Tattoo intake form: health history, ink allergies and the design consultation
The best time to learn that a client's last tattoo stayed raised and itchy is before you draw the next one. A tattoo intake form collects that history, the health answers that mean you wait, and the design details, so the session is about the tattoo and not a surprise.
This exact form is built into SlickChart: send it to your client's phone to fill in before their consultation, and their answers are on file when they arrive.
Contact details and the age check
My intake starts with contact details, an emergency contact, and whether it is OK to text reminders. Then the required age and ID check: 18 and over only, valid government photo ID at every appointment, and a copy kept on file.
What they are booking
Your client checks every service that applies: standard tattoo, cover-up or rework, fine line or micro, large-scale or sleeve, color or realism, touch-up, flash or walk-in, or not sure yet. Then the idea in a few words, where on the body, size in inches, whether it is their first tattoo, and the ink: black and gray, color, both, or not sure.
Tattoo and skin history
The form explains why it asks: past tattoos and how they healed help plan the design, placement and aftercare. Your client checks anything that applies:
- A tattoo that stayed raised or itchy
- A reaction to tattoo ink, any color
- A reaction to bandage or tape
- A keloid or raised scar anywhere
- Laser removal or fading
- Fainting with needles or blood
- Sunburn or a tan at the site now
Yes or no questions follow: healed with second-skin film before, used numbing cream before, alcohol or drugs in the last 24 hours, and eaten in the last 3 hours. A last line asks about job and hobbies, because sun, water and friction affect healing.
Allergies, with ink named
Nine options: latex, bandage or tape adhesive, tattoo ink (red is most common), soaps or antiseptics, ointments or lotions, fragrance, lidocaine or numbing creams, nickel or other metals, or none known. A short box asks what the reaction was, and to what.
For anyone who has reacted before, my ink and skin sensitivity record goes deeper, down to second-skin film and black henna. Its note says plainly that artists do not diagnose allergies, and any itchy, raised or swollen area is referred to a doctor.
The health check
Your client is asked to answer every line, and the form says why:
Some answers mean we wait or need your doctor's OK. Never stop a medicine on your own.
Fourteen items: pregnancy or breastfeeding, blood thinners or daily aspirin, a bleeding or clotting disorder, diabetes, immune suppression or chemo, a heart condition or pacemaker, epilepsy or seizures, fainting or low blood pressure, eczema, psoriasis or a rash at the site, Accutane in the last 6 to 12 months, moles or birthmarks at the site, skin cancer now or in the past, hepatitis or a bloodborne condition (optional), and any other condition. A box lists every medication, including supplements.
A check opens a conversation; what a condition means is for their doctor to decide.
Numbing, in writing
Your client says whether a numbing product was used today or is planned, and names the product and strength. The numbing line follows your studio policy: never more than 4 percent lidocaine, applied only as directed to a small area.
The acknowledgements
- Their answers are true and complete, and they will tell you if their health or medicines change.
- They are 18 or older with valid photo ID, and have had no alcohol or drugs in the last 24 hours.
- Ink allergies can appear years later, and tattoos can rarely tingle during an MRI, so they will tell their radiologist.
- They will report any reaction so it can be recorded with the ink brand and lot number.
A privacy note keeps records and an ID copy 3 years or as your state requires.
The design consultation
The consultation form records body area, width and height in inches, whether it wraps around, and what to work around (moles, scars, existing work). The form puts it simply: work around moles, never over. Your client picks a style from twelve, from fine line and traditional to Japanese and watercolor, then the ink, and custom or a flash number.
Two lines save the most trouble. References are inspiration only, because your artist draws an original design. And words, names or dates are written exactly as they should appear, with spelling checked again on the stencil.
It ends with estimated sessions and an approval of placement, size and the plan, with 3 to 4 weeks of healing between sessions. Big pieces get their own form; see my large-scale tattoo consent post.
Questions to decide for your own practice
- Will every new client fill in the sensitivity record, or only those who check an allergy?
- How long will you keep records and ID copies? Rules vary, so check with your state and local health department. This post is not legal or medical advice.
Then send the tattoo consent form for the day itself, or browse the full tattoo artist forms collection.
Use this form with your clients
SlickChart has this exact tattoo intake and consultation form built in for subscribers. The form goes to the client's phone before the visit, or they fill it in on your device at your station, and any contraindication they check is flagged for you. The pre-care lands in the client's own app, styled with your logo, and it all works alongside the Square account you already have. If that would save you paperwork, try SlickChart.
Prefer paper? The printable tattoo artist set, with this intake, the consultation form and the pre-care guide, is in my Etsy shop, ready to print or edit in free Canva.