Guidance for Skin Piercing and Tattooing

Guidance on Applying for a Licence for carrying on the Business of Skin Piercing and Tattooing

Before lodging your application to carry on the Business of Skin Piercing and Tattooing, please ensure that you have read the following guidance.

When does a premises require a Licence for carrying on the business of a Skin Piercing and Tattooing?

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 requires that a licence to carry on the business of skin piercing and tattooing be obtained if any of the following activities are being carried out:

acupuncture
electrolysis
cosmetic body piercing
tattooing Definitions of these activities can be found at here.

Who should Pay?

The individual, company or organisation responsible for operating the premises should apply for a licence using the application form for a licence for carrying on the business of skin piercing and tattooing.

If a company or organisation applies for a licence they must provide details of an individual who will be responsible for the day to day management of the premises.

An individual applying for a licence who does not intend to be responsible for the day to day management of the premises can name another individual as their day to day manager.

Potential applicants are advised to take their own independent legal advice if they are in any doubt as to who should be detailed on their application. In particular, applicants should note that a day to day manager will be considered a joint licence holder and, should that manager leave during the currency of a licence, there will be implications for the licence.

What are the minimum requirements for applying?

Before you apply for a licence for carrying on the business of skin piercing and tattooing, please refer to the pre licence approval conditions, noted below, which must be met prior to any licence being granted. In addition, where the activity is to be carried on wholly or mainly in premises, those premises must have floor and wall coverings of a suitable type. Further information can be obtained from here.

Are there different types of applications?

Depending on your circumstances you can apply for one of three types of application. If you do not currently hold a licence with this Council you can apply for the following:

Grant
If you do not currently hold a licence you can make a Grant application. This type of licence lasts for three years. You will not be licensed to carry on skin piercing or tattooing activities until the licence is granted.
Temporary
You can apply for a temporary licence that lasts for a period of no more than 6 weeks. You will not be licensed to carry on skin piercing or tattooing activities until the licence is granted. If you lodge a grant application for the relevant licence prior to the expiry of your temporary licence, you can continue to operate beyond the expiry of your temporary licence whilst the grant application is being considered.

If you currently hold a licence with this Council you can apply to renew the licence before it expires.

Renewal
Your renewal application must be lodged no later than the expiry date of your current licence. You cannot submit your renewal application more that six months before the expiry of the licence. Provided your renewal is lodged before the expiry of your current licence, you can continue to operate whilst the application is being considered.

If you forget to renew your licence or are unable to do so due to unforeseen circumstances you should contact the Licensing Section as soon as you become aware your licence has expired.

Please note also that if you are applying to renew your licence then the information provided must be identical to the terms of your current licence. You cannot use a renewal application to change an aspect of your licence. If the information provided does not match, then your application will not be accepted.

How to apply?

Email your completed application to Licensing Section along with any supporting documentation which will be checked by a member of the Licensing Team. If your application is incomplete you will be contacted by email to resolve the issue. Please check your spam/junk folder.

You should also make the appropriate fee payment as detailed in section 6 below.

How much is the application Fee?

The current application fees are detailed in the Licensing Section Fees and Charges, the amount you pay is dependent on the licence type. Payment should be made by BACS Transfer (electronic banking) to the Licensing Board Account.

When making payments please quote your licence reference number if you are a current licence holder or quote SPT/Address of Premises if you are a new licence holder as detailed below

Account Name: Glasgow City Council - Licensing
Account No. 00116224
Sort Code: 83-44-00
Reference: SPT/xxxxx (existing licence holder) or SPT/address of premises e.g. SPT/231 George Street.

Payment submitted by post should be in the form of Cheque or Postal Order. All Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to Glasgow City Council. Do not send cash by post.

Please note that your application will not be formally lodged until payment has been received. The fees are non-refundable.

How will the Application be processed?

A 28 consultation period begins when your application is formally lodged. For grant or renewal applications, any person can object to your application during the consultation period. For temporary applications, only the statutory consultees can provide comment.

For grant or renewal applications, a member of the licensing team will email your receipt once your application has been formally lodged and will advise you to display the relevant site notice (included in the application pack) at or near the premises for a period of 21 days. (Please do not display the site notice until you have been advised to do so). If the notice is taken down or defaced you must take steps to immediately replace the notice.

At the end of the 21 days you should remove the notice and return the relevant Certificate or Compliance to the Licensing Section to confirm the notice was displayed correctly. If you do not follow this part of the process, you may be required to redisplay your notice for a further period or the application may be refused. Applicants for a temporary licence are not required to display the site notice.

During the consultation period your application will be sent to the following:

Police Scotland
The Police may object or make a representation to the application if they do not consider you or anyone else named on the application to be a 'fit and proper person' to hold a licence. The Police may also charge you with an offence if you have made a false statement on your application form or failed to declare convictions.
Environment Health
The council's environmental health team will arrange to inspect the premises and provide the Licensing Section with a report on the suitability of the premises.
Local Councillors and Community Council
A notice of the application will be sent to the local Councillors and Community Council for the premises. The notice will provide details of the application and advise them of the last date for making an objection or representation.

Once the consultation responses are received, we will review your application.

If no adverse comments have been received, your certificate of compliance confirming display of the site notice has been returned and there are no other issues with your application, then it will be considered 'straightforward' and placed on a list of applications to be granted. We will then contact you, in writing, once the application has been granted.

If there is a problem with the application such as a police objection or adverse Environmental Health report we will refer the application to a meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee for a decision. If this happens you will receive an email requesting your attendance at the meeting and explaining the reasons why your application is being called before Committee. Although you are not legally required to attend it is recommended that you do so. We will contact you, by email, after the meeting to advise you of the Committee's decision.

Applications for temporary licences are processed in a similar manner with the following differences:

the consultation period can be less than 28 days;
members of the public cannot object or make representation to the application;
and there is no requirement to display a public notice at the premises.

How long with it take?

The Council is allowed twelve months to determine your application but we aim to deal with all applications as soon as possible. It normally takes about 3 to 4 months to deal with most grant or renewal applications.

Applications which are not straightforward (e.g. Police Scotland object to the application) have to be referred to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee and normally take 4 to 6 months to process. This is due to the volume of applications that the Committee can consider at each meeting.

If you apply for a Temporary licence we will aim to process the application as quickly as possible but the application is still subject to the statutory process set out in section 7.

What happens after my application is granted?

You will receive a letter advising that your application has been granted. The letter will include your licence and detail any conditions or requirements you are subject to - for example the licence may have been granted subject to your compliance with Environmental Health conditions.

What happens if my application is refused?

You will receive an email advising that your application has been refused. You have the right to appeal the decision at Glasgow Sheriff Court (unless your application was for a temporary licence).

An applicant wishing to appeal normally requires to first obtain a written Statement of Reasons for the decision. This can be obtained on request to the Licensing Section at LicensingEnquiries@glasgow.gov.uk within 28 days of the decision. The Council will give written reasons for its decision within 10 days of being requested to do so.

The Council cannot provide guidance on making an appeal; if guidance is required you should consider taking your own independent legal advice or, alternatively, you can contact the Sheriff Clerk at Glasgow Sheriff Court, 1 Carlton Place, Glasgow, G5 9DA.

Are there conditions attached to the licence?

There are mandatory conditions attached to all licences carrying on the business of skin piercing and tattooing

(a) where the activity to be carried on wholly or mainly in premises see Appendix 1.
(b) where the activity is not to be carried on wholly or mainly in premises see Appendix 2.

As a licence holder you will be expected to comply with every condition. Failure to do so could result in the Council suspending your licence. The Licensing and Regulatory Committee may attach additional conditions to the licence as it sees fit, with each application being dealt with on its own merits

frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Am I guaranteed to be refused because I have note met the pre Licence Conditions?

Yes. Your licence cannot be granted without compliance with the pre licence conditions. In these circumstances your application will be referred to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee for determination.

Am I guaranteed to be refused because I have certain convictions?

No. The fact that you have certain convictions does not prevent you applying nor does it guarantee that you will be refused. Every application is considered on its own merits.

My Licence expires on a weekend or public holiday, what should I do?

You should aim to lodge your renewal application the month before it is due to expire. Your licence ceases to have effect unless you lodge a renewal application on or before the expiry date shown on your licence. This applies even if the expiry date shown on the licence is a weekend or a public holiday such as 31 December. If you find yourself in this situation, ensure you lodge your application, at the latest, on the last working day prior to the licence expiry by emailing it to Licensing Section.

Further Information

If you have any further questions about the application process the Council's Licensing Team will be happy to assist you. Please note that whilst the Licensing Team can provide guidance, the team cannot offer you legal advice.

You can contact us by phone on 0141 287 5354 (Restricted hours - Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10.00am until 12 noon) or by Email.

Last modified on 03 October 2023

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