Structural Guidelines for Body Art Facilities

This information is intended to provide a general overview of the Health Department's construction requirements for starting a Body Art business. The specific design or intended operation of a facility may necessitate additional construction items; some operations may not require every item exactly as described here. Your County Health Department will work with you on the specific construction requirements for your establishment as governed by Chapter 420-3-23. Body Art Practice and Facilities.

Facility Structure (Floors, Walls, and Ceilings)

• Walls and floors in procedure and sanitization areas must be smooth, washable, and in good repair - free of holes and cracks. Ceilings must be free of holes and in good repair. Carpeting is prohibited in procedure areas.
• All body art procedure areas shall be completely separated (by solid partition or walls from floor to ceiling) from any personal living or sleeping quarters, personal bathrooms, food prep or food establishments, hair salons, retail areas, customer waiting areas or showrooms, or other such areas with the potential for contamination of the work surface.
• Each workstation must have at least 35 square feet of open space. Provisions for client privacy, screened from public view, must be available. Multiple body art stations must be separated.
• The facility must be well ventilated.
• Facility must be well-lit, especially in body art procedure areas. Light fixtures must provide 20 foot candles of illumination, with 100 foot candles provided at the site of the procedure.
• The facility must be constructed and maintained to be free of insects, vermin, and rodents.

Cleaning, Sanitization, and Sterilization

• Sterilizers shall be located away from work stations or areas frequented by the public. This is usually accomplished by providing a separate utensil cleaning and sanitization room away from the body art procedure room or rooms and public access. For ease of operation, this separate area (room) is suggested to be the location of the required cleaning and sterilizing processes and equipment (utensil washing sink, ultrasonic unit, and sterilizer- either steam autoclave or dry heat sterilizer). If you propose to use space as a separator instead of a separate room, the county health department will have
  to evaluate the adequacy of the location of procedures, equipment, space provided, protection from contamination, and so forth.
• The utensil sink must be large enough to thoroughly clean any and all reusable items and instruments. This sink must be supplied with hot and cold running water under pressure supplied through a mixing valve with no aerator.
• All procedure surfaces (e.g., chairs, benches, and tables, etc.) of the body art facility shall be constructed and maintained to be easily cleaned and sanitized with a disinfectant solution.
• Approved biohazard sharps containers must be provided along with an approved plan for sharps container and biomedical waste disposal.
• Completed spore destruction test results for each autoclave in use prior to opening and on a monthly basis thereafter.

Water Supply and Sewage Disposal

• Water to the facility shall be obtained through a health department-approved source.
• All sewage must be disposed of through a health department-approved system.
• Hand washing sinks with hot and cold running water, under pressure, with a mixing valve convenient to the work area within any procedure room. Each sink must be supplied with liquid soap in disposable dispensers and paper towels. Each
  hand sink shall service no more than three (3) operators.
• Mop or utility sink with at least hot water under pressure for disposal of liquid wastes only.
• At least (1) approved toilet facility with a hand washing sink, soap, and single-use paper towels located inside or immediately outside of the toilet room (a total of at least four (4) sinks are required in a standard body facility).

Other Important Information

• Each body art facility must provide a scale drawing and floor plan of the building as soon as possible (preferably before construction begins). A license will not be issued before plans are submitted.
• At least one (1) covered waste receptacle must be provided in each operator area and each toilet room.
• A washer and dryer must be provided if reusable cloth items are used. Approved storage areas are needed for both clean and reusable cloth items. A contract with a laundry cleaning service may be obtained for reusable cloth items if preferred.
• Proof of hepatitis vaccination or Written Refusal of such for each body art operator. This must be provided and retained on-site at the body art facility.
• Approved client information handout sheets (medical history, site care, minor consent, etc.) must be provided and kept on file.
• Show proof of attendance of a health department-approved bloodborne pathogen class within the last 36 months for each operator.