The State of South Dakota establishes the minimum sanitation standards for tattooing.  The City of Sturgis inspects each tattoo artist operating in the City limits to ensure these minimum standards are met and maintained.  To help you prepare for the inspection, it is required that you have the following supplies at your tattoo station.

You cannot share supplies in order to pass the health inspection.

Necessary Materials & Supplies
All artists must have the following items:

• Covered waste container with single use plastic liners
• Covered container for sharps (highly encourage use of a sharps container)
• Notice conspicuously posted stating that it is illegal to tattoo any person under the age of 18 without a parent’s or legal guardian’s signed consent
• Unexpired ink in sealed containers
• 500 disposable pigment containers
• 300 disposable latex or vinyl gloves
• 1 gallon of germicidal soap
• 1 gallon of isopropyl alcohol
• 1 gallon of distilled water
• Single-use, disposable razor(s)
• Gauze and bandages in closed dustproof containers
• Petroleum jelly or antibacterial ointment
• Cotton swabs, gauze, or wooden tongue depressors (to apply petroleum jelly)
• Closed dustproof container for clean towels and linens
• Hamper or similar container for soiled towels and linens
• If styptics are used, must be in liquid or powder form
• Written care instructions
• If piercing, medical antibacterial prep soak
• Copy of the SD Minimum Standards for Tattooing
• If piercing, copy of the SD Minimum Standards for Body Piercing

Disposable Equipment Requirements
Artists using disposable equipment must have the following items present:

• 250 sterile disposable setups
• If piercing, 250 disposable single-use needles of each size in sealed sterile envelopes
• If piercing, 250 disposable single-use forceps in sealed sterile envelopes
• If piercing, additional 200 cotton swabs in sealed containers

Resusable Equipment Requirements
Artists using reusable equipment must have the following items present:

• Autoclave (producing 15 pounds of pressure per square inch for the time specified in the manufacturer’s user manual)
• Lab results indicating autoclave has passed bacteriological testing in the past 30 days
• Serial number on the lab results must match autoclave on premise.
• 25 liner tubers in sealed, unexpired, sterile envelopes
• 25 shader tubes in sealed, unexpired, sterile envelopes
• 50 needle bar setups in sealed, unexpired, sterile envelopes
• If piercing, 25 disposable single-use needles of each size in sealed sterile envelopes
• If piercing, 25 forceps in sealed sterile envelopes
• If piercing, additional 200 cotton swabs in sealed containers

In addition to complying with the South Dakota minimum standards, all artists must also comply with any FDA recalls (voluntary or mandatory) in effect.

All single-use products uses shall be discarded after they are used.