D.C. Officials Propose 24-Hour Waiting Period for Tattoos

D.C. officials have proposed mandating a 24-hour waiting period before getting a tattoo or a body piercing

District of Columbia officials have proposed mandating a 24-hour waiting period before getting a tattoo or a body piercing.

The city's Department of Health proposed 65 pages of regulations for tattoo parlors Friday. One states that a tattoo artist cannot apply a tattoo until at least 24 hours after a customer requests it. The language for body piercings is similar.

If approved, the regulations would make the district one of just a few places in the country with a waiting period for tattoos, WAMU-FM reported.

Local tattoo artist Paul Roe, who owns Britishink Tattoos in Northeast, calls the proposal "ridiculous" and says it would hurt business.

Tattooing and piercing were unregulated in the district until last year, when the D.C. Council passed legislation requiring tattoo artists and body piercers to be licensed.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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