Wisconsin Legislature: SPS 221.14(2)(b)

(a) Tattooists and body piercers shall thoroughly wash their hands and the exposed portions of their arms with dispensed soap and tempered water before and after each tattoo or body-piercing procedure and more often as necessary to keep them clean.

(b) Tattooists and body piercers shall dry their hands and arms with individual single-service towels.

(c) Tattooists and body piercers shall maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and shall conform to good hygiene practices during procedures.

(4) Clothing. All tattooists and body piercers shall wear clean, washable outer clothing.

(5) Hygienic practices.

(a) When preparing the skin and during a procedure, a tattooist or body piercer shall wear non-absorbent gloves which shall be disposed of after completing the procedure.

(b) If interrupted during a procedure, a tattooist or body piercer shall rewash his or her hands and put on new gloves if the interruption required use of hands.

(c) Tattooists shall use single-use plastic covers to cover spray bottles or other reusable accessories to minimize the possibility of transmitting body fluids or disease during application of tattoos to successive patrons.

(d) Disposable-type razors shall be for single-use only and disposed of in accordance with ch. NR 526. Electric razors used for skin preparation prior to a procedure shall have screens cleaned and disinfected between patron use.

(e) Body-piercing needles shall be disposable, sterile and for single-patron use only. Tattoo needles may be reused if cleaned, sterilized and stored in an approved manner between patrons. Body piercing jewelry shall be cleaned, individually packaged, and sterilized prior to use.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1998, No. 511, eff. 8-1-98; CR 08-073: renum. from HFS 173.07 Register January 2009 No. 637, eff. 2-1-09.

SPS 221.13 Equipment.

(1) All surfaces, counters and general-use equipment in the tattoo or body-piercing area shall be cleaned and disinfected before a patron is seated.

(2) All inks and pigments shall be obtained from sources generally recognized as safe. Information indicating the sources of all inks and pigments shall be available to the department or agent upon request. Sterile single-use or sterile individual containers of pigment or ink shall be used for each patron. No pigment or ink in which needles were dipped may be used on another person. Pigment and ink cups shall be for single-patron use. All bulk materials used for the procedure shall be dispensed with single-use utensils. The remainder of dispensed portions shall be disposed of after application.

(3) Needles, bars and tubes shall be constructed in a manner that permits easy cleaning and sterilizing.

(4) Acetate tattoo stencils shall be single-use.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1998, No. 511, eff. 8-1-98; CR 08-073: renum. from HFS 173.08 Register January 2009 No. 637, eff. 2-1-09.

SPS 221.14 Cleaning and sterilization.

(1) Cleaning.

(a) After each use, tattooing and body-piercing equipment shall be cleaned to remove blood and tissue residue before sterilization.

(b) Reusable needles, tubes and body-piercing equipment shall be placed in a covered stainless steel container of cleaning or disinfectant solution until they can be cleaned and sterilized.

(c) All containers holding contaminated needles, tubes, reusable body-piercing equipment and container lids shall be cleaned and disinfected at least daily.

(d) The tattoo machine shall be cleaned and disinfected before each use.

(e) Gloved personnel shall clean needles and tubes prior to sterilization by doing all of the following:

1. Manually pre-cleaning the items with care taken to ensure removal of residue; thoroughly rinsing the items with warm water and then draining the water; cleaning the items by soaking them in a protein-dissolving detergent-enzyme cleaner used according to manufacturer’s instructions; and cleaning the items further in an ultrasonic cleaning unit which operates at 40 to 60 hertz and is used according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. Rinsing and drying the items.

(f) Prior to autoclaving, all needles and tubes shall be packaged either individually or in quantities appropriate for individual procedures. Packages shall be identifiable and dated.

(2) Sterilization.

(a) Equipment requiring sterilization shall be pressure-sterilized at the establishment in an autoclave and in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

(b) Each batch of sterilized equipment shall be monitored for sterilization by use of heat-sensitive indicators capable of indicating approximate time and temperature achieved.

(c) Autoclaves shall be spore-tested at least monthly. Spore kill test effectiveness shall be conducted by an independent laboratory.

(d) Sterilized equipment shall be wrapped or covered and stored in a manner which will ensure that it will remain sterile until used.

(e) Each tattoo or body-piercing establishment shall maintain sterilization records including spore tests for at least one year from the date of the last entry, which shall include the following information:

1. Date of sterilization.

2. Name of the person operating the equipment.

3. Result of heat-sensitive indicator.

(f) Sterilized equipment shall be re-sterilized if the package is opened, damaged or becomes wet.

(g) All methods of sterilization other than autoclaving are prohibited.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1998, No. 511, eff. 8-1-98; CR 08-073: renum. from HFS 173.09 Register January 2009 No. 637, eff. 2-1-09.

SPS 221.15 Preparation and care of site.

(1) Preparation by practitioner. Before beginning a procedure, the tattooist or body piercer shall clean the skin area for the tattooing or piercing and then prepare it with an antiseptic. The solution shall be applied with cotton, gauze or single-use toweling.

(2) Care instructions for patron. After completing a procedure, the tattooist or body-piercer shall provide the patron with oral and written instructions on the care of the tattoo or pierce.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1998, No. 511, eff. 8-1-98; CR 08-073: renum. from HFS 173.10 Register January 2009 No. 637, eff. 2-1-09.

SPS 221.16 Temporary establishments. In addition to requirements under ss. SPS 221.01 to 221.15 that apply to all establishments, the following requirements apply specifically to temporary establishments:

(1) License.

(a) No temporary establishment may be operated without a license granted by the department or its agent. Application for a temporary license shall be made under s. SPS 221.04 (1).

(b) No temporary license may be issued without a prior inspection.

(c) A temporary establishment’s license along with the license of each on-staff tattooist or body piercer shall be conspicuously displayed in the temporary establishment.

(d) An operator of a temporary establishment whom the department or its agent has found to repeatedly violate any provision of this chapter may be denied a license to operate the establishment or may have the license revoked.

(2) Water. A temporary establishment shall have all of the following:

(a) An approved toilet and handwashing facility.

(b) Potable water under pressure.

(d) Connection to an approved sewage collection system.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1998, No. 511, eff. 8-1-98; CR 08-073: renum. from HFS 173.11, am. (intro.) Register January 2009 No. 637, eff. 2-1-09; correction made in (1) (a) under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register January 2009 No. 637; correction in (intro.), (1) (a) under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2015 No. 720.

SPS 221.17 State fees. Pursuant to s. 463.16 (9), Stats., a local health department serving as an agent of the department for purposes of administering this chapter shall include a state fee in each fee the agent establishes for a license issued under this chapter. The state fee shall be 10% of the department’s license fee established under s. SPS 221.05 (2) (b) 1., and shall be forwarded to the department.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1998, No. 511, eff. 8-1-98; CR 08-073: renum. from HFS 173.13 and am. Register January 2009 No. 637, eff. 2-1-09; correction under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2015 No. 720.