Petition Title

Regulate the Sale of Tattoo Equipment to Protect Public Health and the Tattoo Industry

 

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Artist-to-Artist Statement

 

This petition is written by a working tattoo artist.

 

Tattooing is in my blood. My father tattooed in some of the first shops in Cleveland, Ohio, and I grew up around this industry when it was still earned — not downloaded into a shopping cart. Apprenticeships meant something. Shops meant something. The responsibility we carry when we put permanent ink into someone’s skin meant something.

Today, anyone — including kids — can order tattoo machines, needles, and ink off Amazon and start “doodling” on each other with zero training, zero sanitation knowledge, and zero accountability. I’m beyond sick of seeing it.

I’ve fixed more bad tattoos than I can count. I’ve seen infections, scarring, trauma, and regret that never should have happened in the first place. This petition isn’t about ego or gatekeeping — it’s about safety, accountability, and protecting people from harm.

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The Problem

Tattooing is a permanent body modification that involves breaking the skin and exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Despite this, professional tattoo equipment is currently sold online with no verification, no training requirements, and no age restrictions.

This is the equivalent of allowing the public to buy medical instruments and perform procedures in their homes without education, sterilization standards, or oversight.

The result:

 • Preventable infections and disease transmission

 • Permanent scarring and trauma

 • Increased burden on healthcare professionals

 • Damage to the credibility and professionalism of the tattoo industry

Tattooing has always been regulated informally through apprenticeships for one core reason: public safety. That safeguard is now being bypassed entirely.

 

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What We Are Asking For

We call on lawmakers, public health officials, and online retailers to regulate the sale of tattoo equipment in the same way other invasive tools are regulated.

We propose that:

 1. Tattoo machines, needles, and inks be classified as regulated professional equipment

 2. Retailers (online and in-store) require proof of professional status, such as:

 • Employment at a licensed tattoo studio, or

 • Completion of a verified tattoo apprenticeship

 3. Apprenticeships must be completed under a licensed tattoo artist with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience

 4. Age verification and professional documentation be required at point of purchase

 5. Retailers be held accountable for selling tattoo equipment to unverified individuals

 

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Why Artists, Lawmakers, and Medical Professionals Should Support This

For tattoo artists:

This protects the integrity of our profession and stops years of earned knowledge from being reduced to a weekend Amazon delivery.

 

For lawmakers and regulators:

This is a clear public health issue involving blood exposure, infection risk, and permanent bodily harm.

 

For medical professionals:

This helps prevent infections, complications, and ER visits caused by untrained individuals performing unsafe tattooing.

 

Tattoo artists don’t just deal with the fallout — doctors and nurses do too.

 

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Final Statement

 

Tattooing is not a hobby.

It is not a trend.

It is not something that should be learned unsupervised in a bedroom.

This industry has survived because of standards, mentorship, and responsibility. Allowing unrestricted access to tattoo equipment puts the public at risk and cheapens a profession built on trust.

 

We are asking for regulation not to exclude people — but to protect them.