Body Art Program

Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19

Alameda County Department of Environmental Health remains OPEN to provide essential services during the Shelter in Place Order.  

  • Facility Plans may continue to be submitted and will be reviewed. 
  • Field inspections will continue to be conducted in response to imminent health hazards. 

 Rest assured that Environmental Health staff are on site if you need assistance with any essential services! 

 For specific directives regarding COVID-19 in Alameda County and the State of California please visit the Alameda County Public Health website. For specific COVID-19 related questions, please email Alameda County Public Health at ncov@acgov.org or call 510-268-2101. 

Click here for additional COVID-19 Information! 

Overview

On October 9, 2011, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 300, The Safe Body Art Act into law. The Safe Body Art Act requires, among other things, body art practitioners and body art facilities to comply with the new state law, which became effective July 1, 2012. In Alameda County, authority has been delegated to the Department of Environmental Health, the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) for its implementation.

Prior to the Safe Body Art Act, Alameda County adopted an ordinance which became effective January 2009 authorizing the regulation of body artists and facilities in all of Alameda County except the City of Berkeley. Our local ordinance and the new state law apply to persons engaged in the business or performance of tattooing, body piercing, permanent cosmetics and branding.

The following are approved lists of registered body art practitioners and permitted facilities in Alameda County. Please do not use body art practitioners and facilities unless you see them on the approved lists. Report unlisted practitioners and unpermitted body art facilities to the Department of Environmental Health immediately.

Regulations and Ordinances

Forms & Guidelines

Guidance Documents

COVID Updates

Beyond the Blueprint

Alameda County is fully aligned with the State of California Reopening Plan, which includes California State Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.  Alameda County had rescinded its Shelter-in-Place Order, in accordance with the California State Beyond the Blueprint Framework.
** COVID-19 RE-OPENING UPDATE  **


Starting October 9, 2020 - Additional Activities Permitted in Alameda County

Alameda County public health officials have determined that the following activities with restrictions as allowed by the State in the Red Tier would add only limited additional risk when appropriate safety measures are followed and may open on October 9:

 

REOPENING DATE

SECTORS & ACTIVITIES

10/9/20

  • Hotels & lodging for tourism: fitness centers and indoor pools restricted
  • Museums, zoos, & aquariums: indoors < 25% capacity
  • Personal care services: (Non-Medical Massages, Skin Care, Waxing Services, Tattoo, Piercings, Non-Medical Electrolysis): indoors with modification; services requiring removal of face covering prohibited
  • Libraries: < 25% capacity
  • Gyms and fitness centers: indoors < 10% capacity; restrictions on aerobic exercise and classes
  • Outdoor film production per local guidance

10/13/20

  • Elementary Schools: may open per State and Local guidance, as ready
  • Middle and high schools may be considered in 4-12 weeks, as data trends permit

For consideration in next 4-6 weeks, as data trends permit

  • Indoor retail: expand to 50% capacity
  • Shopping centers: expand to 50% capacity, add food courts
  • Indoor worship services: expand to 25% capacity or < 100 people
  • Indoor dining < 25% capacity or < 100 people
  • Indoor movie theaters < 25% capacity or < 100 people
  • Outdoor cardrooms and satellite wagering

 

Guidance and resources to support safe opening are available here: https://covid-19.acgov.org/recovery.page

GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS TO PREPARE TO RE-OPEN BODY ART FACILITIES (PDF)

 


As of Tuesday, September 22, 2020, according to the Governor's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, Alameda County is in the Red (Substantial) Tier:

SUBSTANTIAL TIER STATUS

Under the Substantial Red Tier 2 Status, body art facilities may open with modifications. Operating guidelines fall under Personal Care Services.

While movement to the Red Tier allows for additional sectors to open with restrictions, local Health Officers can proceed more cautiously than the re-opening activities the State allows. As with all other re-openings, Alameda County is taking a measured and phased approach to avoid dramatic increases in disease transmission and re-closures. Alameda County is carefully examining the potential impact of activities that may be permitted to reopen or expand in the Red Tier as stated on the 9-22-2020 Press Release "Alameda County Statement on Red Tier."

Currently, there is no proposed date to allow body art business to re-open. Please keep checking this website for updates. We are following the re-opening phase guidelines posted on Alameda County Public Health’s COVID-19 website. When a date for re-opening is provided, we will disseminate re-opening guidelines and resources when they become available.


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