In short
Act 73-2003 regulates body piercing practice in Puerto Rico. No person may perform a body piercing on a minor under sixteen (16) years of age or on a mentally incapacitated person, and the verbal or written consent of the father, mother, custodian or legal guardian shall not exempt from criminal liability for violating that provision. Body piercing on minors under eighteen (18) is prohibited without the written authorisation of their mother, father, custodian or legal guardian, by sworn statement, at the time it is performed; the body piercer shall be responsible for requiring the documentation necessary to accredit the parent’s, custodian’s or legal guardian’s identity and their respective consent by sworn statement, and violating this provision shall carry indefinite revocation of the licence. Any person falsely declaring to be the minor’s mother, father, custodian or legal guardian, so that a minor under eighteen gets a body piercing, commits a misdemeanor. Body piercings may be performed on persons eighteen and over without written authorisation. No person may practise as a body piercer without holding a licence under this Act and being registered with the Health Department, and no person, partnership, corporation or association shall operate a body piercing studio, in a residential or commercial, rural or urban area, without a Health Department licence and any other operating or zoning permit required by law.
What is it?
It is the law setting who may pierce you, at what age, and under what conditions. What is most misunderstood sits in its prohibition article: under sixteen no parental permission counts, because the law expressly says that consent does not exempt from criminal liability.
Who can do it?
Persons eighteen (18) and over may get a body piercing without written authorisation. Between sixteen and eighteen, the written authorisation of the father, mother, custodian or legal guardian by sworn statement is required at the time it is performed. Under sixteen, and for mentally incapacitated persons, the law prohibits it with no consent-based exception.
Requirements
- Being eighteen (18) or older to have it done without written authorisation.Verified against the official source
- If you are under eighteen (18) and at least sixteen (16), written authorisation of the father, mother, custodian or legal guardian by sworn statement, at the time it is performed.Verified against the official source
- That whoever performs it hold a licence under this Act and be registered with the Health Department.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Under 16 no permission counts
The rule most people get backwards, and the law writes it without hedging: “No person may perform a body piercing on a minor under sixteen (16) years of age or on a mentally incapacitated person. The verbal or written consent of the minor’s or the mentally incapacitated person’s father/mother, custodian or legal guardian shall not exempt from criminal liability for violating this Article.” A parent signing changes nothing.
Step 2: From 16 to 18: a sworn statement, at the time
The law asks for three things together: written authorisation, by sworn statement, and at the time it is performed. “Body piercing on minors under eighteen (18) is prohibited without the written authorisation of their mother/father, custodian or legal guardian, by sworn statement, at the time the body piercing is performed.” A note signed in advance does not meet all three.
Step 3: The burden of verifying is the studio’s
And the consequence is severe. “The body piercer shall be responsible for requiring the documentation necessary to accredit the identity of the minor’s father/mother, custodian or legal guardian and their respective consent by sworn statement. Violating this provision shall carry indefinite revocation of the licence.” It is not a fine: it is the licence, indefinitely.
Step 4: Posing as the parent is an offense
The law closes that route too: “Any person who falsely declares to be the minor’s mother/father, custodian or legal guardian, so that a minor under eighteen (18) gets a body piercing, commits a misdemeanor.”
Step 5: Look for the licence on the wall
The first thing you can check on walking in. No person may practise as a body piercer without holding a licence under this Act and being registered with the Health Department; the licence is displayed “on a visible wall of the studio” and “shall be valid for three (3) years.” And no studio may operate, “in a residential or commercial, rural or urban area,” without a Health Department licence and any other operating or zoning permit required by law.
Step 6: The sanitary norms you can observe
The law lists them, and they are verifiable at a glance. The licensed body piercer shall use a clean medical-type gown, surgical garment or disposable gown; shall wash and scrub hands and nails with antiseptic soap and hot water before starting and after finishing with each client; shall use disposable gloves, sterile gauze and sterilised instruments, a mouth and nose mask, and eye protection; shall wash the area to be pierced with antiseptic soap, and may not pierce where there are signs of drug use, lesions or dermatological diseases; if shaving is needed, shall use disposable razors for each service and wash the skin again with seventy (70) percent isopropyl alcohol; shall clean and rinse in germicidal solution all jewellery or objects to be used; shall immediately discard needles and sharps in labelled puncture-proof containers as high-risk biological material; shall place equipment and instruments in germicidal solution or an ultrasonic cleaner; and shall discard gloves after each use in bags identified as biomedical waste.
Step 7: The statement you sign and what it must say
It is not paperwork: it is information the law owes you. “Both the body piercer and the studio’s owner or manager… shall inform the client, verbally and in writing, how to care for the pierced area. The client shall sign a statement that they have read and understood the instructions, a copy of which shall be kept at the studio… for a term of two (2) years.” That written statement must contain the body piercer’s name, licence number, and the establishment’s address and phone; aftercare instructions for the pierced area; and a warning that you must consult a physician if you have signs of infection or have had an allergic reaction.
Step 8: The licence renews before, not after
A detail that costs studios dearly: the licence is valid for three (3) years, and “the renewal application must be filed ninety (90) days before” expiry. Once expired, “the Department shall treat it as an original application.” In addition, passing a contagious-disease control course is required for both the licence and the renewal.
Where to do it
The Health Department issues the body piercer’s and the studio’s licence, and maintains the registry. The law adds that the studio needs, besides that licence, any other operating or zoning permit required by law. If your matter is a consumer complaint about a service, that is the DACO complaint guide; if it is a patient right before a health facility, that is the patient bill of rights.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
What we did not read and therefore do not publish. We did not read the Health Department’s regulations or the fee tables the Act mentions in its licence application and fee article, so we publish no fee figures and no issuance deadlines; hence cost and processing time are left unverified. Nor did we read the tattoo statutes, which are a distinct practice with their own regulation, and we do not extend this Act a reach its text does not have. A precision on ages, because that is where people get most confused: the absolute prohibition is under sixteen and for mentally incapacitated persons, and there parental consent does not exempt from criminal liability; between sixteen and eighteen the law does admit consent, but requires it be written, by sworn statement and at the time it is performed. On the penalty for falsely declaring parentage and on sanctions against licensees, the Act refers to its own revocation and penalties articles; we describe the consequences its text names — indefinite licence revocation and a misdemeanor — without publishing figures those referred articles might contain and that we do not quote here.
Common mistakes
- Believing that with parental permission a minor under 16 may get one: the law says that consent does not exempt from criminal liability.
- Bringing a note signed in advance: between 16 and 18 a sworn statement at the time it is performed is required.
- Not checking the licence: it must be displayed on a visible wall of the studio.
- Assuming a studio in a residential area needs no permits: the law covers it equally, residential or commercial, rural or urban.
- Signing the statement without reading it: it must carry the aftercare instructions and the warning about infection or allergic reaction.
- Letting the licence lapse if you are the studio: past the prior 90 days, renewal is treated as an original application.
Frequently asked questions
Can a minor under 16 get a piercing with parental permission?
No. The law prohibits performing a body piercing on a minor under sixteen or a mentally incapacitated person, and adds that the verbal or written consent of the father, mother, custodian or legal guardian shall not exempt from criminal liability.
And if I am 17?
The written authorisation of your mother, father, custodian or legal guardian is required, by sworn statement, at the time the body piercing is performed. The studio must require documentation accrediting their identity and that consent.
What happens to a studio that breaks the minor rule?
Violating the provision on minors under eighteen shall carry indefinite revocation of the licence.
How do I know if the studio is authorised?
The licence is displayed on a visible wall of the studio and is valid for three years. No person may practise without a licence and without being registered with the Health Department, and no studio may operate without the Department’s licence and the other operating or zoning permits the law requires.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico
Salud
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
August 24, 2026
MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.
MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.
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