Tattoo Hygiene Rating Scheme

The Tattoo Hygiene Rating Scheme (THRS) is a voluntary scheme, launched in Hartlepool on 1 April 2014, aimed at improving standards of tattooists and allowing the public to choose a tattooist that meets high standards of hygiene.

Hartlepool was the first council in England to launch the scheme, which was initially introduced in Wales in September 2013.

The scheme aims to:

• Inform the public about the hygiene standards in the premises at the time of the most recent inspection;
• Drive up standards and adoption of best practice across the industry; and
• Reduce the risk of incidents of infection and of transmission of infectious disease from tattooing procedures

Participation in the scheme is by application.  Participating premises will be allocated a rating following a programmed inspection, and that rating can be displayed in the premises in certificate form and on the window of the premises in the form of a window sticker.

The premises will be re-rated on a programmed basis, but may be re-rated before the programmed inspection visit at the request of the operator of the premises and the discretion of the local authority.  

Premises will be rated into four categories;

1                    Needs Improvement

2                    Satisfactory

3                    Good

4                    Very Good

A comprehensive list of current Tattoo Hygiene Ratings for all premises participating in the scheme will be displayed on the Tattoo Hygiene Rating Scheme website.

The following premises have been rated in Hartlepool: