Royal Disorder Tattoo Expo
- Dates
- Expected September
- Status
- Confirmed
- Venue
- Joplin Expo Center
- Price
- $15 to $35
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Sep 5, 2026
Royal Disorder Tattoo Expo's next dates haven't been announced yet. The last festival was 11 to 13 September 2026 in Joplin, MO. Froligo tracks current ticket prices, attendee feedback and travel details.
Age, licensing and hygiene
Everything attributed to the organizer here is specific to this show, taken from its own booths page and event schedule. This is a single-city independent event with no circuit-wide policy set to fall back on, which is why the gaps below are real gaps rather than policy published somewhere else
The organizer publishes NO minimum age and NO ID requirement for being tattooed or pierced at this show. What it does publish is that the event is family friendly and that children 10 years old and under get in free. Missouri law, which applies whatever the show says, does not set a flat 18 minimum for tattooing: it makes it an offence to knowingly tattoo, brand or body pierce a minor without the prior written informed consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian, executed in the presence of the person performing the procedure. Missouri also bars tattooing anyone under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance. Individual artists commonly set a higher floor than the statute, so ask the artist you are booking with what they require
The organizer makes no licensing claim in its public copy, but its artist booth application requires a Tattoo License number from every applicant alongside the studio name and the number of artists, so licence status is collected at the point of booking a booth. The legal backdrop is unusually specific in Missouri and is worth knowing: practitioners and establishments are licensed by the state Division of Professional Registration, and a convention floor is treated as a temporary establishment needing its own licence, which cannot be issued without a prior inspection conducted immediately before the establishment opens. The show's own published schedule has Tattoo Artists Inspections on the Friday morning from 9am to 11am, with artists required to be present, one hour before the doors open to the public. The organizer does not say who conducts that inspection or under what authority, so the alignment with the state's temporary establishment rule is noted and not asserted
The only hygiene provision the organizer publishes is what comes with a booth. Every 10x10 artist booth includes a sharps container, a hand sanitizer and a trash can along with the table, chairs and pipe and drape, and 10x20 booths include double supplies. Vendor booths get a hand sanitizer and a trash can but no sharps container, which fits vendors not tattooing. There is no published statement about single-use needles or inks, autoclaving, gloves, station covers or waste removal, and no organizer-run compliance regime is described beyond the Friday morning inspection slot
Missouri licenses tattoo, body piercing and branding practitioners and establishments through the Office of Tattooing, Body Piercing and Branding at the state Division of Professional Registration, not through a county health department, so there is no Jasper County or City of Joplin permit to look for. A convention floor is covered by the temporary establishment licence: it needs a notarised application at least 30 days before the event, the required fee, a list of every practitioner working there with their licence numbers and status, and an inspection before it may open. It lasts no more than 14 consecutive days and cannot be moved. Only licensed practitioners and registered apprentices may work on the premises. No licence number for this event is published by anyone
The organiser publishes nothing on a minimum age or ID requirement for being tattooed or pierced, a consent, release or waiver form, aftercare guidance, single-use needles and inks, autoclave or sterilisation procedure, bloodborne pathogen training, who runs the Friday morning artist inspections and a Missouri temporary establishment licence number for this event. Ask the artist you are booking with, and expect a licensed booth to answer without hesitating.
Checked 2026-09-05The experience
What's special
Royal Disorder is presented as a family-friendly, artist-run tattoo weekend with a strong community angle, now in its second year in Joplin. A visitor can pay for a day or the full weekend, enter through the Joplin Expo Center or its Northpark Mall connection, browse live tattooing, piercing, art and vendors, and stay for entertainment, face painting, giveaways and the Sunday car show. The competition is a major evening anchor: most entries must be in by 6 PM, Tattoo of the Day runs later, and the show separates healed-or-fresh categories from fresh-only work that must be started and finished on site. The event is hosted by local tattoo artists Alex and Tasha May, whose own language emphasizes a welcoming, local-business and artist-to-artist atmosphere
What happens on the floor
The core format: artists take a booth for the weekend and work on the open floor, with the public walking through.
Piercers work alongside the tattoo booths. The same questions apply: age, ID, sterilisation and aftercare.
Finished and same-day work is judged on stage in named categories, usually late in the day.
Stage acts between judging: sideshow, suspension and burlesque are common. Worth knowing before you sit down with a child.
Pieces go on in the open, start to finish. You can watch, and talk to artists between clients.
Machines, inks, aftercare, art and clothing. Aimed at artists, but open to anyone through the door.
Getting tattooed here
Admission gets you through the door, not into a chair. Tattoo work is arranged with the artist, not with the show.
There is no central booking system. The organizer publishes no booking workflow at all, and artists take appointments directly. One booked artist's own site describes limited convention appointments for large scale custom work, arranged with the artist ahead of the show, which is the normal pattern here. Contact the artist you want through their own channels
The show bills three days of live tattooing from artists across the country and a fresh only contest category on each day, which means work is being started and finished on the floor, but no organizer statement about walk-ups exists
Who is tattooing
Every name here was read off that artist's own announcement card on the official attending artist page on 5 September 2026, six days before the show, because the page publishes no artist names in text at all. Two things to know about it. First, the page mixes two years: of the 44 cards on it, 25 are 2026 cards printed Sep. 11-13 2026 Joplin Mo and 18 are leftovers from the October 2025 first edition, with six people appearing on both. Only the 2026 cards are listed here. Second, the show separately bills over 100 artists, so this is the announced subset and not the booth list, and no booth number and no Instagram handle is published for anybody
25 artists are listed for this edition, by name only, which is all the organiser publishes.
ARTIST
- MATTHEW YOUNG
- JOE HELM
- CHRIS WILLIAMS
- KATELYN PURSLEY
- AUSTIN TATTOOING
- RYAN NICKENS
- LANA BROOKE HELM
- TAYLOR SMITH
- TATE PHELEN
- ALEC LINK
- AUSTIN BOUNDS
- DAVID JAMES
- CORY CAMPBELL
- ALEX MAY
- CHERA RILEY
- MATT KIENENBERGER
- JUSTIN HARRIS
- MANDY'S INK
- BRIAN FRENCH
- CHRISTOPHER WHITE
- ALEX LARA
PIERCER/ ARTIST
- HAYLEY DIETRICH
PIERCER
- MJ
ESTHETICIAN
- ANGEL CAPEHART
PIERCER/ARTIST
- DAEMON GRAE
Contests and judging
39 categories are judged across the weekend. Judging pulls the whole floor to the stage, so it is the best hour of the day to watch even if you are not entering.
- Sm B+G
- Sm Color
- Abstract
- Nostalgic
- Glitter (fresh only)
- Geometric
- Floral
- Traditional
- Comic/Anime
- Free Hand (fresh only)
- Patriotic (fresh only)
- Tattoo Of The Day B+G (fresh only, 1st-2nd place)
- Tattoo Of The Day Color (fresh only, 1st-2nd place)
- med B+G
- med Color
- Route 66
- Color Infusion (fresh only)
- Wildlife
- Water Color
- Lettering
- Realism
- Portrait B+G
- Portrait Color
- Horror
- Master of Skulls (fresh only)
- Tattoo Of The Day B+G (fresh only, 1st-2nd place)
- Tattoo Of The Day Color (fresh only, 1st-2nd place)
- Large B+G
- Large color
- Religious
- Arm sleeve
- Leg sleeve
- Torso
- Back
- Tattoo Of The Day B+G (fresh only, 1st-2nd place)
- Tattoo Of The Day Color (fresh only, 1st-2nd place)
- Best In Show B+G (fresh only, bonus cash award)
- Best In Show Color (fresh only, bonus cash award)
- Best In Show Color Infusion (fresh only, bonus cash award)
How entries work
Entry $10 per piece.
Entry is $10 per piece. All tattoo entries must be in by 6pm daily and judging starts at 6pm; Tattoo of the Day entries have until 8pm. First, second and third place awards are given in each category, fresh or healed, except Tattoo of the Day, which awards first and second only. Several categories are FRESH ONLY, meaning the tattoo must be started and finished at the show: Best In Show, Tattoo Of The Day, Free Hand, Patriotic, Glitter, Color Infusion and Master of Skulls. Tattoo of the Day must be started and completed on the same day. Bonus cash awards are given for Best In Show in Black and Grey, Color and Color Infusion
Two categories are local to this show rather than standard convention fare: Route 66, judged on the Saturday, and Master of Skulls. The organizer ties the Route 66 theme to the highway's centenary, which it also celebrates in the Sunday car show
Seminars
Teaching sessions for working artists. These are booked and paid for separately from show admission, and admission does not include them.
- B&G Portrait SeminarRyan Nickens · Artist facing. It is not included in admission and no booking route is published The title is printed on the artist's own announcement card on the attending artist page, hand lettered under his ARTIST label. It appears nowhere in the site text No price is published
The organiser's own page pairs presenters with topics ambiguously. Confirm who is teaching what before you pay.
Around the tattooing
On the entertainment stage
The schedule page carries live music, a sword swallower and face paintings on the Saturday and stunt bikes on the Sunday, all with times listed as TBA on 5 September 2026. Jax SilverTree is the only entertainer named
- Jax SilverTree
Also running
- Live music, sword swallower and face paintingsListed on the event schedule for Saturday with times to be announced
- Car, bike and truck show plus stunt bikesListed on the event schedule for Sunday. The car show itself runs 11am to 3pm with registration from 10am and awards at 3pm
- Art show, giveaways and face paintingBilled on the ticket page as part of the 2026 programme
What it costs
Admission is the only price the show sets. Tattoo and piercing work is priced by each artist and paid to them directly, and the organizer publishes no price guide, no show minimum and no deposit rule. Agree the price with the artist before the machine starts.
Extras, bought separately
Car show vehicle entry, pre-registered online: This is a vehicle entry, not admission on its own for a spectator
Tattoo contest entry: Do not read this as admission and it is not a tattoo price
If you are exhibiting
Booth and vendor fees are what the show charges artists and traders. They are not visitor prices.
Payment terms for exhibitors: a deposit of half the booth fee is required within 7 days of approval to secure the booth, the balance within 30 days, and the organizer states NO REFUNDS. The artist booth application asks for a Tattoo License number, a tattoo studio name and the number of artists
Ticket service fees are charged on top of every gate price: $0.38 on each $15 day ticket and $0.88 on the $35 weekend pass. No door price is published, so budget on the online price plus fee
No food prices are published. Food trucks park near the entrance, the venue runs its own food and drink concessions, and the hall opens into Northpark Mall
The market and the food
The market floor carries tattoo artist booths, vendor booths and food truck sites.
Food on site: food trucks and venue concessions.
The show sells food truck sites, one spot near the entrance each, so food trucks are part of the floor plan. The venue separately advertises food and drink concessions, and the hall opens into Northpark Mall. No trader names and no prices are published
Hours and the floor
Indoor
Laid out as Trade Show floor (over 40,000 sq ft, the venue rates it for over 200 10x10 booths), Expo Ballroom (over 9,000 sq ft) and Northpark Mall connecting entrance.
The venue advertises large commercial restrooms, food and drink concessions and a high capacity parking lot. Because the hall opens into Northpark Mall, the mall's own shops and food are a short walk from the floor
Getting there
Nearest airport Joplin Regional (JLN).
How do I get to Royal Disorder Tattoo Expo?
By car
The Joplin Expo Center occupies the former Macy's unit at Northpark Mall, 3211 E 3rd Street, with the mall's large free lots at the door; the expo has its own main entrance plus an interior mall entrance used by artists and vendors. Joplin Regional (JLN) is a small commuter airport about 15 minutes north; most attendees drive I-44, with Springfield 1.25 hours east and Tulsa 1.75 hours southwest
Most people drive to Royal Disorder Tattoo Expo. The nearest major airport is Joplin Regional (JLN), and from there it is a straightforward drive to the venue. Check current road and traffic conditions before you set off, and see parking below.
By train
No direct passenger rail to the venue was found. Drive, fly in, or use a shuttle instead.
By bus & public transit
No scheduled intercity bus or public transit route to the venue was found. Drive, fly in, or use a shuttle instead.
Taxi & rideshare
Taxis and rideshare such as Uber and Lyft can be limited near the venue, especially late at night or in rural areas. Agree a pickup point and time in advance and keep a backup plan.
🚙 Car hire
Where
Venue
Joplin Expo Center
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Royal Disorder Tattoo Expo?
No on site camping. Here is where to stay nearby.
Airbnb & private camping
Joplin's Range Line Road corridor carries the chain hotels and the town's modest rental stock; for a three day expo most attendees are regional drivers from the four-state corner (Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas)
Search Airbnb →Accessibility & comfort
What the organiser or venue publishes about getting around, and what they do not.
The organizer publishes NO minimum age and NO ID requirement for being tattooed or pierced at this show. What it does publish is that the event is family friendly and that children 10 years old and under get in free. That gap is unusual and it is recorded here as a gap, not smoothed over.
Read the full notes
Missouri law, which applies whatever the show says, does not set a flat 18 minimum for tattooing: it makes it an offence to knowingly tattoo, brand or body pierce a minor without the prior written informed consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian, executed in the presence of the person performing the procedure.
Missouri also bars tattooing anyone under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance. Individual artists commonly set a higher floor than the statute, so ask the artist you are booking with what they require
Confirm your specific needs with the organiser's access team before you travel.
Pricing
Price history and tiers
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