Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment clarifies that an apprentice
can practice tattoo, body piercing, and/or branding without a practitioner
license. The amendment also adds language regarding verification of licensure,
certification, registration, or permit from other states, United States
territories, provinces, or countries.
(1) No person shall operate a tattoo
establishment, body piercing establishment, and/or branding establishment
unless he or she has obtained a license for the establishment from the
division. An application for an establishment license shall be notarized and
accompanied by the appropriate fee. Only one (1) application shall be required
for any single establishment.
(2)
No person, other than an apprentice, shall tattoo, body pierce, and/or brand
another person; use or assume the title of tattooist, body piercer, and/or
brander; designate or represent themselves to be a tattooist, body piercer,
and/or brander unless he or she has obtained a license from the division for
the profession practiced. An application for a practitioner license shall be
notarized and accompanied by the appropriate fee and evidence of having
successfully completed the following:
(A) A
bloodborne pathogen training program (or equivalent) which includes infectious
disease control; waste disposal; hand-washing techniques; sterilization
equipment operation and methods; and sanitization, disinfection, and
sterilization methods and techniques (Example: "Preventing Disease
Transmission" (American Red Cross) and "Bloodborne Pathogen Training" (U.S.
OSHA)); and
(B) First aid and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); and
(C) An apprenticeship, which shall include at
least three hundred (300) documented hours of practical experience that
includes at a minimum fifty (50) completed procedures in each area that the
applicant has filed an application for licensure. The documented work shall be
certified and supervised by a currently licensed Missouri practitioner, a
currently licensed Missouri professional whose scope of practice includes
tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding, or by a practitioner who is licensed
to practice tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding in another state,
territory, or commonwealth whose requirements for licensure are substantially
equivalent to the requirements for licensure in Missouri. A supervising
practitioner shall register a person needing to meet the requirement set forth
in this subsection by submitting an affidavit acknowledging the supervisory
relationship on a form prescribed by the office. The affidavit shall be
submitted by the supervising practitioner within ten (10) business days of
beginning the supervisory relationship. The supervising practitioner shall be
present during the entire procedure and shall be licensed in the same field of
practice in which the applicant has filed a license application. Proof of
having completed the apprenticeship requirement set forth in this section shall
be submitted on forms prescribed by the office. The apprentice shall notify the
office in writing within ten (10) business days of the termination of the
supervisory relationship; or
(D) In
lieu of an apprenticeship, an applicant may submit proof that he/she has
successfully completed a course of study in tattooing, body piercing, and/or
branding in a school licensed or accredited as a school by any state or federal
agency. The course of study must have been completed in the same practice area
that the applicant has applied for a license.
1. The course of study shall consist of at
least three hundred (300) documented hours of instruction and/or training which
shall include, at a minimum, instruction in sanitation, equipment handling,
disease control, skin treatment and/or skin infections, design and/or artistry,
and clinical practice. Applicants shall submit an official transcript
demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this section. Official
transcripts must be mailed directly to the division by the school.
2. A person applying under this subsection
shall also submit proof of practical experience that includes at least
twenty-five (25) completed procedures in the same field that the applicant has
applied for licensure. For purposes of this subsection, proof of practical
experience may be certified to by a school which meets the requirements of this
rule or by any person licensed to practice tattooing, branding, or body
piercing in another state, territory, or commonwealth; or
(E) Alternatively, and in lieu of an
apprenticeship, an applicant may submit proof or other evidence which verifies
that he/she has, within the last seven (7) years, practiced for a minimum of
three (3) years in the same practice area that the applicant has applied for
licensure. Sufficient proof or evidence may include, but is not limited to:
1. Affidavits from prior employer(s) or
supervisors;
2. W-2 or 1099 forms;
or
3. Tax returns verifying
occupational status.
(F)
All applicants shall ensure that each state, District of Columbia, United
States territory, province, or country in which a license, certificate,
registration, or permit to practice tattooing, body piercing, or branding is
held or has ever been held to submit verification of licensure, certification,
registration, or permit directly to the division. The verification shall
include the license, registration, certification, or permit issued, the number,
status, issue and expiration dates, information regarding disciplinary action
and the name and title of the person verifying information with date and board
seal.
(3) Within a
reasonable period of time after receiving a completed notarized application for
a license, the division shall either approve the application and issue a
license or deny the application. If the application for license is denied, the
division shall give the applicant reasons in writing for the denial and provide
information about how the applicant may appeal the decision.
(4) The division shall not issue a license to
a new or temporary tattoo, body piercing, and/or branding establishment without
completing an inspection of the establishment to ensure that the establishment
complies with the requirements set forth in these rules.
(5) Applicants who are approved for licensure
shall receive one (1) license. Duplicate licenses may be provided upon payment
of the appropriate fee pursuant to the rules promulgated by the
division.
(6) Reciprocity. A person
licensed to practice tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding in another
state, territory, or commonwealth may apply for licensure by reciprocity in the
same practice area if the other state, territory, or commonwealth has
requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements of Missouri
for the license sought. Applicants for licensure by reciprocity shall submit or
cause to be submitted the following:
(A) A
completed notarized application and the accompanying application fee;
(B) A copy of a current tattoo, body
piercing, and/or branding license from the other state, territory, or
commonwealth;
(C) A current copy of
the rules and regulations pertaining to tattooing, body piercing, and/or
branding from the other state, territory, or commonwealth; and
(D) A letter of license verification mailed
by the state, territory, or commonwealth licensing agency to the division which
shall include-
1. Verification that the
applicant holds a valid and unexpired license;
2. The license issuance date;
3. The license expiration date; and
4. A statement verifying whether the
applicant has ever been subject to discipline or if there are any complaints or
investigations pending against the licensee.
5. Upon request, a consent that allows the
office to examine disciplinary, complaint, and/or investigative records of the
other licensing authority.
(E) A person applying for licensure by
reciprocity from a state, territory, or commonwealth whose licensing
requirements are less stringent than those in force in the state of Missouri
shall be required to meet the requirements of 20 CSR 2267-2.010(2).
*Original authority: 324.522, RSMo 1998, amended 1999,
2001, 2007.