byelaws

Read our byelaws for acupuncture, tattooing, semi-permanent skin colouring, cosmetic piercing and electrolysis (PDF , 1.5MB).

We've provided a summary of the cosmetic byelaws. This is only an overview, before you apply for a registration you must read the byelaws in full. 

Health and safety

You must also comply with the general duty of care and requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Premises

You must:

  • keep all surfaces in any part of the premises used by clients clean and in good repair
  • ensure all furniture and fittings in treatment areas are kept clean and in good repair
  • regularly wipe down tables, couches and seats in the treatment area with disinfectant. These items must have a smooth and impervious surface and be covered with a disposable sheet
  • have a sink in each treatment room with hot and cold running water
  • display a ‘no smoking sign and a ‘no eating or drinking’ sign in a prominent place

Cleanliness of operatives

You must make sure that you:

  • keep your overall (if you wear one) clean and in good repair
  • keep your hands and nails clean
  • cover any open cut, wound, sore or boil with an impermeable dressing
  • do not smoke, eat or drink in the treatment area
  • you have sole use of washing facilities. These facilities must have hot and cold running water, soap (or a similar cleanser) and a nail brush

Equipment

You must:

  • keep any needle, metal instrument or other equipment used in the treatment in a sterile condition until it is used
  • provide adequate sterilisation facilities, if you do not use pre-sterilised items
  • keep all tattooing dyes bacterially clean and inert. At the end of treatment for each client, you must dispose of the containers used to hold the dyes or sterilise them before reusing them

Restrictions

The following restrictions apply:

  • it’s an offence to tattoo any person under the age of 18 (under the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969), regardless of parental consent
  • you can perform body piercings on people under the age of 18, provided you receive written permission from, or you perform the treatment in the presence of, their parent or guardian
  • it's illegal to perform nipple or genital piercings people on under the age of 18, regardless of parental consent

Before carrying out any treatment, you must have a discussion with the client about their health and the suitability of the treatment. 

Muscle-freezing injections and dermal fillers

The following treatments are not licensable activities: 

  • administering botulinum toxin injections (such as Botox) or other muscle-freezing toxins
  • providing cosmetic or dermal fillers (lip fillers, for example)

You do not need to apply to us for a premises or personal registration to carry out these services. 

If you perform these treatments, you should be a qualified and registered medical professional. For example, a surgeon, doctor, nurse or dentist. You should be on a register to show that you're skilled, have met training requirements and have insurance. Clients should avoid your practice if you're not trained, or if you have only completed a short training course. 

Botox and other branded muscle-freezing toxins such as Azzulure and Bocouture are prescription medicines in the UK, which means only a qualified prescriber can prescribe and give them to a patient or client. You can only be a qualified prescriber if you're also a qualified and registered medical professional.

It’s illegal to administer the below treatments for cosmetic purposes to anyone under the age of 18:

  • botulinum toxin
  • subcutaneous, submucous or intradermal injection of a filler

Contact us

Public Protection Group

Email: licensing@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Address: Licensing Team, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street, Kendal, LA9 4DQ
Telephone: 0300 373 3300