EHO inspection preparation checklist

Studio: [STUDIO NAME]
Use before any scheduled inspection or as a routine quarterly audit.

The Environmental Health Officer (EHO) is the most important regulator for a UK tattoo studio. This checklist is what reputable studios run through periodically to ensure that, when the EHO visits, everything is ready. Aim to be able to tick every item on every audit. See EHO inspections explained for the full framework.

1. Documentation pack

Have these ready in a single accessible folder:

• Current council registration certificate (person and premises)
• Insurance certificates (public liability, treatment risk, professional indemnity, employers' liability if applicable, product liability)
• COSHH risk assessment (current within 12 months)
• First aid needs assessment (current within 12 months)
• Health and safety policy
• Cleaning schedule with signed logs (last 3 months minimum)
• Sterilisation/autoclave logs (if applicable)
• Sharps disposal contract and consignment notes (3 years retention)
• Clinical waste contract and consignment notes (3 years retention)
• Recent client consent forms (samples)
• Aftercare sheet master copy
• Training certificates for all artists (bloodborne pathogens, infection control, first aid)
• Hep B vaccination records for artists
• Local byelaws displayed (mandatory in NI, good practice elsewhere)
• Privacy notice / GDPR documentation
• Ink SDS pack
• Ink CoA examples for current stock

2. Premises, visual check

Treatment rooms

• Floors smooth, non-porous, washable
• Coved skirting (no dust traps)
• Walls washable
• Surfaces clean and intact
• No carpets, no unfinished wood in treatment areas
• No domestic furniture in treatment areas
• No food or drink in treatment areas

Handwashing facilities

• Dedicated clinical handwash basin in each treatment room
• Hot and cold running water working
• Wall-mounted liquid soap
• Disposable paper towels (no cloth towels, no nail brushes, no plugs)

Cleaning sink

• Separate sink for instrument cleaning / rinsing
• Not shared with handwash basin
• Hot and cold running water working

Sharps

• Sharps containers BS 7320 compliant, yellow with orange lid
• Wall-mounted within reach of every workstation
• Below fill line on all containers
• Stable, supported, not on floor

Lighting and ventilation

• Task lighting at workstations (750-1000 lux at skin)
• Adequate room ventilation
• Comfortable temperature (19-23°C typical)

Storage

• Sterile-packaged consumables stored clean and accessible
• Inks in secure, labelled storage
• Cleaning chemicals locked away
• Clinical waste storage secure, not accessible to public

3. Equipment

• Single-use sterile cartridges only (or autoclave with validation, spore tests, logs)
• If autoclave: BS EN 13060 Class B; current validation; spore test current; cycle logs signed
• PPE available and in date (gloves, masks, aprons, eye protection)
• First aid kit fully stocked, contents in date
• Eye-wash facility within reach (where chemical splash risk)
• Disinfectants meeting EN 1276 / EN 13697

4. Records

• Client consent forms filed securely, retrievable
• Ink batch numbers recorded against client sessions
• Needle / cartridge batch numbers recorded
• Aftercare sheet versions logged
• Daily cleaning logs current
• End-of-day cleaning logs current
• Sharps disposal log current
• Any incidents logged
• Training certificate currency tracked

5. Staff

• All artists registered with council
• All staff trained in bloodborne pathogens
• All staff trained in infection control
• At least one first-aid-qualified staff member on premises
• All artists with current Hep B vaccination
• Apprentices supervised appropriately
• No hand or wrist jewellery during procedures
• Short clean nails
• Clean clothing
• Hair tied back during procedures

6. Procedure compliance

• Single-use needles for every procedure
• Glove change between every client (and during if compromised)
• Hand hygiene between every contact
• PPE (mask, eye protection where splash risk) appropriately used
• Aftercare sheet given to every client
• Consent form signed before every procedure
• Photo ID verified for every client (Tattooing of Minors Act 1969)

7. Compliance with regulatory changes

• UK REACH ink compliance (from 30 December 2025 in GB), see UK REACH compliance for ink buying
• Updated SDS and CoA for current ink stock
• Awareness of any pending changes (HCA 2022 cosmetic procedures licensing, see HCA 2022 cosmetic procedures watch)

8. The mock walk-through

Walk through the studio as if you were the EHO. Look for:

• Anything that "wouldn't pass", a stained surface, a missing certificate, an out-of-date log
• Anything where a quick question would catch you out
• Anything that's been "we'll get to it", get to it now
• Any staff who couldn't answer a specific compliance question, refresh their training

9. Pre-inspection briefing

Brief all staff:

• Where the documentation folder is
• Who the EHO will likely speak to
• What to do if the EHO asks a question they don't know the answer to (refer to the principal or owner)
• The studio's policy on cooperation: full transparency, no defensive answers

10. Sign-off

This checklist was reviewed on: ____________________
Reviewed by: ____________________
Items flagged for follow-up:

Item	Owner	Due date	Completed

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Adaptation notes for studios: tailor to your specific layout and services. Run quarterly minimum, even without a scheduled inspection, the discipline is the value. See EHO inspections explained for the underlying framework.