Tattoo law in Scotland
In Scotland it is an offence to tattoo a person under 18, except for medical reasons. A business that provides skin piercing or tattooing needs a licence under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
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- Minimum age
- Under 18 (offence to tattoo, medical exception)
- Studio or artist registration or licence
- Licence for a business providing skin piercing or tattooing (regulated health care professionals are outside it)
- Law
- Tattooing of Minors Act 1969; Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Skin Piercing and Tattooing) Order 2006, article 2
- Source
- legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives), read 5 November 2026.
What this page does not cover
It states what the cited text says on the date it was read, translated from the original language. It does not cover other rules that may apply, such as local or regional rules, a studio's own policy or a change in the law since that date. Fields the source does not give are left out. The original text prevails over this summary.
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