Tattoo Parlor Permit Requirements in Wichita, KS

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC or corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Kansas Department of Revenue — Retailer's Sales Tax License

   Required for all businesses selling tangible personal property or taxable services in Kansas. Kansas charges a 6.5% state sales tax; local jurisdictions may impose additional taxes. Register with the Kansas Department of Revenue.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

2. Bloodborne Pathogen / Infection Control Training (per artist)

   Tattoo artists in Kansas are licensed by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology, which regulates the body art professions (tattoo artist, cosmetic tattoo artist, body piercer) alongside cosmetology and tanning — not KDHE. The board's body art practitioner application requires verification of eight hours of board-approved infection control and bloodborne pathogens training, plus a documented apprenticeship training log, as a condition of licensure. No annual retraining mandate appears in the board's published requirements; confirm current continuing-education rules with the board.

   Official government source

   $100 total to the board ($50 application fee plus $50 initial license fee); the eight-hour training itself is bought from a private provider, so its price varies·Eight hours of approved training; the board asks applicants to allow 15 business days to process licensure submissions

   $100 total to the board ($50 application fee plus $50 initial license fee); the eight-hour training itself is bought from a private provider, so its price varies

   Eight hours of approved training; the board asks applicants to allow 15 business days to process licensure submissions

1. Kansas Board of Cosmetology — Body Art Establishment License

   Tattoo establishments in Kansas are licensed by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology, not KDHE and not the local health department — KBOC's site states it licenses the cosmetology, body art and tanning professions and lists establishments for the body art professions. Apply on KBOC's Body Art Establishment Application, which covers a new shop, a complete change of ownership or a change of location, and submit it with photo ID, a signed W-9 or social security documentation, the inspector work order and any required affidavits. A compliance inspection is scheduled as close as possible to the anticipated opening date. Each artist needs an individual body art practitioner license requiring 50 logged apprentice procedures plus eight hours of Board-approved infection control and bloodborne pathogens training; body piercers also need CPR certification. Wichita does not list tattoo studios among its city-licensed categories.

   Official government source

   $50 facility initial license fee per body art category (tattoo, cosmetic tattoo, tattoo/cosmetic tattoo, body piercing); $50 annual facility renewal, $80 if late; $25 duplicate license. Each practitioner pays $100 — a $50 application fee plus a $50 initial license fee.·Submit the establishment application at least three weeks before the anticipated opening date; the compliance inspection follows as close to that date as possible. Renewals cannot be submitted more than six weeks in advance.

   $50 facility initial license fee per body art category (tattoo, cosmetic tattoo, tattoo/cosmetic tattoo, body piercing); $50 annual facility renewal, $80 if late; $25 duplicate license. Each practitioner pays $100 — a $50 application fee plus a $50 initial license fee.

   Submit the establishment application at least three weeks before the anticipated opening date; the compliance inspection follows as close to that date as possible. Renewals cannot be submitted more than six weeks in advance.

2. City of Wichita — No General Business License for Most Businesses

   Wichita does not require a general business license. The city's own Business Licenses page states it 'does not require a standard business license for all businesses that operate within the City limits — only for certain businesses,' and lists those categories: adult entertainment, advertising, animals, cemeteries, entertainment, lodging and residential (including Home Occupation and short-term rentals), sales and services (liquor, massage therapy, mobile food vendor, pawnbroker, precious metal dealer, secondhand dealer, tobacco, transient merchant and similar), security, special events, transportation, and wells. Businesses outside those categories need no city business license. Two things this does not cover: contractors and building permits go through MABCD, the joint City of Wichita/Sedgwick County building department, and state occupational licenses (cosmetology, barbering, real estate, insurance) apply regardless of city licensing.

   Official government source

   No fee for business types the city does not license. Published examples for those it does: Home Occupation $35/year, mobile food vendor $350/year per vehicle ($50 per special event per vehicle), massage therapist $75 per 2 years, massage therapy business $200 per 2 years. MABCD trade certificates are $35.·Not applicable for unlicensed business types. Wichita advises about 2 weeks for a Home Occupation renewal and 30 days for massage licenses; MABCD says contractor license review can take up to two weeks.

   No fee for business types the city does not license. Published examples for those it does: Home Occupation $35/year, mobile food vendor $350/year per vehicle ($50 per special event per vehicle), massage therapist $75 per 2 years, massage therapy business $200 per 2 years. MABCD trade certificates are $35.

   Not applicable for unlicensed business types. Wichita advises about 2 weeks for a Home Occupation renewal and 30 days for massage licenses; MABCD says contractor license review can take up to two weeks.

Official Sources

• Kansas Department of Health and Environment — Body Art Facility Permit
• City of Wichita City Treasurer

Related Guides