Whether you're a parent of a child who wants to get pierced or a piercing artist trying to follow the rules, it's important to know your state's laws regarding piercing minors. To help you gain a better understanding of your state's regulations, we've put together a chart of rules for piercing minors by state. We've also included details about the legal repercussions of unlawfully piercing a minor where applicable.
by PainfulPleasures Last Updated: May 14, 2021
Many teenagers love the idea of body piercings, but in most states, kids can’t legally get pierced without a parent or guardian’s consent until they turn 18. There are some piercings that no minor can get even with parental consent, like genital piercings and nipple piercings. Other piercings simply require a parent or legal guardian’s written consent, but there are times when a caretaker must also be present at the time their child is pierced and/or provide proof that they are the child’s parent or legal guardian. The exact rules vary by state, as do the repercussions for violating a state’s regulations regarding piercing minors.
Whether you’re a parent with a child who wants to get pierced or a piercing artist trying to make sure you’re playing by the rules, it’s important to know your state’s laws regarding piercing minors. To help you gain a better understanding of your state’s regulations, we’ve put together a chart of rules for piercing minors by state. This information comes primarily from the National Conference of State Legislators website, with supplemental information from the Association of Professional Piercers’ website and other state websites and legal resources. Note that these rules may change at any time, so you should periodically review your state government’s website for the latest regulations. It’s also important to know that some states leave it to their counties and cities to regulate piercing and tattooing, as is the case in Maryland, so you should also check with your local government to make sure you’re meeting the trifecta of state, county and city regulations regarding piercing minors.
Scroll down to find your state or the District of Columbia and read the current regulations regarding piercing minors in your area, which are up-to-date as of November 2014.
If you read through each state’s rules, you’ll see this pattern: Whether or not a state requires parental consent for minors to be pierced, professional piercers everywhere tend to uphold a general code of ethics that includes obtaining parental or guardian consent before performing any body piercing on a minor. Standards nation-wide tend to be more lax regarding earlobe piercings, but even then, most piercers will not pierce a child’s ears if they’re younger than 13, even with parental consent. Parents who wish to have their infants’ ears pierced often ask their family doctor or a nurse in the practice to do the job. It isn’t unheard of for a professional piercer to pierce a baby’s earlobes, but it’s a lot less common than you might think.
As body modification continues to grow in popularity and further infiltrate the mainstream, we’ll likely see the lingering states that don’t currently regulate tattoos and piercings jump on the bandwagon and implement legislation to protect minors. In the meantime, parents in unregulated states like West Virginia and South Dakota can take comfort in the knowledge that the majority of professional piercers in their area are already looking out for their kids by putting the kibosh on underage piercing without parental consent.
The Shop Safety and Piercing Information sections of our Information Center offer a wealth of information for aspiring, new and experienced piercers alike. One of the resources we provide is a Sample Body Piercing Release Form, which you may want to reference when designing your own form to obtain parental consent to pierce minors. You’ll also find information that will help you run your shop to code, like our Maintaining a Sterile Work Environment article. Although our Tattooing Safely: A Guide for Tattoo Artists is geared towards tattoo artists, piercers may also find it helpful as it contains tips for verifying potential clients’ ages and information on meeting OSHA standards. These are just a few of the many informative articles you’ll find in our online library.
