Tattooists Piercing and Electrolysis (including Acupuncture)
Anyone carrying out skin piercing (acupuncture, tattooing, ear piercing, semi-permanent skin colouring and electrolysis) must be licensed with North Ayrshire Council under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
Alternatively, an application pack can be obtained using the contact details on the right of this page.
Completed application forms should also be sent to the contact details at the right of this page. The application form should be accompanied by the non refundable fee.
On receipt of the completed documents, the application will be circulated to all consultees listed on the front of the form and some of the consultees will carry out an inspection of the premises (if applicable). It will also be advertised on the Council's website to allow for members of the public to lodge any objections or representations to the issue of the licence.
If there are no objections, the licence will be issued for a period of 3 years from the date of issue.
It is in the public interest that North Ayrshire Council must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from the Licensing Office within a reasonable period, please contact us. You can do this using the contact details to the right of this page.
Please note that the application process may take up to 6 weeks.
For 2010/2011 the fee for Skin Piercing/Tattooing licence with premises is £315 and without premises is £265. These fees are subject to annual review.
The fee is not returnable if you decide to withdraw the application or if the licence is refused.
Further information on the Order and the standards required of premises can be obtained from the Local Authority Implementation Guide published by Health Protection Scotland.
In addition to the need to comply with licensing requirements skin piercing activities are also subject to the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Information and guidance on health and safety requirements relevant to cosmetic skin piercing, tattooing and other special treatments can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive.