Tattoo services are totally prohibited for minors even with parents’ approval as was made clear by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs in an explanation of the newly enacted rule on the tattoo management on minors.

The minors’ protection department of China’s State Council released a series of regulations on the management of tattoo services for minors on June 6, stipulating that any company, organization or individual is prohibited from providing tattoo services to minors, or coercing, fomenting, and inducing minors to get tattooed.

The regulations in terms of the family education on the establishing values about tattoos sparked discussions online, with some netizens doubting whether minors’ subjective will about tattoos should be completely ignored and whether minors can get tattoos if they get acknowledgement from their parents.

According to the regulations, parents or other guardians shall perform their guardianship duties according to the laws and dissuade in time any motive or act by minors who attempt to get tattooed, rather than leave them unchecked.

In response to these questions, the children’s welfare department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs said minors are people without or with limited capacity for civil conduct, to whom tattoos are clearly beyond their understanding and rational judgment. Thus, special protection and prioritized protection should be granted to minors.

According to China’s Laws on the Protection of Minors, parents or other guardians of minors shall not conduct acts of infringing upon the physical and mental health of minors, thus tattoo services shall not be provided even with parents’ consent, the Ministry said.

Besides, parents who own tattoo parlors shall not have their own children tattooed as well. In addition, tattoo service providers who offer services to minors will be dealt with according to the relevant rules and procedures based on specific cases.

Meanwhile, professional tattoo institutions and medical and health institutions that provide tattoo services (including medical beauty institution) and beauty and hairdressing salons and social organizations should make obvious statements in their shops not to provide service to minors and ask for an ID to check the customers' age which is difficult to identify, said the newly enacted regulations.

Global Times