Can a parent sign once for a 15-year-old in Nebraska?

No. The statute requires the parent's signed statement before each use of tanning equipment by anyone under 16, signed at the tanning facility, and the parent must accompany the minor.

Do I need a state license to open a tanning salon in Nebraska?

No. The Indoor Tanning Facility Act creates no license or registration, and a full-text search of the Revised Statutes for "tanning" on September 29, 2026 found no other licensing provision. Check your city or county for local permits.

Who enforces Nebraska's tanning law?

The Department of Health and Human Services. It imposes and collects the $100 civil penalty for letting a client under 16 tan without the parent or guardian who signed the statement, and it may inspect a facility after a complaint, on the recommendation of the cosmetology board (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3906 and 71-3909).

Can teenagers get a spray tan in Nebraska?

The tanning act does not cover it. It applies to equipment emitting radiation between 200 and 400 nanometers, and the cosmetology practice act exempts airbrush tanning.

Tanning laws · NE

Nebraska tanning laws for salon owners

Last verified September 29, 2026

Researched and written by the TanVision team

General information, not legal advice. Check your state’s current rules.

The short answer

Nebraska sets no minimum tanning age. A client under 16 may tan only with a parent or guardian present who signs a statement at the salon before each use, and every client must show proof of age. Salons must post a warning sign. The state requires no license, and the act provides for inspections only after a complaint.

Nebraska at a glance

Minimum age for UV tanning: None. Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905 lets a person under 16 use tanning equipment only when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian who signs a statement at the facility before each use. It sets no age below which tanning is banned. Everyone must show proof of age, such as a driver's license or other government ID with a date of birth and photo (71-3905). Source 1
Parental consent: Required under 16, before each use. The parent or legal guardian must accompany the minor and sign, at the tanning facility, a statement that they are the parent or guardian, have read and understood the facility's warnings, consent to the minor's use of the equipment, and agree the minor will wear protective eyewear (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905). Clients aged 16 and over need no parental consent. Letting a client under 16 tan without the parent or guardian who signed the statement carries a $100 civil penalty, imposed and collected by the Department of Health and Human Services (71-3906). Source 1
Spray tan age rule: None. The act covers tanning equipment, defined as devices emitting radiation between 200 and 400 nanometers that are used to tan skin (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3902(4)), so a UV-free spray booth is outside it. The cosmetology practice act also exempts anyone practicing airbrush tanning (38-1075(12)). Source 7
License or permit: None under state law. The Indoor Tanning Facility Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3901 to 71-3909) creates no license, registration or permit, and a full-text search of the Revised Statutes for "tanning" found no other licensing provision. Barber shops licensed by the Board of Barber Examiners must keep any tanning area on their premises clean and sanitary (51 NAC 3, section 004.09). Source 9
Inspections: Only after a complaint. When the Department of Health and Human Services receives a complaint about a tanning facility, it may inspect the facility during business hours, on the recommendation of the Board of Cosmetology, Electrology, Esthetics, Nail Technology, and Body Art (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3909). No routine schedule is set. Source 5
Operator training: Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3902(3) defines an operator as a person the owner or equipment lessee designates to operate the facility or equipment, or to help and instruct clients in using it. The act sets no training or certification requirement. Source 2
Time between sessions: No statewide statute found as of 2026-09-29.
Consent statement: Adults sign nothing under the act. The only signed statement is the parent's, before each session of a client under 16 (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905). Every facility must post a warning sign where anyone entering can read it, in black letters at least one-quarter inch high, with the wording set out in 71-3907, including the under-16 rule and that violations can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services. Source 4
Client records: Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905 requires the facility to obtain the parent's signed statement before each under-16 session and proof of age from every client, but the act sets no record-keeping duty or retention period for those statements or for sessions. Source 1
Injury reporting: No statewide statute found as of 2026-09-29.
Protective eyewear: The act requires no facility to supply eyewear. A parent signing for a client under 16 agrees the minor will wear it (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905), and the required sign tells every client to wear it (71-3907). Barber shops with a tanning area must furnish clients with protective eyewear (51 NAC 3, section 004.09). Source 1
Replacement lamps: No statewide statute found as of 2026-09-29.
Timer checks: No statewide statute found as of 2026-09-29.

What Nebraska tanning law covers

Nebraska's tanning law is the Indoor Tanning Facility Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3901 to 71-3909. It was enacted as Legislative Bill 132, which the Governor approved on March 28, 2014. It applies to any place that makes tanning equipment available for public or commercial use, including salons, health clubs, apartments and condominiums, whether or not it charges (71-3902(5)). It does not apply to a physician using UV equipment in medical practice, or to someone who owns equipment only for personal, noncommercial use (71-3904). The owner or lessee must also make sure the facility meets every applicable federal law and regulation (71-3908).

On September 29, 2026 we searched the whole Revised Statutes for "tanning". Besides the act, the search found the cosmetology board's membership section, the airbrush-tanning exemption, a privacy offense that lists tanning booths as private places, and a court note in the sales-tax sections. None adds a salon duty. A full-text search of the Nebraska Administrative Code found tanning in one salon-related rule, the barber shop rule in 51 NAC 3. The other two hits were a trademark class and a hazardous-waste rule about leather tanning. So state law adds no license, session gap, injury report, lamp rule or timer test of its own; federal equipment rules still apply through 71-3908.

At the front desk

Ask every client for proof of age before they use tanning equipment, such as a driver's license or other government ID with a date of birth and photo (71-3905).
For a client under 16, the parent or legal guardian must be there. Before each session they sign, at your salon, a statement that they are the parent or guardian, have read your warnings, consent, and agree the minor will wear eyewear (71-3905). A signature from a previous visit does not count.
Post the 71-3907 warning sign where everyone entering can read it, in black letters at least a quarter inch high.
Keep your equipment, lamps and timers within federal requirements, since the act makes owners responsible for those (71-3908).
If you run a licensed barber shop with a tanning area, sanitize the equipment after each use, give each client a clean towel and eyewear, and keep a receptacle for soiled towels (51 NAC 3, section 004.09).

Letting a client under 16 tan without the parent who signed the statement costs a $100 civil penalty, collected by the Department of Health and Human Services (71-3906). Anyone can report a violation to the department, and the required sign says so.

What changed recently

Nothing since 2014. Each section's source note lists only Laws 2014, LB132. We ran the Legislature's full-text bill search for "tanning" on September 29, 2026. It found one 2023-24 bill, LB189, which proposed changes to cosmetology exemptions; 38-1075, which holds the airbrush-tanning exemption, still reads as last amended in 2018. It found two 2025-26 bills, LB935 and LB1020, which amend the privacy offense that lists tanning booths. No bill amended the tanning act. City and county rules are outside this page.

How TanVision helps

TanVision checks each client's age against the date of birth already on their record, and a session cannot start without a date of birth and a signed statement on file. The minimum age is 18 by default, which is stricter than Nebraska's statute: a 16- or 17-year-old cannot start a session until guardian consent is on file. Your consent forms let clients sign on a phone or tablet, and each signed record keeps the exact wording they agreed to.

Three limits matter in Nebraska. Staff must still ask each client for proof of age: with a USB 2D barcode scanner, Scan ID reads the date of birth from the barcode on a driver's license or ID card and records the day the ID was checked, but it does not compare the photo with the person. With Minors and UV rooms at Yes, the default at Settings > Tanning rules, guardian consent on file lets a younger client start any room, UV included, with only a warning, so it does not replace the parent's statement signed at the salon before each under-16 session. Keep that statement at the desk and make sure the parent is present. The client record shows recent visits newest first, with notes you can use for these checks. Exposure safety refuses any time above your limit or the room's own maximum. For other states, see tanning laws by state.

Common questions

What is the minimum age to tan in Nebraska?: Nebraska sets none. A client under 16 may tan only with a parent or legal guardian present who signs a statement at the salon before each use, and every client must show proof of age (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905).
Can a parent sign once for a 15-year-old in Nebraska?: No. The statute requires the parent's signed statement before each use of tanning equipment by anyone under 16, signed at the tanning facility, and the parent must accompany the minor.
Do I need a state license to open a tanning salon in Nebraska?: No. The Indoor Tanning Facility Act creates no license or registration, and a full-text search of the Revised Statutes for "tanning" on September 29, 2026 found no other licensing provision. Check your city or county for local permits.
Who enforces Nebraska's tanning law?: The Department of Health and Human Services. It imposes and collects the $100 civil penalty for letting a client under 16 tan without the parent or guardian who signed the statement, and it may inspect a facility after a complaint, on the recommendation of the cosmetology board (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3906 and 71-3909).
Can teenagers get a spray tan in Nebraska?: The tanning act does not cover it. It applies to equipment emitting radiation between 200 and 400 nanometers, and the cosmetology practice act exempts airbrush tanning.

Sources

Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3905, Operator, owner, or lessee; prohibited acts; signed statement required; consent; proof of ageNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3902, Terms, definedNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3906, Operator, owner, or lessee; civil penaltyNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3907, Operator, owner, or lessee; post warning sign; informationNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3909, Complaint; department; powersNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3908, Operator, owner, or lessee; ensure complianceNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 38-1075, Act; activities exempt (airbrush tanning, subdivision 12)Nebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3904, Applicability of actNebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Nebraska Revised Statutes, full-text search for "tanning" (14 results: 71-3901 to 71-3909, 38-1057, 38-1075, 28-311.08, 77-2703, 77-2708)Nebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Legislative Bill 132 (2014), Indoor Tanning Facility Act, slip law approved by the Governor March 28, 2014Nebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
51 NAC 3, Barber Shop Licensing (effective 12-18-2022), section 004.09 on tanning areasNebraska Secretary of State, Nebraska Administrative Code. Accessed September 29, 2026.
Nebraska Administrative Code, full-text search for "tanning" (3 chapters: 51 NAC 3, 128 NAC 2, 439 NAC 1)Nebraska Secretary of State. Accessed September 29, 2026.
109th Legislature (2025-26), full-text bill search for "tanning" (LB935, LB1020 and their amendments)Nebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.
108th Legislature (2023-24), full-text bill search for "tanning" (1 result, LB189)Nebraska Legislature. Accessed September 29, 2026.

Tanning laws in every state