Body Art

The term “body art” refers to tattooing, piercing and microblading.

Our Body Art Program permits and inspects body art studios. We also offer the Body Artist Certification Exam.

This webpage addresses some of the key aspects of the Body Art Program. For all studio and artist requirements, click on the link at the bottom of the page.

Click here for the fee schedule. Our staff will discuss payment with you.


For body art clients

Before going to a studio, you can:

  • Call (404) 508-7900 to verify the studio’s current permit and obtain information on the latest inspection report.
  • Click on the link to the right for the Georgia Department of Public Health’s list of certified artists.
    or

At a studio, before receiving a service, check near the entrance for the:

  • Studio’s current permit.
  • Artist’s current certification.
  • Latest inspection report.


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides this information on body art risks.


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For body art studios

Completing your permit application

To open or make structural changes to a body art studio, you must apply for a studio permit prior to the start of construction.


Submitting your permit application

Email the completed application, an 8 ½” x 11” or larger detailed, to-scale floor plan of the body art studio, the  SOP and all other supporting documents to DeKalb.eh@dph.ga.gov with the subject line: “Body Art Studio Application.”

Displaying and retaining documentation

Once the studio is permitted, you must display:


You must keep a file on each artist and client. The studio and its files will be inspected twice a year.

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For body artists

Understanding the certification process

Click here for the Body Artist Certification Steps.


Taking the certification exam

DeKalb Public Health’s Environmental Health Department offers the Body Artist Certification Exam at 10:00 a.m. every first and third Friday of the month. If a date falls on a holiday, the exam will be offered the following Friday. The fee is $50 per exam. Since the certification is statewide, the exam can be taken at any county environmental health office that offers it. The complete list of county environmental health offices can be found here.

To register for the exam, click here: Body Artist Certification Exam Registration Form.

For more information, click here: Body Artist Certification Exam FAQ.


Submitting additional documentation

Please note that you must also provide:


Renewing your certification

For information on how to renew your certification, click here: Body Artist Certification Renewal.Empty heading


For temporary body art studios at conventions or industry trade shows

“Temporary body art studio” means any location, place, facility, or business for which a permit to practice body art has been granted by DeKalb Public Health for no more than a period of seven consecutive days in connection with conventions or industry trade shows.

At least 30 days prior to the event, email the completed application, an 8½” x 11″ or larger detailed, to-scale floor plan of the temporary body art studio, and all other supporting documents to DeKalb.eh@dph.ga.gov with the subject line: “Temporary Body Art Studio Application.”

Click here for the Temporary Body Art Studio Application.


For temporary body artists at conventions or industry trade shows

“Temporary body artist” means any person not certified by the Georgia Department of Public Health who performs body art in a temporary body art studio and is responsible for complying with applicable provisions of Georgia’s regulations. The permit to practice body art is granted by DeKalb Public Health for no more than a period of seven consecutive days only for the purpose of product demonstration in connection with conventions or industry trade shows.

At least 10 days prior to the event, email the completed application and all other supporting documents to DeKalb.eh@dph.ga.gov with the subject line: “Temporary Body Artist Application.”

Click here for the Temporary Artist Application.


For guest (out-of-state) body artists 

“Guest body artist” means a visiting tattooist, piercer or microblader who is not certified by the Georgia Department of Public Health and possesses a guest body artist permit issued by DeKalb Public Health to perform body art in a permitted body art studio.

To temporarily practice in DeKalb County as a guest (out-of-state) artist, you must apply for a permit using the Guest Artist Application. You must also submit a Guest Artist Sponsorship Letter.

Email the completed application and the sponsorship letter to DeKalb.eh@dph.ga.gov with the subject line: “Guest Artist Application.”


For all requirements

Visit https://dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health/body-art.

** NOTICE **
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR FOOD SERVICE FACILITIES

A food service facility in a neighboring county recently received a suspicious phone call and contacted the county’s Environmental Health office.
The caller, whose caller ID showed an out-of-state phone number, claimed that the facility had not paid its permit fee. The caller threatened that if the fee was not paid, an inspector would shut down the facility.
Fortunately, the facility had already paid its annual inspection fee and did not fall victim to this scam.
Any issues regarding permits will be addressed by one of our inspectors, wearing official identification, in person. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact DeKalb Public Health’s Environmental Health Division at (404) 508-7900.

SERVICE ALERT:

All our centers are closed Friday, June 13, 2025 for
an agency-wide staff meeting.
We appreciate your understanding.
We will resume normal operations on June 16.
……………………….
Todos los centros de Salud Pública de DeKalb estarán cerrados viernes, 13 de junio de 2025, debido a una reunión de personal de toda la agencia.

Service Alert: Clifton Springs

We are currently experiencing a telephone service outage in the Clifton Springs health center. Our technician is on-site, and our team is actively working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

We understand this may cause inconvenience and sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding. We’re hopeful to have the service fully restored later this morning.

** Service Alert **

Our IT team is currently working to resolve a technical issue affecting the GA WIC system. At this time, WIC services remain unavailable until the issue is fully resolved.

We understand the importance of WIC services and appreciate your patience as we work diligently to restore system functionality. Updates will be provided as soon as more info becomes available. Thank you for your understanding.

*

Estámos trabajando para resolver un problema técnico que afecta al sistema WIC de Georgia. Actualmente, los servicios WIC no están disponibles hasta que el problema se resuelva por completo.

Comprendemos la importancia de los servicios WIC y agradecemos su paciencia mientras trabajamos diligentemente para restablecer la funcionalidad del sistema.

We are currently experiencing issues with our phone and network systems. We are working to return these systems to normal operations and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
* * *
Actualmente tenemos problemas con nuestros sistemas telefónicos y de red. Estamos trabajando para que estos sistemas vuelvan a funcionar normalmente y pedimos disculpas por cualquier inconveniencia que esto pueda causar.
SERVICE ALERT:

Due to a water main break along Clairmont Road, our North DeKalb Health Center will be closed for the remainder of the day. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. All appointments are being rescheduled or re-routed to one of our other health centers.
Stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your understanding!

ALERTA DE SERVICIO

Debido a una rotura en la tubería principal de agua a lo largo de Clairmont Road, nuestro Centro de Salud de North DeKalb estara cerrado por el resto del día. Pedimos disculpas por cualquier inconveniencia que esto pueda causar. Todas las citas se están reprogramando o redirigiendo a uno de nuestros otros centros de salud. Esté atentos a las actualizaciones. ¡Gracias por su comprensión!

SERVICE ALERT

Due to winter weather and potential hazardous travel conditions, all DeKalb Public Health centers will be closed on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Your safety is our top priority, and we urge everyone to stay safe and warm.

Please monitor dekalbpublichealth.com, our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and X), and Atlanta-area news media for further operational updates.

ALERTA DE SERVICIO

Debido al clima invernal y las condiciones de viaje potencialmente peligrosas, todos los centros de Salud Pública de DeKalb estarán cerrados el jueves 23 de enero de 2025. Su seguridad es nuestra máxima prioridad e instamos a todos a mantenerse seguros y abrigados.

Esté atento a dekalbpublichealth.com, nuestros canales de redes sociales (Facebook, Instagram y X) y los medios de comunicación del área de Atlanta para obtener más actualizaciones operativas.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, December 25 and 26, 2025, in observance of the State holiday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, on November 28 and 28, 2025, in observance of the State holiday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, on November 11, 2025, in observance of Veterans Day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Due to unplanned maintenance,
our Clifton Springs Health Center will be on CLOSED on Monday, November 4, 2024.

Our East DeKalb, T. O. Vinson and North DeKalb
Health Centers remain open to serve you.

We apologize for any inconvenience and
appreciate your understanding. 

SERVICE ALERT:

Due to unexpected maintenance, our Clifton Springs Health Center will be closing early today at 2:30 p.m.
We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Thank you!

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, on October 13, 2025, in observance of the state holiday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, on September 1, 2025, in observance of Labor Day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, July 4, 2025, in observance of Independence Day.
On July 3, 2025, T.O. Vinson Health Center will be open during normal business hours only. The Late Clinic will be closed that day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, June 19, 2025, in observance of Juneteenth.

. . . . . . . . 

Nuestros centros de salud estarán cerrados el 19 de junio de 2025, en conmemoración de Juneteenth.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, May 26, 2025, in observance of Memorial Day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed April 18, 2025, in observance of the State holiday.
Nuestros centros de salud estarán cerrados el 18 de Abril de 2025, en conmemoración del feriado estatal.



T.O. Vinson Health Center will close at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 17, 2025.
El Centro de Salud T.O. Vinson cerrará a las 5:00 p.m. el jueves 17 de Abril de 2025.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed January 20, 2025, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed on January 1, 2025, in observance of the State holiday.

AIR QUALITY UPDATE 

Current weather models show that winds will begin to shift
from the east to the west after sunset on Wednesday.

Smoke from the BioLab facility fire in Rockdale County is predicted to settle towards the ground as it moves toward Atlanta. There is a high likelihood that people across Metro Atlanta will wake up on Thursday morning seeing haze and smelling chlorine.

For more information about health precautions, click here.

last updated 10/2/2024 at 5:45 p.m.

Warning SERVICE ALERT UPDATE Warning

DeKalb Public Health will resume normal operations
for all health centers and services at 8:15 a.m.,
on Monday, September 30.

SERVICE ALERT 

Due to today’s worldwide cybersecurity outage, some services have been impacted.

  • You may experience delays reaching our Call Center, which handles health center appointments.
  • WIC benefit issuance is unavailable at this time. However, eWIC cards can still be used at authorized WIC vendors.


This outage has not only affected DeKalb Public Health, but other government and business services, in Georgia, throughout the nation and internationally.

We apologize for the inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience, as we work with our partners to fully restore systems.

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on Tuesday December 24 and Wednesday, December 25th, in observance of the holiday. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!