You must complete an application form and ensure that the procedures, equipment and facilities used are safe, hygienic, prevent the spread of disease and comply fully with the general duty of care required by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the byelaws.

It is illegal to conduct acupuncture, tattooing, semi-permanent skin colouring, cosmetic piercing or electrolysis unless the registration has been formally approved.

You can complete an application form online.

The fees cover the cost of administration and inspection of the premises.

A minor amendment to an existing registration, such as a change of business name or amendment to a practitioner name is charged at the rate listed above. Where ownership of the business has changed this will require a new premises application.

Additional treatments added after a premises or practitioner have been registered are charged at the rate listed above per activity or practitioner.

Training and competency: All persons carrying out special treatments must attend a relevant course on infection control and attend a refresher course at least every five years.

Qualifications: Full records must be kept on the premises of all practitioners’ qualifications and registration of the relevant professional association; courses attended (with dates), and the titles of the courses, and venue; details of periods of supervision of all piercers/tattooists must also be kept. These details must be available for inspection at all times.

Insurance: The business must have third party liability, to cover claims from damages or negligence, as well as employer’s liability insurance where appropriate.

Waste: Waste transfer documents and details need to be available at all times for inspection.

Photo: If you are applying for a practitioner registration you will need to provide a passport sized photo in the application form. Photos must be taken facing forwards, looking straight at the camera and against a plain, light-coloured background. The photo does not have to be done in a passport machine, a selfie will suffice, but it does need to be similar in likeness and style to a passport photo. This photo will be on your certificate once registration is complete. 

Once you have received confirmation of registration you are able to start providing your treatments. Following your application an officer will undertake an inspection of the premises. We endeavour to do this within 2-3 weeks and will usually arrange this with you in advance.

If the officer considers the procedures and the premises are suitable then your registration certificate will be quickly provided to you. The officer will check compliance with the byelaw requirements as well as ensuring that general health and safety requirements are being met. If issues are identified, then you will be notified in writing of what you must do. It will be clear which are legal requirements and which are recommendations. The officer will also offer any advice or give any help if you are unsure as to how to meet these obligations.

You are required to display both your premises and practitioner registration certificates, and a copy of the byelaws at all times.

Section 16(9) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 provides that a registered person shall cause to be prominently displayed on the premises a copy of these byelaws and a copy of any certificate of registration issued to him under Part VIII of the Act.   

Failure to register is an offence and any person not registered with the City Council risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1000

Any contraventions will be discussed with you and notified to you in writing. Please refer to the byelaws which can be found on the right-hand side. Proprietors shall take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with these byelaws by persons working on premises. 

Section 16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 provides that any person who contravenes these byelaws shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.  If a person registered under Part 4 VIII of the Act is found guilty of contravening these byelaws the Court may, instead of or in addition to imposing a fine, order the suspension or cancellation of the person’s registration.  A court which orders the suspension of or cancellation of a person’s registration may also order the suspension or cancellation of the registration of the premises in which the offence was committed if such premises are occupied by the person found guilty of the offence. 

There is a one-off premises registration fee for your premises and each individual practitioner.

Yes, Winchester City Council has taken the decision that if you are a new business then a new premises registration will be required.

No, you may simply apply for a replacement certificate and this will incur the administration cost for this process. Details of current fees can be found in the fees/charges section above. 

If you would like to add an additional special treatment to your registration, you will need to complete a new application form and select ‘add additional special treatment to my existing registration’.

There is a fee for adding a special treatment to your existing registration, please refer to our fees section for more information.

Replacement certificates are available for an administration fee, please see details in the fees/charges section above. Please request this using the online application form and select the option ‘replacement certificate’.

The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act does not provide full clarification as to what procedures constitute ‘cosmetic piercing’ although the intention of the law should be considered – is the treatment intended to pierce the skin? Thus, micro-needling is likely to require registration, whereas microdermabrasion, which is a form of exfoliation should not be invasive and should only remove a fine layer of the skin surface.

In a case where it is determined that registration is not required, it remains important that the practitioner still considers general health and safety, particularly with regard to the risks of cross contamination of the device attachments from blood and body fluids if the skin is broken during treatment. For exampe, the client may have acne which may be disturbed by the microdermabrasion action.

There are two main types of microdermabrasion treatments the diamond tip and the crystal type.  The procedure can cause skin infections (bacterial, viral, fungal) if the tools used are not cleaned correctly and there is a risk of cross contamination between clients particularly if blood is generated by the procedure.

There are a number of specific guidance documents available which can be accessed by the links at the side of this page.