Body Art Apprenticeship and Supervisor Information

• Verify your supervisor is licensed through the public online portal: Current Body Art Licenses.
• Verify the establishment you are apprenticing at is licensed (see spreadsheet) Note: MDH does not regulate body art establishments in the following jurisdictions: Anoka, Hennepin, and Steele counties and the cities of Minneapolis, Maplewood, Brooklyn Park, Bloomington, Richfield, and Edina.  If your apprenticeship will be in one of these jurisdictions, contact the county or city office directly to verify licensing and get more information.
• Have a conversation with the supervisor about any fees or charges, scheduling and expected hours of work, and what’s expected during the apprenticeship.  
• Put the agreement in writing. Draft and sign a contract with your supervisor, that covers fees or charges, scheduling and hours of work, and expectations during the apprenticeship.
• You should apply for the temporary body art license rather than relying on others to submit it on your behalf.
• Your supervisor will need to affirm you as their apprentice through their BATLS account before your license can be issued.
• Application fees to MDH are not refundable. 

• You can add and remove supervisors through your BATLS account at any time. MDH approval is not required for these changes.
• Your supervisor(s) will need to approve your body art log and submit a signed and notarized affidavit affirming their supervision. This is a requirement to apply for a full license. Disputes over log hours and signed affidavits should be resolved between temporary body art technicians and supervisors. 

Temporary body art technicians must be under the supervision of a body art technician who has had a full license for at least two years. Time as an apprentice does not count towards the two-year requirement.

Minnesota Statutes, section 146B.01, subdivision 28 defines supervision, direct supervision and indirect supervision.

• "Supervision" means the physical presence of a technician licensed under this chapter while a body art procedure is being performed.
• "Direct supervision" is when a licensed technician is physically present in the establishment, and is within five feet and is in the line of sight of the temporary licensee who is performing a body art procedure while the procedure is being performed; and
• "Indirect supervision" is when a licensed technician is physically present in the establishment while a body art procedure is being performed by the temporary licensee.

Thus, you must be physically present whenever a temporary artist whom you are supervising is performing body art services.

Supervising a temporary body art technician is a serious responsibility. Supervisors are expected to provide oversight and be physically present while the temporary technician is performing body art procedures. Because this level of involvement requires time and attention, it can be difficult for one supervisor to effectively oversee multiple apprentices at once. To help ensure meaningful supervision, MDH reviews all temporary license applications where a supervisor has more than two tattoo technicians or more than four piercing technicians.  

If you have been subjected to disciplinary action, be aware that the Minnesota Department of Health may not grant you supervisory authority. Please contact 651-201-4200 with questions. 

Minnesota Statutes, section 146B.03, subdivision 4(4) and subdivision 12 state that a temporary technician seeking licensure must provide, a log of supervised experience when applying for a full body art technician license. The log must include the following:

• Tattoo technician license applicants must complete a minimum of 200 hours of tattoo experience under supervision.
• Body piercing technician license applicants must perform 250 body piercings under direct supervision and 250 body piercings under indirect supervision.
• Dual body art technician license applicants must complete a minimum of 200 hours of tattoo experience under supervision and perform 250 body piercings under direct supervision and 250 body piercings under indirect supervision.

Only hours tattooing or piercing can be included on the log. Tattooing on synthetic skin, mapping, drawing, consulting, set up and clean up do not count towards supervised hours.

A signed affidavit from each licensed technician who supervised the temporary body art technician is required for the application and must include a statement of the hours supervised by the supervising body art technician.