Tattooing and Skin and Body Piercing Licence

To run any form of skin piercing or tattooing business including acupuncture, ear and body piercing and electrolysis (whether from premises or leased premises/room), a licence must be obtained from your local authority.

Please note that this licence runs on a 3 yearly basis from the date of issue of the licence. The fee for a 3-year licence is £368 (for applicants with premises) or £295 (for applicants with leased premises/room).

Completing your application

How to apply

Apply online

Download an application form

Tattooing and skin and body piercing licence - application for new licence

Tattooing and skin and body piercing licence - application for renewal

For a new grant application, a notice requires to be displayed on or near the premises (to allow passers-by to view) for 21 days. Once the notice has been displayed for this period, the certificate of compliance requires to be filled in accordingly and returned to the licensing office.

The information you have supplied on this form will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data.  A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found here:

Your application must:

  • be completed using the application forms
  • include evidence of your knowledge, skill, training and experience in the field you wish to operate in
  • include where the applicant is company or partnership, this evidence must be submitted for each person employed to carry out the activity
  • include the application fee.

Detailed information of what should be submitted is included in these guidance notes

Regulation Summary          
A summary of the regulation relating to this licence

Schedule of conditions

Fees

£368 (applicant with premises)
£295 (operator with leased premises/room)

Contact details

Telephone: 01546 604355 or licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Argyll and Bute Council
Governance & Law
Licensing Section
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RT

Eligibility criteria

You must be a fit and proper person and not be disqualified from holding a licence.

You must meet strict standards with regard to your:

  • premises
  • facilities
  • equipment

You may be exempt if you are a regulated health care professional. A licence is not required if the skin piecing activity is carried out by a regulated health care professional (such as the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council, the General Optical Council, the General Osteopathic Council and the General Chiropractic Council).

The application process

We will visit and inspect your premises.

Public notice of the application may be given in a local newspaper and objections may be considered.

We may make such reasonable inquiries as we think fit and include the results of these inquiries in matters we take into account, but where we intend to include any of these results we will notify you.

You may be given the opportunity to make representations.

Appeals

 If you have made an application for a licence and it has been refused

You may ask us for the reasons for our decision to refuse your application within 21 days of the decision date.

You may appeal to the sheriff against the decision, within 28 days of the decision, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

  • erred in law
  • based our decision on an incorrect material fact
  • acted contrary to natural justice
  • exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Appeals - Licence Holders

Appeals against the refusal of an application must be made to the Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, Paisley Sheriff Court, St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2AW.

You may appeal if we decide to suspend a licence, not to renew a licence, or not to consent to material changes to the premises or vehicle used in the course of a licence holder's work. You may appeal against the decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, have:

  • erred in law
  • based our decision on an incorrect material fact
  • acted contrary to natural justice
  • exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Objections or representations

Objections or representations relating to a licence application may be made in writing to the licensing section, within 28 days of notice of the licence application being given, stating:

  • the grounds of the objection or nature of the representation
  • the name and address of the person making the representation

Police Scotland, or anyone who has made a relevant objection or representation regarding the licence, may appeal against a decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as they have already followed any available procedure in terms of stating their case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

  • erred in law
  • based our decision on an incorrect material fact
  • acted contrary to natural justice
  • exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner
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