Tanning salon recordkeeping: what to record for each session and how long to keep it

Where the record rules come from

Client recordkeeping for tanning salons is set by state law. The federal sunlamp standard, 21 CFR 1040.20, covers how beds and lamps are built and labeled. It contains no client-record duty for salons. The federal record rule a UV salon does meet is the IRS rule for the 10% indoor tanning excise tax, covered below.

This guide uses four states whose rules are specific and current: Texas (a statute), Florida (a statute and a Department of Health rule), Rhode Island (a Department of Health rule, last amended June 5, 2025) and Illinois (a Department of Public Health rule). Other states differ, so check yours on the state tanning laws page before you set a retention period.

Texas stopped licensing tanning salons in 2015, and the Department of State Health Services repealed the old licensing rules effective November 10, 2025. The record duties in Health and Safety Code 145.008 are still in force.

What to record for each client and each session

Texas lists seven items for every customer: the date and time of each use, the minutes, any injury or illness, the signed informed consent statement, skin type, family history of skin cancer and past medical history of skin cancer (Health and Safety Code 145.008(i)). The customer must also show photo ID and sign a new statement before the first session and each time they sign or renew a contract (145.008(e)).

Florida's rule lists each customer's signature, age, visit dates, total visits, exposure times and the name of the operator or employee who assisted (64E-17.004(7)). The Florida statute has the customer sign the written statement each time they use the facility or sign or renew a contract (s. 381.89(6)(g)). Rhode Island asks for total visits, dates and durations, plus the signed acknowledgment that the patron understands the risks and has reviewed a photosensitizing drug list (216-RICR-40-10-24, 24.8.3(D)). Illinois asks for total visits, dates, durations and the equipment used (77 Ill. Adm. Code 795.190(d)).

Illinois adds a medication form. Each consumer lists the prescription and over-the-counter medicines they take and any cosmetics or tanning accelerators they applied, and certifies they have not tanned in the previous 24 hours (795.190(b)).

How long to keep tanning records

The Texas clock runs from each client's last use, so a regular client's whole record stays on file. Illinois visit records are kept while the salon is open and for at least 5 years after it closes.

Injuries, incidents and complaints

Texas requires an incident log at each facility. It records every alleged injury, every use of a bed by a customer not wearing protective eyewear, every mechanical problem with a bed and every customer complaint (145.008(j)).

• Florida: a written report of any alleged tanning injury goes to the county health department that issued the license within five working days of the injury or of learning of it. The statute also says to give the person who complained a copy (s. 381.89(6)(i)). The report includes the date, the customer's contact details, the staff member who assisted, the nature of the injury, the session length, any health care provider and treatment, and the device's make, model and lamp (64E-17.004(8)).
• Rhode Island: a written or electronic report goes to the Department within five working days of each actual or alleged accident or injury for which medical attention was sought or obtained, including the date and duration of the exposure (24.8.3(E)).
• Illinois: a written report of any injury or alleged injury goes to the Department within 10 working days, naming the equipment involved and any health care provider (795.200).

Keep a copy of every report you send with the client's record, so you can show what was reported and when.

Equipment, lamp and timer records

Rhode Island is the most detailed on equipment. For each sunlamp product, the salon keeps the manufacturer's manual, the manufacturer's exposure schedule, and records of surveys, inspections, maintenance and modifications with the name of the person who did the work, the date and the hour meter reading (24.8.3(H)). It also keeps the results of timer accuracy tests, which are due at least every 12 months (24.7.2(K)(3); 24.8.3(G)), records of staff training (24.8.3(F)), and records of the receipt, transfer, repair and disposal of every bed and lamp (24.8.3(I)).

Illinois requires a log of every replacement lamp: the date it was installed, its location in the unit and its name, model or serial designation, plus the manufacturer's literature or FDA certification showing the lamp is equivalent (795.100(b) and (c)). Florida requires the owner's manual for each bed on file, and a manufacturer's statement on file whenever substitute lamps are used (64E-17.004(9) and (10)). Florida also requires proof of employee training to be kept at the facility (64E-17.004(3)).

Paper or computer: what electronic records must do

Electronic records are allowed, with conditions. Florida's rule asks for a written and/or electronic record (64E-17.004(7)). Rhode Island accepts records completed and stored electronically if they can produce legible, accurate and complete copies and can be retrieved for any time period (24.8.3(C)). Illinois requires information kept on computer systems to be copied at least monthly to storage other than the computer's hard drive (795.190(e)).

Florida's Department of Health says in its tanning FAQ that a computerized salon must be able to produce records for the full four years, whether by backup disks or thumb drives. Texas and Rhode Island both say the records are kept at the facility. Whatever you use, make sure the person at the desk can pull up any client's history during an inspection.

Who may see a client's file

Texas bars disclosure of the customer record except to the customer or someone acting for them, a health authority, a person the customer consents to in writing, a criminal proceeding in which the customer is a victim, witness or defendant, a court order or subpoena, or as otherwise required by law (145.016). A health authority may copy or verify records at reasonable times (145.011(c)).

Illinois requires the medication form to be kept confidential. It may be released only with the consumer's written consent, except to the Department during an inspection (795.190(b)). Limit who on staff opens client files.

Tax records for the tanning excise

The federal indoor tanning tax is 10% of the amount paid for indoor tanning services. The customer pays it and the salon collects it. If the salon does not collect it for any reason, the salon is liable for it (IRS Form 720 instructions, IRS No. 140).

The IRS says to keep copies of the return and records of all transactions that show the correct tax was paid, and to keep records supporting any claim or exemption for at least 4 years from the latest of the due date, the payment date or the claim date. If one payment covers tanning and other goods, the other charges come out of the taxed amount when they are separable, no more than fair market value, and shown in exact amounts in the provider's records (26 CFR 49.5000B-1(d)(2)). Otherwise the payment is treated as bundled, and the tax applies to the part reasonably attributable to tanning (49.5000B-1(d)(3)). More detail is in the tanning excise tax guide.

What missing records can cost

• Florida: failing to keep the required records, or knowingly making false entries, is a second-degree misdemeanor (s. 381.89(10)(b)). The Department may also fine up to $1,000 per violation per day (s. 381.89(11)(a)).
• Illinois: $250 per violation for not keeping consumer use records, $500 for not keeping the medication form confidential, $500 for an unreported injury and $100 for a missing equipment maintenance log. A first violation brings a warning letter, repeats add a minimum of $250 and then $500, and each day counts as a separate violation (795.220).
• Texas: a violation of the chapter by anyone other than the customer is a Class A misdemeanor (145.013). The attorney general or a district, county or city attorney may also sue for a civil penalty of up to $25,000 a day for each violation (145.0121).

A recordkeeping routine for the front desk

1. File the signed warning statement and the client's date of birth before the first session. Have it signed again when your state asks: Texas at each new or renewed contract, Rhode Island and Illinois at least every 12 months, Florida's statute at each use.
2. Record every session as it starts: date, time, bed, minutes and who checked the client in.
3. Log every injury, complaint, missing-eyewear session and mechanical problem the same day, and send any required report within your state's deadline.
4. Keep an equipment binder per bed: manual, exposure schedule, lamp changes, service visits, hour meter readings and timer tests.
5. If records live on a computer, make the copies your state asks for and test that you can print a past month.
6. Put a retention date on each type of record and do not delete a client's file while the clock is still running.

For the rest of what an inspector checks, see the tanning salon inspection checklist. State-specific rules are on the Texas and Florida pages.

Where TanVision helps, and where it does not

TanVision saves each session with its date and time, the room, the minutes, the client's skin type at that visit and the staff member who checked them in. The printable day sheet lists the same columns for any day. Signed consent forms are kept with the signature and the exact wording the client agreed to, and a session cannot start without a signed warning statement and a date of birth on file. Salons can add their own questions, such as the Texas skin cancer history questions.

Sales tax and excise are stored line by line with the rate used, and a tax audit report reads them back. Each lamp group shows its hours and the date it was last reset. See client records for how the file is laid out.

TanVision has no injury or incident log and no timer-test log, and it does not track how long each record must be kept. Keep those in your own binder.