Skin treatment registration

Making an application

There is a fee for the registration of each premises and a separate fee for each person. The current fees payable are £71 for each operator and £130 for each premises. You can make an application for personal registration and premises registration on the same form.

Apply for a treatment registration on the GOV.UK website

You must complete the full application process online and upload your completed form and supporting documentation to the GOV UK website online system.

Further guidance on the online application procedure can be found on the EU Services Directive page.

What happens after I make an application?

Once an application has been made and the fee paid, arrangements will be made for an officer to visit you to ensure you comply with the strict byelaws and health and safety legislation. The operator and premises registration forms and a copy of the byelaws must be displayed in the premises.

If you practice the treatments without operator or premises registration you are committing an offence and could be fined up to £200.

Will tacit consent apply?

Tacit consent will not apply as this may compromise public health. Please contact us if you have not been contacted within 28 days of submitting an application.

Byelaws

The practice of the above treatments are controlled through compliance with byelaws. If you practice the treatments without operator or premises registration you are committing an offence and could be fined up to £200. You could be fined a further £200 for failure to comply with the byelaws. A copy of the byelaws can be found below.

Byelaws - Acupuncture, tattooing, semi-permanent skin-colouring, cosmetic piercing and electrolysis(PDF) [109 kb]

Tattooing - the law and advice on safe practice

It is an offence to tattoo anyone under the age of 18 unless it is for medical reasons and carried out by a medical practitioner. This legislation is enforced by the police and if prosecuted a fine not exceeding £50 is issued for a first offence or a fine not exceeding £100 is issued for a repeat offence.

You must therefore keep records of each person that you tattoo and ensure you record the type of ID checked at the time of the tattoo on their consent form. We advise that you only accept valid passports or photo driving licenses as ID.

If you are found guilty of tattooing a minor we may revoke or suspend your personal registration and/or the premises registration for tattooing.

For further advice on legislative requirements and best practice please view the advice sheets on tattooing, piercing and semi-permanent make up below:

Tattooing and Body Piercing guidance(PDF) [3 Mb]

Semi Permanent Make Up - Are you at Risk?(PDF) [474 kb]