Tattoo consent forms in the UK: what to ask, and what to keep

A consent form is half the record of a tattoo. It says who you tattooed, that they were old enough, that they told you about anything that changes the day, and that they agreed to the work and the aftercare. The other half is what went into their skin. Between them, they are what you reach for if a client comes back unhappy, if an inspector asks, or if an ink is recalled.

This guide covers what the form should ask, how long to keep it, and how to store it without creating a data protection problem.

The one legal line everybody knows

The Tattooing of Minors Act 1969 makes it an offence to tattoo anybody under 18 in Great Britain, except a qualified medical practitioner doing it for medical reasons. Parental consent does not change that. What counts is the client's age on the day of the tattoo, so somebody booking at seventeen who turns eighteen before the appointment can be tattooed on that day.

So the form needs a date of birth, and you need to have seen ID for anybody who might be under 25. A form that only asks "are you over 18?" does not protect you if the answer was untrue.

Registration and licensing

Before the form, check your own position. The rules differ across the UK:

• England and Wales, outside London: artists and premises register with the local council, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 and the council's byelaws.
• London: most boroughs license tattooing as a special treatment under the London Local Authorities Act 1991.
• Scotland: a skin piercing and tattooing licence from the council, under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
• Northern Ireland: registration with the council, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.

Councils set their own conditions, and many say what records you must keep. Ask yours, because that answer, not a template, decides what your form needs.

What a good consent form asks

Keep it short enough that clients actually read it, and specific enough to catch what matters.

Who they are

• Full name, date of birth and contact details
• An emergency contact
• Confirmation you have seen photo ID

Their health

Ask direct yes or no questions, with room for detail when the answer is yes. Common ones cover:

• blood-thinning medication, or a bleeding or clotting disorder
• diabetes
• heart conditions, or a pacemaker
• epilepsy or fainting
• pregnancy or breastfeeding
• skin conditions, or anything on the area to be tattooed
• allergies, including to latex, plasters or antiseptic
• anything that affects healing or the immune system

Add whether they have eaten, and whether they have had alcohol or taken anything today.

What they are agreeing to

• The design, its placement and its size
• That they have been given aftercare instructions and will follow them
• Whether you may photograph the finished piece and post it
• A signature and the date

Send the form before the appointment rather than handing over a clipboard at the door. A client filling it in at home reads the questions properly, and you find out about the blood thinners two days before, not two minutes before.

Health answers are special category data

Under UK GDPR, information about somebody's health is special category data. You are the controller for your clients' information, which means:

• store it securely, and not in a camera roll or a shared inbox
• only ask for what you need, and only use it for the tattoo
• keep it only as long as you have a reason to
• most businesses that handle personal data need to pay the ICO's data protection fee

Paper forms in an unlocked drawer and photos of forms on a phone are the two ways this usually goes wrong.

How long to keep them

There is no single national period. Your council's byelaws or licence conditions may set one, and your insurer may expect records to be kept long enough to answer a claim. Ask both, write the answer down, and delete forms once that period is over.

Record what went into the skin, too

Alongside the form, keep a note of the inks used, with their batch numbers, and the needles or cartridges. If a batch is recalled, you can tell which clients to contact instead of guessing.

How Chairtime handles it

Two days before the appointment, Chairtime emails the client their reminder with a link to the consent form, and they complete it on their phone: who they are, an emergency contact, the health questions, the declarations and a signature. The medical answers are encrypted, and the signed form sits against the booking in your calendar. A client who will not be 18 on the day of the appointment cannot sign it, wherever you work. You can use Chairtime's form or write your own, keep a products-used log with batch numbers, and add verified ID checks against photo ID for £2 a client.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your council and your insurer have the final word on what your records must include.