Skin piercing registrations

Announcement - November 2022

South Norfolk Council is consulting on the adoption of a consolidated set of Model Byelaws for the regulation of hygiene and infection control within business carrying out tattooing, semi-permanent skin colouring, cosmetic piercing, electrolysis and the practice of acupuncture. These byelaws are widely adopted by many local authorities and consolidate previous individual byelaws providing a modernised way of regulating hygiene and infection control within these businesses for the benefit of the businesses and the safety of their customers. 

The official notice will be placed in the Eastern Daily Press on 2 consecutive weeks.

A copy of the new consolidated byelaws and the byelaws which will be revoked can be seen below;

Model byelaws (to be adopted)
Acupuncture byelaws 1984 - to be revoked
Ear Piercing and Electrolysis byelaws 1984 - to be revoked
Tattooing byelaws 1984 - to be revoked

Copies of the proposed consolidated model byelaw and the existing specific byelaws will also be kept at the offices of the Council at South Norfolk Council, 1 Yarmouth Road, Norwich, NR7 0DU and will be open to inspection without payment on any weekday during usual business hours until Friday 6 January 2023, 28 days from the publication of the official notices in the Eastern Daily Press. 

Written representations about the byelaws, including any objections, should be sent by emailing foodandsafety@southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk or posting to the Food, Safety and Licensing Team, South Norfolk Council, 1 Yarmouth Road, Norwich NR7 0DU by Friday 6 January 2023.

Skin piercing registrations

If you run, or intend to run a business providing acupuncture, tattooing (including microblading), piercing or electrolysis in Broadland or South Norfolk, you must register with us. All practicing staff within your business will also need to be registered. 

Once we have received your registration form, an officer may visit your business to ensure your practices and processes are suitable and you are undertaking your activity in a safe manner in a clean environment. To meet the registration standards, you will need to comply with the requirements of our skin piercing bye-laws

In addition to registering your business and members of staff, you will also need to ensure your premises has the correct planning permissions or usage class to operate. You can also check whether you will be required to pay business rates

How to register

Please complete the skin piercing registration form and return it by email, details of which are at the bottom of this page, or post to the Food, Safety and Licensing Team, South Norfolk Council, Thorpe Lodge, 1 Yarmouth Road, Norwich, NR7 0DU or to The Food, Safety and Licensing Team, Thorpe Lodge, 1 Yarmouth Rd, Norwich NR7 0DU for Broadland businesses. 

The registration form covers the registration of both the premises and the person. If further skin piercing practitioners are used at your business in future, they will also need to be registered

Fees

The fees set out below for each council are to be made at the time of registration, per practitioner. 

The fee is a one-off payment rather than an annual fee.

South Norfolk Council Broadland District Council
£75.50 £104*

* or £23 per practitioner where a premises registration already exists

Guidance

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has produced a tattooing and body piercing guidance toolkit to help you achieve acceptable standards in your business.

The British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) seeks to enhance the education and training of suitably qualified practitioners and to promote high standards of working practices in acupuncture.

Food, Safety and Licensing Team

Telephone: 01603 430488