How to Open a Tattoo Shop in Washington: DOL Artist License $275 and Shop License $330 a Year

Opening a tattoo shop in Washington means handling two separate layers of paperwork. The Department of Licensing (DOL) licenses the shop and every artist who works in it. The state's general business licensing runs through the Department of Revenue, and your city or county may add its own approvals. If you take the steps in the wrong order, you can end up waiting on a shop license that depends on a registration you have not filed yet.

This guide covers every piece you need to get a tattoo license Washington shop owners rely on: entity formation, the state business license, insurance, artist certification, the DOL shop and artist licenses, and the local approvals. Figures below come from the state rules for tattoo and body art and are current as of October 2026.

This article is informational, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, and city and county requirements vary. Talk with a Washington business attorney and a CPA before you sign a lease, form an entity or hire staff.

What the State Requires Before You Tattoo Anyone

Tattoo, body art, body piercing and permanent cosmetics are licensed by DOL under chapter 18.300 RCW and chapter 308-22 WAC. Local health departments do not issue the tattoo license itself, but a health district may still have its own permit rules for sanitation and the physical space, so ask before you build out the room.

You need two kinds of DOL license:

• A shop, mobile unit or event location license. You need one for each location where tattooing happens. It costs $330 a year, and the renewal is also $330.
• An individual artist license. Each artist needs one, at $275 a year for each license type. The license types are tattoo, body art, body piercing and permanent cosmetics, so an artist who does tattooing and piercing pays for both.

Permanent cosmetics is a separate DOL license from cosmetology. A cosmetology license does not cover it, so an artist who does permanent cosmetics needs that license type in addition to any other license they hold.

Fee Summary for Your Tattoo Shop

The table below lists the costs you are most likely to pay. Confirm each amount on the agency page before you file, since fees can change.

Item	Cost	How often	Agency
LLC Certificate of Formation with Initial Report	$180	One time	Secretary of State
LLC annual report	$70 (late total $95)	Yearly	Secretary of State
Name reservation, optional	$30 for 180 days	One time	Secretary of State
Expedited service, optional	$100 per entity	Per filing	Secretary of State
Business License Application processing fee	$50 to open a business	One time	Department of Revenue
Trade name registration, if you use a name other than your legal name	$5 per trade name, plus the BLS fee	One time	Department of Revenue
DOL shop, mobile unit or event location license	$330	Yearly	DOL
DOL individual artist license	$275 per license type	Yearly	DOL
Late DOL renewal penalty	$110	When renewal is late	DOL
Print fee	$5	As charged	DOL

Those fees do not include insurance premiums, rent, equipment, city endorsements or any local B&O tax. For a one-shop, one-artist setup, the recurring DOL cost is $605 a year ($330 plus $275), before the $70 LLC annual report and your insurance. Each additional artist adds $275 a year for each license type they hold.

Materials and Documents to Gather First

Before you start filing, collect the following. Having them ready keeps you from stopping halfway through an online form.

• A government-issued photo ID for you and for every artist who will work in the shop.
• A bloodborne pathogen certification for every artist that meets the OSHA standard in 29 CFR 1910.1030.
• Your chosen business name, plus at least one backup name, checked against the Secretary of State business search.
• A Washington registered agent, with a physical Washington street address and an email address, plus the agent's consent to serve.
• The names and addresses the Certificate of Formation asks for, including your principal office.
• A signed lease or purchase agreement for the shop address, plus written confirmation from the city or county that a tattoo shop is allowed at that location.
• A floor plan that shows the separate entrance, toilet and work areas, so you can check the space against DOL requirements.
• A quote for at least $100,000 in public liability insurance.
• Your 9-digit Unified Business Identifier (UBI) once the Department of Revenue issues it.

Step-by-Step: How to Open a Tattoo Shop in Washington

1. Choose your business structure and form it if needed. Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not file with the Secretary of State, so you can skip that step if you operate as one of them. Most shop owners form an LLC for liability protection. An LLC files a Certificate of Formation with Initial Report through the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) at https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/. The filing fee is $180. Corporations file Articles of Incorporation with Initial Report for the same $180 fee. Every LLC or corporation must also name a registered agent in Washington. The agent can be commercial or noncommercial, but PO boxes and private mailbox addresses are not accepted. Changing the registered agent carries no fee. Expedited processing costs $100 and is generally completed within three business days.
2. Pick a name that passes state rules. An LLC name must include Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Co., L.L.C. or LLC. It must be distinguishable from every other business name on record. Under RCW 23.95.305, it also cannot contain the words bank, banking, banker or trust, or the word cooperative. Names that combine building, savings, loan, home, association or society in certain ways are also barred. Search the state database at https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/BusinessSearch before you commit. If you want to hold a name while you finish your paperwork, a name reservation costs $30 and lasts 180 days.
3. Register any trade name and file the Business License Application. If your shop will operate under a name other than your legal name or your LLC name, such as a studio name, you register it as a trade name with the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service (BLS). It is not filed with the Secretary of State or your county. Each trade name costs $5, plus the BLS processing fee. The Business License Application costs $50 to open a business and is filed at https://dor.wa.gov/open-business/apply-business-license. That application issues your UBI. Corporations and LLCs must file with the Secretary of State before they submit it. Online applications generally take about 10 business days, and 2 to 3 weeks longer if city or state endorsements need approval. Mailed applications can take up to six weeks. You need this license even if you have only one owner, because a shop almost always operates under a trade name, sells products subject to sales tax, or owes a tax to the Department of Revenue. The state rate is 6.5%, and local rates are added on top. Confirm with the Department of Revenue which of your sales are taxable.
4. Understand the B&O tax. Washington has no corporate or personal income tax on your profits. Instead, most businesses pay the state business and occupation (B&O) tax, a gross receipts tax with no deduction for labor or materials. Many cities levy their own B&O tax, and about 54 of them do. The Department of Revenue does not administer the local versions, so ask your city's finance office how it applies to your shop and whether you need a separate registration.
5. Get insurance quotes before you sign a lease. DOL requires public liability insurance of at least $100,000. The state does not set the premium, so the cost depends on your insurer, your location, your staff and your claims history. Get written quotes early, because the coverage has to be in place before you can complete the shop application.
6. Confirm zoning, fire code and the physical space. Before you sign a lease, ask the city or county planning office in writing whether a tattoo shop is permitted at the address. Then confirm the building meets fire code. DOL requires a separate entrance and a toilet for the shop, and you should verify these against your floor plan before you build out. Washington has 39 counties and 281 incorporated cities and towns, so the local office, not the state, usually decides zoning. Ask the local health district whether it has its own permit for the space, and whether it wants an inspection before opening.
7. Certify every artist before they work. Each artist must be at least 18 years old and must show a bloodborne pathogen certification that meets OSHA's standard in 29 CFR 1910.1030. Under WAC 308-22-040, no tattoo may be applied to anyone under 18. Neither the statute nor the rules set a number of training hours or a licensing exam for artists, so the bloodborne pathogen certificate is the only certification they require. Check with DOL for any updates before you rely on this.
8. Apply for the DOL shop license. Submit your shop application to DOL. The fee is $330 for the year. Your DOR registration from step 3 must be complete, and your insurance and zoning confirmation should be in hand. DOL inspects each licensed shop at least every 2 years under RCW 18.300.070. Ask DOL how the first inspection is scheduled and whether one happens before the license is issued. Do not start tattooing until your shop license and your artists' licenses are in place.
9. Apply for each artist license. Each artist files an individual application and pays $275 per license type. An artist who tattoos and does body piercing needs two licenses, which comes to $550 a year. Each artist should keep a copy of the license in the shop, and each license must be renewed every year.
10. Complete your local and endorsement approvals. City and county business licenses, state and city endorsements, and any health district permit usually come after the state filings. Ask your city whether it needs an endorsement through the BLS application, and whether it has its own B&O filing. Plan for two to three extra weeks if an endorsement needs approval.
11. Set up a renewal calendar on day one. Put the DOL shop and artist renewals on your calendar, along with the LLC annual report, which is due by the last day of the month in which your LLC was formed, every year. The annual report costs $70 and may be filed up to 180 days early. A late report carries a delinquency fee for a total of $95. A late DOL renewal costs an added $110. Confirm your Department of Revenue filing schedule when you register for the BLS.

What to Expect After You Open

A complete license file can make your shop easier to launch, and it may help you show clients that your studio follows state rules. It will not guarantee revenue, client volume or a smooth inspection, and the state does not promise any of those outcomes. Plan your budget around the fees, insurance and rent you know you will pay, and treat customer demand as something you earn.

Be careful about health and safety claims in your marketing. The FDA regulates tattoo inks, and you should describe the products you use without claiming they are safe, sterile or risk-free unless you have documentation that supports the statement. Stick to plain descriptions of your practices and your licenses.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Filing the shop license before the BLS registration. The DOL application depends on your Department of Revenue registration, so the order matters.
• Assuming a cosmetology license covers permanent cosmetics. It does not. Permanent cosmetics is a separate DOL license type.
• Signing a lease before zoning is confirmed. A signed lease for a space that cannot be used as a tattoo shop is expensive to walk away from.
• Using a trade name you have not registered. A studio name is a trade name, and it has to go through the BLS.
• Missing the LLC annual report. A late report adds a delinquency fee that brings the total to $95.
• Tattooing a minor. No tattoo may be applied to anyone under 18, so verify age with a photo ID for every client.
• Letting an artist work before the license is issued. Each artist needs an individual license for each type of work they do.
• Forgetting local B&O tax. The state does not administer city B&O taxes, so you have to ask about them separately.

Tips for a Smoother Opening

• Call your city and your health district before you pick a location. Their answers will shape which spaces you can use.
• Get insurance quotes before the lease, not after. Insurance is a condition of the DOL license, so a delay there delays your opening.
• Check the DOL website for updates to chapter 308-22 WAC before you file, since rules and fees can change.
• Ask the Washington Small Business Development Center at https://wsbdc.org/ for help planning your startup steps. Seattle-area owners can also review resources through the SBA Seattle district at https://www.sba.gov/district/seattle.
• Keep a single folder with every license, certificate, receipt and renewal notice. Inspectors and clients may ask for them, and you will need them at renewal.

Final Notes Before You File

Opening a tattoo shop in Washington is a matter of getting the sequence right: form your entity, register your name and business license, secure insurance and a compliant space, certify your artists, and then file for the DOL shop and artist licenses. Budget for the $330 shop license, the $275 artist license for each type, and the recurring state and local fees that come with a business.

This article is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Before you sign a lease, form an LLC or hire staff, consult a qualified Washington business attorney and a CPA who can review your specific situation, and confirm all fees and requirements with the Department of Licensing, the Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue.