EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso tattoo and body art studios will be required to pass a city inspection before receiving or renewing their registration under an ordinance unanimously approved by the El Paso City Council.
Inspections are not new for local tattoo shops. Under the previous process, shop owners could complete an application, pay the required fees and receive a valid studio registration before an inspection took place. That allowed a studio to begin tattooing while waiting for Code Enforcement to schedule its inspection.
The new process moves the inspection ahead of the registration. Shops must pass the inspection and provide proof of approval before the city can issue the studio registration, meaning they cannot begin tattooing while waiting to be inspected.
City officials said the required inspection will be conducted within 10 business days.
Ricky Perez, co-owner of Ghost House Tattoo, said the change came as a relief.
“Knowing that code enforcement and licensing can actually take part in keeping us and, more importantly, our community, safe,” Perez said.
The city said it is expanding the number of employees authorized to perform the inspections from eight to 22 in an effort to keep the process moving.
José Acevedo, owner of Sun City Tattoo, said inspections are already part of operating a legitimate tattoo business and expressed support for holding shops accountable.
“I’m in support of getting the shops regulated and inspected that way,” Acevedo said.
City officials said the change addresses cases in which studios received their registration and began operating before Code Enforcement completed an inspection.
The ordinance also requires tattoo artists applying for a city license to provide the name and address of the studio where they work. Refusing city officials access to conduct an inspection may be grounds for denying a studio registration application.
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