[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of the City of Rehoboth Beach 7-9-1982 by Ord. No. 782-1; amended in its entirety 6-9-1995 by Ord. No. 695-1. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
Unless the particular provision or the context otherwise requires, the definitions and provisions contained in this section shall govern the construction, meaning and application of words and phrases as used in this chapter:
BOARD OF HEALTH
The Board of Health appointed pursuant to Section 20, Chapter 197, Volume 54, Laws of Delaware, as amended.
BODY PIERCING
Piercing of the skin for the express intention of the insertion of any object, including but not limited to jewelry; provided, however, that the piercing of the lobes of the ears shall be specifically excluded from the purview of this chapter.
CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION
The written approval from the Board of Health or its designated representative that the tattooing establishment has been inspected and meets all the requirements of this chapter relating to physical facilities, equipment and layout for the operation of a tattoo and body piercing establishment.
EMPLOYEE
Any person over 18 years of age, other than an operator who renders any service in connection with the operation of a tattoo and body piercing establishments and receives compensation from the operator of the business or its patrons.
OPERATOR
Any individual, firm, company, corporation or association that owns or operates an establishment where tattooing and body piercing is performed, and any individual who performs or practices the art of tattooing and body piercing on the person of another.
OSTEOPATH
Includes any person authorized to practice osteopathic medicine pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware.
PATRON
Any person over 16 years of age who receives a tattoo under such circumstances that it is reasonably expected that he or she will pay money or give any other consideration therefor.
PHYSICIAN
Includes any person authorized to practice medicine pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware.
TATTOO, TATTOOED and TATTOOING
Refers to any method of placing designs, letters, scrolls, figures, symbols or any other marks upon or under the skin with ink or any other substance resulting in the coloration of the skin by the aid of needles or any other instruments designed to puncture the skin.
[Amended 6-18-2001 by Ord. No. 601-1]
A. 
No person shall engage in or carry on the business of operating a tattoo or body piercing establishment unless he has a valid diploma and is authorized to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware and has a valid permit issued by the city pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for each and every separate office or place of business conducted by such person within the city.
B. 
No person shall tattoo the body of any other person or practice the art of tattooing upon the person of another or engage in body piercing upon the person of another unless it is done by a physician or osteopath or by a person in the presence and under the direction of a physician or osteopath.
Any person desiring a permit to operate a tattoo or body piercing establishment shall file a written application with the City Manager on a form to be furnished by the City Manager. The applicant shall accompany the application with a tender of the correct permit fee, as hereinafter provided, and shall, in addition, furnish the following:
A. 
The type of ownership of the business, i.e., whether individual, partnership, corporation or otherwise.
B. 
The name, style and designation under which the business or practice is to be conducted.
C. 
The business address and all telephone numbers of the business to be conducted.
D. 
The following personal information concerning the applicant, if an individual, and concerning each stockholder holding more than 10% of the stock of the corporation, each officer and each director, if the applicant is a corporation, and concerning the partners, including limited partners, if the applicant is a partnership, and concerning the manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the business:
(1) 
Name, complete residence address and residence telephone number.
(2) 
The two previous addresses immediately prior to the present address of the applicant.
(3) 
Written proof of age.
(4) 
Height, weight and color of hair and eyes.
(5) 
Diploma, certificate or other written proof of graduation from a recognized medical school by the person who shall be directly responsible for the operation and management of the tattoo or body piercing establishments.
(6) 
Certificate or other written proof that the physician or osteopath is authorized to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine, as the case may be, within the State of Delaware.
E. 
Authorization for the city, its agents and employees to seek information and conduct an investigation into the truth of the statements set forth in the application on the qualifications of the applicant for the permit.
F. 
The names and addresses of three adult residents of the county who will serve as character references. These references must be persons other than relatives and business associates.
G. 
Written declaration by the applicant, under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in the application is true and correct, with said declaration being duly dated and signed in the city.
Any person desiring a permit to do tattoos or engage in body piercing shall file a written application with the City Manager on a form to be furnished by the City Manager. The applicant shall tender with the application the correct permit fee, as hereinafter provided, and shall, in addition, furnish the following:
A. 
The business address and all telephone numbers where the tattoo or body piercing establishment is to be operated.
B. 
The following personal information concerning the applicant:
(1) 
Name, complete residence address and residence telephone numbers.
(2) 
The two previous addresses immediately prior to the present address of the applicant.
(3) 
Written proof of age.
(4) 
Height, weight and color of hair and eyes.
(5) 
Name, complete residence address and residence and all office telephone numbers of the physician or osteopath who is to be in charge of the tattoo or body piercing establishment.
(6) 
A statement, in writing, from a licensed physician, other than the physician or osteopath who is to be in charge of the tattoo or body piercing establishment, that he has examined the applicant within 30 days of the date of the application and believes the applicant to be free of all communicable diseases.
C. 
Authorization for the city, its agents and employees to seek information and conduct an investigation into the truth of the statements set forth in the application and the qualifications of the applicant for the permit.
D. 
Written declaration by the applicant, under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in the application is true and correct, with said application being duly dated and signed in the city.
A. 
Upon receiving the application for a tattoo or body piercing establishment or for a permit to do tattooing or body piercing, the City Manager shall review the application.
B. 
In the case of applications for a tattoo or body piercing establishment permit, the City Manager shall conduct or cause to be conducted an investigation of the premises where the tattoo or body piercing establishment is to be conducted, by the Board of Health, for the purpose of assuring that the premises comply with all the sanitation requirements set forth in this chapter and with the regulations of public health, safety and welfare.
C. 
Before any permit shall be issued under this chapter, the City Manager shall first sign his approval of the application.
The City Manager shall issue a tattoo or body piercing establishment permit within 45 days of receipt of the application, unless he finds that:
A. 
The correct permit fee has not been tendered to the city and, in the case of a check or bank draft, honored with payment upon presentation.
B. 
The operation, as proposed by the applicant, if permitted, would not comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to the city's building, zoning and health regulations.
C. 
The applicant has knowingly made any false, misleading or fraudulent statement of fact in the application for the permit or in any document required by the city in connection therewith.
D. 
The applicant has operated a tattoo or body piercing establishment and has had a license denied, revoked or suspended for any of the above causes by the city or any other state or local agency within two years prior to the date of the application.
E. 
The applicant, if an individual, or any of the officers and directors, if the applicant is a corporation, or any of the partners, including limited partners, if the applicant is a partnership, and the manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the business is not over the age of 21 years.
F. 
The manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the tattoo or body piercing establishment is not a physician or osteopath licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine, as the case may be, pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware.
The tattoo or body piercing establishment permittee shall display his permit and that of each and every person employed in the establishment in an open and conspicuous place on the premises of the tattoo or body piercing establishment.
[Amended 11-21-2025 by Ord. No. 1125-01]
The permit fee for a tattoo or body piercing establishment and the permit fee for each person employed on the premises who will do tattooing or body piercing under the direction of a physician or osteopath shall be established in the City Schedule of Fees and Penalties.[1] If a premises has both body piercing and tattooing, there shall be a separate fee for body piercing as well as tattooing.
[1]
Editor's Note: The City Schedule of Fees and Penalties is on file in the City offices.
Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to suspension or revocation by the City Manager for violation of any provision of this chapter or for any grounds that would warrant the denial or issuance of such permit in the first place. The City Manager, upon such revocation or suspension, shall state his reasons in writing, specifying the particular grounds for such revocation or suspension.
No tattoo or body piercing establishment permit shall be transferable, separable or divisible, and such authority as a permit confers shall be conferred only on the permittee named therein.
Each tattoo or body piercing establishment shall comply with the following requirements:
A. 
The room in which tattooing or body piercing is done shall have an area of not less than 100 square feet. The walls, floors and ceilings shall have an impervious, smooth and washable surface.
B. 
A water closet shall be located in the establishment and shall be accessible at all times that the tattoo or body piercing establishment is open for business. The lavatory shall be supplied with hot and cold running water, soap and sanitary towels.
C. 
All tables and other equipment shall be constructed of easily cleanable material, shall be painted or finished in a light color with a smooth, washable finish and shall be separated from waiting customers or observers by a panel at least six feet or 1.83 meters high or by a door.
D. 
The entire premises and equipment shall be maintained in a clean, sanitary condition and in good repair.
E. 
The physician or osteopath who shall apply the tattoo or perform the body piercing or the person working under the direction of a physician or osteopath who shall apply the tattoo or perform the body piercing shall wash his hands thoroughly with soap and water before starting to tattoo or body pierce. The hands shall be dried with individual, single-use towels.
F. 
No tattooing or body piercing shall be done on any skin surface that has a rash, pimples, boils or infections or manifests any evidence of any other unhealthy condition.
G. 
No skin area shall be penetrated, abraded or treated with chemicals for the purpose of removing, camouflaging or altering any blemish, birthmark, scar or tattoo.
H. 
Safety razors with a new, single-surface blade for each customer or patron or a straight-edged razor may be used and shall be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized before use on each customer or patron.
I. 
The area to be tattooed or body pierced shall first be thoroughly washed for a period of two minutes with warm water to which has been added an antiseptic liquid soap. A sterile, single-use sponge shall be used to scrub the area. After shaving and before tattooing has begun, a solution of seventy-percent alcohol shall be applied to the area with a single-use sponge used and applied with a sterile instrument.
J. 
Only petroleum jelly in collapsible metal or plastic tubes, or its equivalent, as approved by the Board of Health, shall be used on the area to be tattooed, and it shall be applied with sterile gauze.
K. 
The use of styptic pencils, alum blocks or other solid styptics to check the flow of blood is prohibited.
L. 
Inquiry shall be made, and anyone giving a history of recent jaundice or hepatitis shall not be tattooed or body pierced.
M. 
Single-service or individual containers of dye or ink shall be used for each patron, and the container therefor shall be discarded immediately after completing work on a patron, and any dye in which the needles were dipped shall not be used on another person. Excess dye or ink shall be removed from the skin with an individual sterile sponge or a disposable paper tissue which shall be used only on one person and then immediately discarded. After completing work on any person, the tattooed area shall be washed with sterile gauze and saturated with an antiseptic soap solution approved by the Board of Health or a seventy-percent alcohol solution. The tattooed area shall be allowed to dry, and petroleum jelly from a collapsible or plastic tube shall be applied, using sterile gauze. A sterile gauze dressing shall then be fastened to the tattooed area with adhesive.
N. 
All clean and ready-to-use needles and instruments shall be kept in a closed glass or metal case or storage cabinet when not in use. Such cabinets shall be maintained in a sanitary manner at all times.
O. 
A steam sterilizer (autoclave) shall be provided for sterilizing all needles and similar instruments before use on any patron. Alternate sterilizing procedures may only be used when specifically approved by the Board of Health in writing. Sterilization of equipment shall be accomplished by exposure to live steam for at least 30 minutes at a minimum pressure of 15 pounds per square inch at a temperature of 240° F. or 116° C.
P. 
The needles and instruments required to be sterilized shall be so used, handled and temporarily placed during tattooing or body piercing that they will not be contaminated.
Q. 
Gloves shall be worn with any procedure that involves contact with a patron's blood.
R. 
No body piercing or tattooing of the tongue shall be permitted.
S. 
Immediately after piercing or tattooing, the patron shall be advised on the care of the site so body pierced or tattooed and to consult a physician at the first sign of infection.
T. 
Forceps, accessory equipment and jewelry must be disinfected with a chemical disinfectant registered by the environmental protection agency as being tuberculocidal when used at recommended dilutions.
U. 
Needles shall not be bent or broken prior to disposal. Operator shall take precautions to prevent injuries from contaminated needles.
V. 
Needles shall be disposed of directly into a solid puncture-resistant container.
W. 
Needles as well as gloves, gauze and other materials saturated with blood shall be discarded in a plastic bag and placed into a cardboard box prior to off-site disposal. A written agreement for disposal of such waste shall be with an authorized service for disposal of medical waste.
Each tattoo or body piercing establishment shall maintain permanent records for each patron. Before the tattooing or body piercing operation begins, the patron shall be required personally to enter on a record form provided for such establishments, the date, his or her name, his or her address, his or her age and his or her signature. The records shall also provide that the patron does not have any jaundice or hepatitis and if so, the date of such jaundice or hepatitis. Such records shall be maintained in the tattoo or body piercing establishment and shall be available for examination by the Board of Health or its authorized representative. Such records shall be maintained by the tattoo or body piercing establishment for a period of not less than two years.
No patron having any skin infection or any disease of the skin or any communicable disease whatsoever shall be tattooed. All infections resulting from the practice of tattooing or body piercing which become known to the tattooing or body piercing establishment shall be promptly reported to the Board of Health by the operator of the tattoo or body piercing establishment, and the infected patron shall be referred immediately to a physician.
All pigments, dyes, colors and any other material used in tattooing shall be sterile and free from bacteria, virus particles and noxious agents and substances, and the pigments, dyes and colors used from stock solutions for each patron shall be placed in a single-service receptacle, and such receptacle and remaining solution shall be discarded after use on each patron.
No tattoo or body piercing establishment shall permit any person under the age of 16 years to come or remain on the premises of any tattoo or body piercing establishments, unless such person is on the premises on lawful business.
No person shall sell, give, dispense, provide or keep or cause to be sold, given, dispensed, provided or kept any alcoholic beverage on the premises of any tattoo or body piercing establishments.
[Amended 11-21-2025 by Ord. No. 1125-02]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined as established in the City Schedule of Fees and Penalties,[1] and for the purposes of this chapter, a separate offense shall be deemed to be committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
[1]
Editor's Note: The City Schedule of Fees and Penalties is on file in the City offices.