California tattoo age limit!!!!!!!!!

Can someone please, please tell me if I can get a tattoo at 16 with my parent's signature in California? And, if I can, are there any recommendations for a great place in the L.A. area? Thanks!

Whether its legal or not, most accomplished artists wont tattoo people under 18 with or without permission. Good artists are usually too busy tattooing adults to deal with the headaches of tattooing kids. You best bet will be to learn as much as you can about tattooing and art for the next 2 years. California has some amazing artists there... if you really think and learn you will be in for a great tattoo, if you rush and find some hack to do it, you will be disappointed.

Thanks a lot for your input, but I really just want to know if it is legal or not!

Thanks a lot for your input, but I really just want to know if it is legal or not!

Hoo Boy, here we go yet again

You also asked for recommendations for great artists in the area. There are a bunch, but I doubt they will tattoo you. Mike Devries, Carson Hill and the guys at Tried and True, more are on the artist list. Take it from us, you will regret the tattoos you get at 16. Many of us have made that mistake and had to cover up the tattoos we throughout were great when we were kids... Its awesome that you are looking for good artists, that makes for good tattoos. dont settle for second best...

Your best bet is to call some shop's in LA,and ask them..I got my first tattoo when i was 23,and i still got a few lasered off..Usually when someone young want's a tattoo,they just wan't to be marked..they don't really know what they wan't,and usually get a small tattoo that they end up covering up later..As for good shop's to call..www.spotlighttattoo.com is one of the best.. www.truetattoo.net www.shamrocktattoo.com www.thetattooroom.com www.saltwatertattoo.com www.chrisconn.net www.mdtattoos.com outerlimitstattoo.com www.ignitiontattoo.com

Thank You for giving me some suggestions!

I'm torn. When my son was 11, he started talking about a tattoo. I said when he was 16, we'd talk again. If he was still a good kid, yada, yada, yada, we'd consider it. Well, at 16, the laws changed to 18, parental consent or not. He won't be 18 until next April. He's probably not going to grow much more and he wants a simple black ink design on his inner bicep. He knows a place that will consider his age that older friends go to - it's clean, reputable, all that good stuff. I hate to be too stiff about it - he is a great kid. This has been a desire for so long, but I'm thinking to set a good example, he should just ride it out for 10 months. If you had an older teen, pretty much grown, solid head on his shoulders (but yeah, I know, he is still a teen), what are your thoughts on going ahead with this now?

You stated in your post that it is no longer legal to tattoo anyone under 18...if the shop is reputable they WILL NOT tattoo him anyway!!....If they fudge on laws regarding the business then they may very well fudge on important things like sterility...you can get rid of a bad tattoo ...you can't get rid of AIDS or HEP C!!! I think you answered your own question...TAz, Painted Angel

If your son is mature enough to get a tattoo, then he'll certainly be mature enough to understand the importance of shops that abide by the local laws and regulations, and he'll have no problem waiting. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with waiting for the right time to have a tattoo done correctly and safely.

My opinion is: I'll teach my kid rules are rules. plus if he has waited this long whats another 10 months?

You got that right Molly!!...10 months isn't long to wait for something you live with for the rest of your life....have him spend the next few months researching artists and tattoos...I'll bet that in that time he will change his mind about what he wants...Props to you for bein a good parent!!!...TAz

hey bro, don't look like too many have said anything about your tattoo quest, but to have ink done in a tattoo parlor in cali, you have to be 18 years old, period. but hey, try heading up to nevada, you can get it done there. hey, you said you live in L.A. i'm sure you could find a homie that would hook you up. shit, thats how i got my first tattoo done. well hope this helped you. PEACE, Dluv

Yes, plenty of Homies looking to hook you up. Sounds perfect- Oh wait, no health department regulations to follow, homemade tat guns, needles sterilized in alcohol, crappy little apartment (if its even indoors), drunk, wasted, dirty, sounds fantastic. Don't forget to get tested for Hep when your done. Hope it was worth it. Not only is the tattoo for life, but so is Hepatitis.

And in the words of a famous man (well...ok he ain't famous!).. "We DO COVERUPS!!!!!!!"...Cactus Al

so, can i go to Nevada and get it done there??.. i'm 17////????

Wow....just....wow!

i just wanted to say i am 16 years old and i have had a tattoo for almost 3 years i got it when i was 14 and i have not regretted it one bit. Also i got it done at someones house and i was fine he had everything he needed and made sure everything was clean. I have friends that do tattoos at home to and everything is clean. So dont think just because someone says homies it means there wasted drunk and not clean. I also got my tattoo for a best friends dad died so honesty if you dont no if there isnt a reason for the tattoo or the situation of the place where they might get it done i suggest you dont judge you sound like a person who is very quick to doing so.

no u cnt u fukin dik u shuld no if ya r on england 18

hey dr blue eyes dumfuk whatever.. try doing a google search on california tattoo laws and read the shit that comes up. or you could do the next, and i think much more brilliant idea, which is walk the fuck into a shop and ask. seriously, what the hell are they feeding kids these days? arsenic?

In California it is illegal to give a minor a tattoo. See section 653 of the California Penal Code. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen/639-653.1.html This information was surprisingly difficult to find.

No it is not legal in California to get tattooed under the age of 18. If you found an artist you could ask to get it done somewhere outside the shop but never ask the artist in the shop. That is the best way to get turned down. Some artists will tattoo you at their homes but it's not common because it's illegal for a registered artist to tattoo outside of a shop. That and the fact that it's not exactly sanitary. Sorry, but your best bet is to wait till you're old enough.

if ur gonna go big on your first tattoo, i;d say go for it. The age limit thing is bs, its easy to find an amazing artist outside of a shop. i got my first one at 17 and the guy that did it was anal about sterilization and all that shit. I even got tattooed at the body art expo in pomona at 17!! hahaha it's really not that difficult to pull off. but if ur gonna get some small first tattoo then I'd say wait it out because its probably not that cool anyways.

The problem with youth is the old saying, "they think they know it all". Well most of you are ignoring comments from the experienced tattoo artists here. Like most youths, you live for the moment and have no patience. Is your "wanted tattoo" really worth the potential risk of AIDS or Hepatitus C? If those of you who got tattoos at a young age and all went well, count yourself lucky because the odds were against that happening. My daughter wanted a tattoo for her 16th birthday but California laws stated "you have to be 18" and the one parlor we went to refused her, which I was happy about. And then one day, she got an ear piercing and asked them about the tattoo, they said "no" but you can go to Nevada and get one.....well we are actually going their for a "Celebration of Life" ceremony and she wants to get it. I thought about it but the more I look into it, the more I say "forget it". She is too young and may regret it later. Not only that, it will be very difficult to research in time to find a reputable place. I hope you all put more thought into it and listen to the experts here.

trust me finding a tattoo artist is pretty challenging under 18 unless you are either in Nevada or Idaho. I got lucky enough to find a guy that i knew. But again like most said usually what you get now is what you will cover up later on so unless you can see yourself thirty years down the line with some fairy or chinese characteristic dont do it young =]

Age is just a number. A lot of you sound too hysterical. As if everyone who gets a tattoo at 16 in a house WILL get Hep C or HIV. I am an artist, I am not in the tattooing business, but I am sure I can draw anything just as good as any 35 yr old professional. I got a scholarship to a school of the arts for a painting I made. Talent knows no age. Michaelangelo out painted his art-teacher pops when he was an adolecent. If you're worried about sanitation then just make the artist do whatever is necessary to have it done safe. Problem solved. My uncle does tattoos out of his house because he cant afford a shop. He is one of the greatest artists I know, so don't listen to these guys that are making crude stereotypes; just talking out of their ass. Everything has risk. You can get HIV from a public restroom, but I bet these guys don't give 2 shits to take one if they had to. A reputable shop shouldn't be reputed by regulations, but by talent. If the law can deregulate food and drugs, why not expression?

If you have really looked at the best artists on this site and beyond, you would understand that the work you see here is waayyy better than the people tattooing out of their homes. If you disagree, prove it! Post images of these kitchen butchers' work and compare it to the best artists in CA. Carson Hill, Mike Devries, Mike Cole, etc. If their work is even close to the technical skills and artistic talent that these guys have I will shit my self. Seriously! Look these people up! Look at portfolios! Why would you want to be tattooed by anyone but the best? If you are really an artist than why would you not want to be tattooed by the best in their field. Check out these artists too. Nick Baxter, Guy Aitchison, Jon Clue, Tom Strom. These guys have amazing world class work on skin AND canvas. A world class tattoo is worth the wait. Once you have seen tattoos from the people I mentioned, why would you even consider getting tattooed in some guys kitchen? Arrogance and Impatience. Wait until you are old enough to start collecting the right way.

I got my first tattoo when i was 16 out of my home boys crib. I am 23 now .... i don't have AIDS or any other things you could potentially get. My tattoo looks just as good as any other *professionally* would do. Saves a shit load of money to... a tribe band around my bicep was gonna be 400$ said fuck that went to my home boy's house got it for 70$ and if you see my tattoos you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. This is a late replay but for those that are 16 or what not just make sure you see the person's work as well as clean needles =D.

California Penal Code Section 653. Every person who tattoos or offers to tattoo a person under the age of 18 years is guilty of a misdemeanor. As used in this section, to "tattoo" means to insert pigment under the surface of the skin of a human being, by pricking with a needle or otherwise, so as to produce an indelible mark or figure visible through the skin. This section is not intended to apply to any act of a licensed practitioner of the healing arts performed in the course of his practice.

well am not from cali, am from texas and i got my first tatt when i was 13yrs old am gonna be 17 now. do i regret my tatt nope not one single bit. am about to get another one its gonna be big, and all the tatts i have are for reasons so i dnt regret them at all, n when i got them the person who did it showed me everything was clean not used b4. so look at me now i aint gots no aid or no other shit.

No, it is not legal in California to be tattooed even with parental consent. This is a good law because my friend owned a tattoo shop and she told me that almost all of her clients that came in for cover up tattoos had acquired the original tattoo that they now hated so badly that they needed to cover it when they were around 18 years old. When you are under 18 your likes/dislikes will change drastically to the time you are in your late 20's as well as the shape of your body which will change how you think about tattoos. If you really want a tattoo make sure it is something that you could love on yourself if you have a very important job where your image was important. Good luck in your decision.

thinking of a tattoo? just say no. Horrific display of psuedo art.