Colorado Springs Ink Masters Tattoo Expo

This is the strongest part of the record and it comes from the county, not the promoter. The ORGANIZER publishes exactly one line: 'All Artist and Piercers must have an approved BBP Certificate', on its artist inquiry form, with a link to a list of approved bloodborne pathogens courses. EL PASO COUNTY requires far more, and requires it of the SHOW as well as of the artists. Every body art temporary event held in the county that offers body art to the public must hold a licence and comply with the El Paso County Board of Health Chapter 6 Body Art Regulations. A temporary event is defined in those regulations as a body art trade show or convention of up to seven consecutive days at which artists work outside a permanent establishment, which is precisely this show. The event coordinator must file a complete temporary event application with fees at least 30 days ahead, after which the county conducts a PRE-OPENING INSPECTION and issues the licence only on a finding of compliance. The licence is valid only for the named location and must be posted prominently and conspicuously visible to patrons, so a visitor can look for it at the door. The coordinator must also ensure every artist working the event has completed infectious disease control training in their home jurisdiction within the previous two years and is affiliated with a body art establishment licensed either in their home jurisdiction or, by written sponsorship agreement, by El Paso County. Separately, artists working in the county must hold current First Aid certification through the Red Cross or American Heart Association, OSHA-approved bloodborne pathogens training, a hepatitis B vaccination record or signed declination, and a Body Art Regulations Competency Exam certificate. Nothing here has been confirmed as applied for or granted for the October 2026 expo; it is what the law requires of it. The county publishes an inspection-report lookup and a licensed-establishment search, and takes complaints on [email protected] or (719) 578-3199 option 3

The ORGANIZER publishes no sterilisation, single use, sharps or workstation standard of any kind. The county's regulations are detailed and they apply on this floor. At a temporary event specifically, ALL instruments used for a body art procedure must be single use and commercially sterilised, which is a tighter rule than applies in a permanent studio. Where permanent hand washing is not readily accessible, artists must use commercially manufactured temporary hand washing stations approved by the county in advance, capable of a continuous flow of warm potable water, with soap and paper towels, used only for hand washing and sited so they cannot contaminate a workstation; a single shared station may serve no more than two artists and only with county approval, and waste water must be collected in a sanitary container and disposed of into an approved sewage system. Generally, all needles must be sterile, single use and manufactured for the purpose, and disposed of in a sharps container immediately after use; sterilised instruments must stay in sealed packages until opened in front of the client; every substance must be dispensed so the unused portion cannot be contaminated and used for one client only; and all dispensed substances and disposables must be discarded immediately after each procedure. If a temporary event falls out of compliance at any time, the county may require it to cease operations immediately. None of this has been confirmed as inspected at this specific event

The organizer publishes no consent form and no aftercare guidance. The county requires both from the artist. Every procedure needs a consent form signed by client and artist recording the client's name, address, phone and AGE, the date, the establishment and artist details, a description of the body art and where it went, and the sterilisation date and sterilizer log lot number of the instruments used. Each client must first be asked to disclose diabetes, haemophilia or other bleeding disorders, skin diseases or lesions, immune-compromised status, allergies or adverse reactions to latex, pigments, dyes, disinfectants, soaps or metals, and any use of anticoagulants or other blood thinning medication. The form must also document that written AND verbal instructions on risks, outcome and aftercare were given, covering when to consult a physician including the signs of infection and allergic reaction and the expected healing time, how to care for the site, an explanation that body art should be considered permanent, and possible side effects. A copy of the signed form must be given to the client, and client records and consent forms are kept three years. Expect to be asked to fill this in; if an artist skips it, that is a compliance failure and not a favour

Nothing published by the organizer or the venue: no bag policy, security screening, first aid provision or incident procedure. The county requires each establishment to hold written infection and exposure control procedures on the premises, permanently retained, along with sharps and regulated-waste disposal contracts and spore test logs, all open to inspection

Colorado regulates body art at state level under C.R.S. 25-4-2101 et seq., which expressly lets a local board of health impose standards AT LEAST AS STRINGENT as the state's. El Paso County has done so, adopting Chapter 6 Body Art Regulations, approved 28 October 2020 and amended since. That makes El Paso County Public Health's Environmental Health Division, at 1675 W Garden of the Gods Road Suite 2044, the authority for this show. It is a materially stronger position than the same promoter's Jackson, Mississippi stop, where regulation is state-only, there is no event licence at all, and the accountability rests entirely on each artist's individual state certificate. It is closest in shape to the Wilmington Board of Health arrangement documented on the Boston record