In a UK-first, Wales now has mandatory licensing rules in place to help protect the public's health when getting acupuncture, body piercings, electrolysis, or tattoos including semi-permanent make up.
From today (Friday 29 November), practitioners and individuals in charge of premises or vehicles where any of these four special procedures are performed must complete an infection prevention and control course for special procedures, and their premises and vehicles must meet strict safety standards, among other criteria.
These new measures, introduced by the Welsh Government, aim to reduce the hygiene and safety risks of these special procedures, such as bloodborne infections, by making sure only licensed practitioners can operate and procedures are only performed in approved premises and vehicles.
There are more than 4,000 practitioners operating in Wales who will need to be licensed, and over 2,000 premises that will require approval under the new mandatory licensing scheme.
All individuals must apply for a licence and/or a premises or vehicle approval certificate from their local authority. This includes all new applicants, as well as all existing practitioners and businesses who have up to now been registered with their local authority as they will need to be reassessed under the new licensing scheme requirements.
Individuals who are currently registered with their local authority will be allowed to continue operating while their applications for a licence or approval certificate is being processed.
A national register will publicise all valid licence holders and approval certificate holders in Wales. Although this register will be live from today, local authorities can only upload information to the register as they grant licences and approval certificates. It will take a number of months before the register becomes fully populated.
For further information please select the following link: Wales first in UK to implement licensing for special procedures like tattoos | GOV.WALES