Missouri

What the form asks in Missouri

Missouri’s rule names things the standard waiver form did not ask. A shop in Missouri gets them by default: the questions on its form, the rest on its record in the shop app.

• A photo of the client's ID (on every form)“Driver's license number or official picture identification number of the patron” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(B); proof of age by picture ID, (5))
• An allergies question: medicines, ointments, soaps, latex, anything put on the skin“Allergies” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(D)3.)
• The medications and blood thinners question, always on“Use of any medications containing controlled substances ... Use of any medications that contain blood thinners ... Use of any medications that are immunocompromising” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(D)1., 8., 9.)
• The client's answer that they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, asked and printed on every form“Current use of illegal substances (i.e., is the patron currently under the influence of illegal substances?) ... Current use of alcohol (i.e., is the patron currently under the influence of alcoholic beverages?)” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(D)5., 6.)
• The risks of a tattoo the state's rule lists, in writing on a tattoo's consent“A practitioner shall not tattoo, body pierce or brand any person until he or she has informed the patron, in person and in writing, of the following” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(2)(A), (B); the signed acknowledgment, (1)(E))
• The risks of a piercing the state's rule lists, in writing on a piercing's consent“A practitioner shall not tattoo, body pierce or brand any person until he or she has informed the patron, in person and in writing, of the following” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(2)(A), (B); the signed acknowledgment, (1)(E))
• The artist's own signature, drawn on the record from the shop's dashboard after the work“The signature of the practitioner attesting that the practitioner has reviewed the completed form(s), has advised the patron in person and in writing of the dangers and contraindications of the procedure, and the date of the review” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(F); the practitioner's signature on the record, (7))
• The artist's license number on the signed waiver, from the shop's artist list“the name, license number and signature of the practitioner performing the procedure” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(7))
• A note after the procedure, written on the record from the shop's dashboard“The practitioner also shall note any adverse effects or difficulties arising from the procedure.” (20 CSR 2267-5.020(7))
• Aftercare instructions, acknowledged in the consent (on every form)“After the procedure is complete, the practitioner shall provide the patron with verbal and written instructions for the care of the tattoo, pierce, or brand.” (20 CSR 2267-5.040(2))

What the record must capture

• Client name, address, phone number and date of birth
• The client's driver's license number or official picture ID number (for a minor, the parent's or guardian's)
• The client's signature, or the parent's or guardian's for a minor
• A health form the client fills in: medications with controlled substances, blood thinners or that weaken the immune system, communicable diseases, allergies, diseases that affect healing such as diabetes, drugs or alcohol, and jaundice in the last 12 months
• The signed informed consent, saying the client was told the dangers in person and in writing
• The artist's signature, attesting they reviewed the forms and advised the client, with the date
• The name, license number and signature of the artist who did the work
• Any adverse effects or difficulties from the procedure, noted by the artist
• For a tattoo, the dyes used, with the lot number of each pigment

Before each procedure the client writes down their driver's license or official picture ID number, and you check picture ID to be sure they are 18 or older. For a minor, the parent's or guardian's number goes down instead.

"Each practitioner shall maintain a record for each patron for a minimum of two (2) years following the completion of the procedure." — 20 CSR 2267-5.020(7)

A license on a phone in Missouri

Missouri does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.

What we read: Missouri DOR Driver Licensing page (dor.mo.gov/driver-license/), 2026-09-11: its 'Mobile ID' menu link is commented out in the HTML (<!-- <li><a href="/driver-license/mobile-driver-license.html">Mobile ID</a></li>-->), and that page now redirects to the DOR home page. The Missouri Mobile ID app (com.idemia.mobileid.us.mo) answers 404 on Google Play and has no App Store listing, while the same checks find Mississippi's (positive control). DOR's system-modernization page (dor.mo.gov/MV-DL/) mentions no mobile ID. RSMo § 302.181 read in full at revisor.mo.gov. TSA list (2026-09-11): Missouri absent.

On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in Missouri a saved photo is only ever a picture of a card: a copy for your file, never proof of age.

Minors

18+. Minors only with conditions. A minor is anyone under 18. You can tattoo one only with the prior written informed consent of the parent or legal guardian, executed in your presence or the presence of your employee or agent, and you take the parent's or guardian's driver's license number or picture ID for the record. No floor age appears in the statute or the rules. A first violation is a fine up to $500; a second within a year runs $500 to $1,000. The statute's own words: "The minor's parent or legal guardian shall execute the written informed consent required pursuant to this subsection in the presence of the person performing the tattooing, branding or body piercing on the minor, or in the presence of an employee or agent of such person." (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 324.520.2). The rule has the practitioner "obtain the driver’s license number or official picture identification of the minor’s parent or legal guardian" (20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(B)). The parent signs in front of you; nothing in the statute or the rule keeps them in the room for the whole tattoo, and neither asks for the minor's own ID. The same rule has every establishment post a sign "stating that no person under the age of eighteen (18) shall be tattooed, body pierced or branded" (5.020(4)), in the paragraph that allows it with the parent's written consent. Two counties around St. Louis ask for more. St. Louis County's Department of Public Health has its practitioners confirm they will not "Apply any tattoo to a person under eighteen (18) without the notarized, written consent of a parent or guardian. Notarized written consent of that person's parent or legal guardian must be on a department form." (Tattoo and Body Piercing Policies and Procedures, Policy 6.1), and its consent form reads "Saint Louis County ordinances make it unlawful for any person to administer a tattoo or body piercing to any person under 18 years of age without the notarized, written consent of that person's parent or legal guardian.", with a notary's block under the parent's signature. St. Charles County's code says "That consent shall be on a form provided by the Department, notarized, and given in person to the operator by the parent or legal guardian before the tattooing and body piercing procedure commences.", and the parent must "leave with the operator photocopies of that photographic identification" (County Code § 645.150(A)).

"No person shall knowingly tattoo, brand or perform body piercing on a minor unless such person obtains the prior written informed consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian." - Mo. Rev. Stat. § 324.520.2

On waivers.tattoo: turn on Tattooing under 18 in Settings and a client under 18 gets a parent-or-guardian section — who they are, how they are related, their own signature, and a photo of their ID. The signed waiver prints what Missouri requires.

Piercing a minor

18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. The parent's or legal guardian's prior written informed consent, executed in the presence of the person doing the piercing or that person's employee or agent, and the parent's or guardian's driver's license number or picture ID on the record. No proof of relationship, no notary, and the parent does not have to stay for the procedure. In St. Louis County practitioners may not "Perform body piercing on a person under the age of eighteen (18) without the notarized, written consent of a parent or guardian." (Policy 6.1), and St. Charles County's § 645.150(A) covers "tattooing and body piercing" alike.

The statute excludes the whole ear, not just the lobe: body piercing is 'the perforation of human tissue other than an ear'.

Misdemeanor, a fine up to $500; a second violation within a year is $500 to $1,000. An adult who fraudulently misrepresents themselves as a parent commits a class B misdemeanor.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 324.520.2; 20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(B), (4) The text

On waivers.tattoo: turn on Piercing under 18 in Settings and a client under 18 gets a parent-or-guardian section — who they are, how they are related, their own signature, and a photo of their ID. The signed waiver prints what Missouri requires.

What the consent form must say

• The dangers for a client with impaired kidney or liver function, diabetes, jaundice in the last 12 months, a blood thinner, or medication that weakens the immune system
• That the work should be considered permanent and can only be removed or repaired by surgery that may leave permanent scarring
• The client's signed acknowledgment that they were told this in person and in writing, and agree to the procedure
• For a client under 18, the parent's or guardian's written informed consent, signed in front of the artist or an employee

"Obtain a signed informed consent from each patron prior to performing a tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding procedures" — 20 CSR 2267-5.010(3)(A)2

Health history and aftercare

Before every procedure the client fills in a health form: medications with controlled substances, blood thinners or that weaken the immune system, communicable diseases including HIV and hepatitis B, allergies, diseases that affect healing such as diabetes, drugs or alcohol, and jaundice in the last 12 months. The artist tells the client, in person and in writing, the dangers for someone with kidney or liver trouble, diabetes, recent jaundice or those medications, and that the work should be considered permanent. Nobody under the influence, or with a skin lesion or infection where the work goes, gets worked on. After the procedure the client gets care instructions out loud and in writing.

"A medical/health information form, to be completed by the patron" — 20 CSR 2267-5.020(1)(D)

Texting your clients in Missouri

8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 407.1095(3), 407.1098, 407.1107 (Telemarketing No-Call List); § 407.1076(5) (telemarketing hours), in force since 2012-08-28. It names text messages, so a text counts.

Consent. The no-call statute does not prescribe a consent form; it defines consent out of the prohibition. A communication is not a "telephone solicitation" if made "To any residential subscriber with that subscriber's prior express invitation or permission" (§ 407.1095(3)(a)). Note the words: prior express INVITATION OR PERMISSION, not the TCPA's "prior express written consent."

Your own clients. § 407.1095(3)(b) excludes communications "By or on behalf of any person or entity with whom a residential subscriber has had a business contact within the past one hundred eighty days or a current business or personal relationship." 180 DAYS from the last business contact, or, with no time limit, a CURRENT business or personal relationship. It is the shortest existing-customer window of the 51, and the one that bites a tattoo shop: a client who signed a waiver 7 months ago, with no express permission on file and no current relationship, is again protected by the no-call list.

It reaches your sender too. Its own words are “make or cause to be made”, so a service that texts on your behalf is inside this rule with you. Hiring one does not move the duty off the shop.

"Telephone solicitation", any voice, facsimile, short messaging service (SMS), or multimedia messaging service (MMS), for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods or services The text

§ 407.1107.3: any person who has received MORE THAN ONE telephone solicitation within any twelve-month period by or on behalf of the same entity in violation of § 407.1098 or § 407.1104 may sue to enjoin, and/or to recover actual monetary loss or UP TO $5,000 IN DAMAGES FOR EACH KNOWING VIOLATION, whichever is greater. § 407.1107.1: the attorney general may seek a civil penalty up to $5,000 per knowing violation. § 407.1107.4 is a safe-harbor defense for a defendant who "established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to effectively prevent telephone solicitations in violation of" the act. Two-year limitations period (§ 407.1107.5).

Federal law is the floor under it: 8am to 9pm, the client’s local time, prior express written consent for a marketing text, and a STOP honored within 10 business days (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1), (e)).

What to do

• Ask separately. A yes to marketing texts belongs on its own tick, not folded into the box a client has to accept to get tattooed. Keep it with the date and what it said.
• Text between 8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. An area code is not where somebody lives, so when you cannot tell, use the tighter window.
• Honor a STOP that day. Federal law gives you 10 business days. Same-day is the version nobody argues with, and it is what the carriers expect.
• Keep the count low. Missouri sets no cap and neither does federal law, but a shop that texts a client more than a couple of times a month is teaching them to reply STOP.

Who inspects you

One state office issues the establishment license and the practitioner license and handles inspections. St. Louis County adds its own on top of it: "No person, firm, or corporation shall operate a tattoo or body piercing establishment without a current and valid permit issued by the Director of the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health" (Saint Louis County Revised Ordinances § 621.030, as the county's new facility permit application quotes it), and a shop there certifies that "all operators employed by the applicant possess a valid Operator's Card issued by Saint Louis County Department of Public Health". The shop still has to document compliance with local building, fire and plumbing codes.

Office of Tattooing, Body Piercing and Branding

• Saint Louis County Department of Public Health, Tattoo and Body Piercing (Food and Environmental Program) · St. Louis County (not the City of St. Louis)
• St. Charles County, County Code Chapter 645, Tattooing and Body Piercing (the county's Department of Public Health) · St. Charles County

The rules set no fixed interval, but refusing a division inspection is grounds for discipline or denial, and client records have to be kept where an inspector can reasonably get at them.

Licensing

Your shop. Yes, an establishment license from the division, renewed biennially in odd-numbered years and expiring June 30; a temporary establishment license covers a single event.

Your artists. Yes, a practitioner license as a tattooist, body piercer or brander from the same office, on the same biennial cycle; you have to be 18 to hold one.

Guest artists and conventions. Missouri's temporary license is for a convention only: $50, filed at least 2 days before it starts, good for up to 14 days and not renewable. A guest spot in a shop takes a full Missouri license, which an artist from a state with substantially equivalent requirements can get by reciprocity. The convention's temporary establishment license is $100, notarized and filed 30 days before, and its operator answers for every artist and keeps the client records 2 years, while each artist keeps their own record of each client 2 years too.

RSMo § 324.526; 20 CSR 2267-4.010 The text

The licensing page

Using a generic waiver app in Missouri

A generic waiver app is one form builder for every industry — rafting outfits, gyms, trampoline parks and tattoo shops all start from the same blank template. The tattoo part is yours: you write the questions, you keep them current when the rule changes, and you find out whether you got it right when an inspector reads your file.

In Missouri that is 7 things to set up and keep in step yourself:

• An allergies question: medicines, ointments, soaps, latex, anything put on the skin
• The medications and blood thinners question, always on
• The risks of a tattoo the state's rule lists, in writing on a tattoo's consent
• The risks of a piercing the state's rule lists, in writing on a piercing's consent
• The artist's own signature, drawn on the record from the shop's dashboard after the work
• The artist's license number on the signed waiver, from the shop's artist list
• A note after the procedure, written on the record from the shop's dashboard

On waivers.tattoo, a shop in Missouri gets all of it the day it starts. Your page opens with Missouri’s questions already on the form, your client signs on their own phone, and the signed waiver prints what they answered.

Missouri in our state-by-state posts

• 19 states give a guest tattoo artist a short-term license, 11 never license the artist, and the signed waivers stay with the shop in almost every state
• Do you need a license to tattoo? 36 states license the shop, 29 license the artist, 10 license neither
• How often does the health inspector come to a tattoo shop? 15 states set a clock. 14 say nothing.
• Who inspects your tattoo shop? The regulator in every state, and the number to call first
• Texting your tattoo clients: the hours, the caps, and all 51 state rules
• Can a minor get a tattoo with parental consent? State by state
• Can a minor get a piercing with parental consent? 45 states say yes, each on its own terms
• Do you have to ask health questions before a tattoo? 21 states say yes. Here are the questions.
• Do you have to give tattoo aftercare instructions in writing? 40 states say yes.
• Is a tattoo consent form signed on a phone legal? Yes, since 2000. Here is what your state adds on top.
• What has to be on a tattoo consent form? 33 states say. Here is every line they name.
• 27 states make you check ID before a tattoo. The other 24 give you a reason to.
• How long do you have to keep tattoo consent forms? Every state, one table