Tanning laws · OH
Ohio tanning laws for salon owners
Last verified
Researched and written by the TanVision team
General information, not legal advice. Check your state’s current rules.
The short answer
Ohio sets no minimum age for UV tanning. A client under 16 needs a parent's signature before every session and a parent present throughout. Ages 16 and 17 need a parent's signature on the board's form, valid 90 days for up to 45 sessions. Adults sign the board's form once, and a certified operator must always be on duty.
Ohio at a glance
- Minimum age for UV tanning
- Ohio sets no minimum age for sun lamp tanning. Under ORC 4713.50(B)(3), a client under 16 may tan only if a parent or legal guardian signs the board's consent form before each session and stays at the facility for the whole session. Source 1
- Parental consent
- ORC 4713.50(B)(2): for a client aged 16 or 17, a parent or legal guardian signs the board's form in the presence of the operator or an employee. The consent is valid for 90 days, and the minor may have no more than 45 sessions in that period. Under 16, the parent signs before each session, also in the presence of the operator or an employee, and stays at the facility for the whole session (4713.50(B)(3)). Electronic signatures are accepted (4713.50(C)). Source 1
- Spray tan age rule
- The age and consent rules in ORC 4713.50 cover only a facility's "sun lamp tanning services". A spray booth still makes the premises a tanning facility that needs a permit (ORC 4713.01(PP)(2)), but ORC chapter 4713 and OAC chapter 4713-19 contain no separate spray-tan age rule. Source 1
- License or permit
- ORC 4713.48: a permit to operate a tanning facility from the State Cosmetology and Barber Board, a separate permit for each premises, issued after an initial inspection, posted where the public can see it, and renewed every two years by January 31 of each odd-numbered year. ORC 4713.08(F) caps the fee at $100 per location, and OAC 4713-19-01 (effective January 2, 2025) sets the fees after June 30, 2025 at $85 for an original permit and $75 for a renewal. Source 2
- Inspections
- ORC 4713.07(A)(10): board inspectors inspect tanning facilities within 90 days of opening, on a complaint, within 90 days after a documented violation, and at least once every two years. OAC 4713-1-10 lets inspectors come without prior notice. Source 3
- Operator training
- OAC 4713-19-05(A)(1): a certified operator must be on duty at all times, stationed near the sunlamp products. A certified operator has passed a board-approved course with a score of at least 75 percent (OAC 4713-19-02(A)). The course runs at least four hours and ends with a monitored exam (OAC 4713-19-14(B)), and the certificate is valid for four years (OAC 4713-19-02(J)). The facility keeps each operator's certificate on file (OAC 4713-19-14(A)). Source 10
- Time between sessions
- ORC chapter 4713 and OAC chapter 4713-19 set no general waiting time between sessions. For clients aged 16 and 17, ORC 4713.50(B)(2) allows no more than 45 sessions in each 90-day consent period, and no session may run longer than the maximum exposure time set by board rule. Source 1
- Consent statement
- ORC 4713.50(B)(1): a client 18 or older signs the board's consent form before first using sun lamp tanning services, and the consent is valid indefinitely. The form is the one the board develops under ORC 4713.51, not wording the salon writes. Source 1
- Client records
- OAC 4713-19-09 (effective January 1, 2026): keep a file for each sun lamp client with copies of the signed board consent forms; the skin type, the date it was determined and the certified operator who determined it; an acknowledgment that the client received eyewear or will use their own approved eyewear; and an acknowledgment that the client was told the maximum exposure time for the assigned unit. A facility that uses a paper sign-in sheet must transfer its information to the client's file daily; electronic signatures or biometric scans may replace the sheet (4713-19-09(B) and (C)). The rule sets no retention period. Source 11
- Injury reporting
- No statewide statute found as of 2026-09-29.
- Protective eyewear
- OAC 4713-19-05(A)(2)(c): the certified operator provides or makes available protective eyewear to each sun lamp client, and eyewear the facility provides must be disinfected as OAC 4713-19-06 requires. The client's file records that they received eyewear or will use their own approved eyewear (OAC 4713-19-09(A)(3)). Source 10
- Replacement lamps
- OAC 4713-19-04(A)(11): replace lamps, bulbs and filters as the manufacturer recommends or when they become defective or damaged, and use only lamps that meet FDA requirements for that sunlamp product or a certified compatible lamp. Keep the manufacturer's lamp recommendations on file and produce the lamp compatibility sheets on request. Lamps must be installed so an inspector can read the label (4713-19-04(A)(12)). Source 9
- Timer checks
- OAC 4713-19-05(A)(4): check mechanical timers every time the bulbs are changed and at least once a year, and keep documentation of the checks. Digital timers do not need the check. OAC 4713-19-04(A)(2) limits timer error to plus or minus 10 percent and requires remote timer controls in each new facility. Source 10
Who regulates tanning in Ohio
The State Cosmetology and Barber Board regulates tanning under Ohio Revised Code chapter 4713 and its rules in Ohio Administrative Code chapter 4713-19. Any premises with UV beds, spray or sunless booths, or visible-light beds for cosmetic use counts as a tanning facility (ORC 4713.01(PP)). Offering one to the public for a fee without a current permit is prohibited (ORC 4713.14(P)).
Ohio does not ban minors from tanning. It grades the consent a client needs by age, and it requires the board's own consent form rather than one the salon writes. Senate Bill 25 of the 136th General Assembly would bar sun lamp tanning for anyone under 16, but as of 2026-09-29 the legislature's site shows it only introduced (January 22, 2025) and referred to the Senate Health Committee, so it is not law.
Checking age and consent at the desk
- Ask every new UV client for a current driver's license or other government-issued photo ID that shows the birth date (OAC 4713-19-05(A)(2)(a)).
- 18 and older: the client signs the board's consent form before the first session. That consent is valid indefinitely.
- 16 and 17: a parent or legal guardian signs the board's form in front of you or another employee. It lasts 90 days, and the client may have no more than 45 sessions in that time. Count them.
- Under 16: a parent or legal guardian signs the form in front of you or another employee before every session and stays at the salon for the whole session.
Ohio accepts electronic signatures for all of these (ORC 4713.50(C)). The board's current form is titled "Tanning Risks and Important Information" and is marked "Revised 09232026", so check that the version you use matches it. Our guide to the tanning consent form compares Ohio with other states.
Before the first UV session
A certified operator determines the client's skin type on the first visit and notes it on the client's record, unless the unit types skin automatically. The operator sets the first exposure and each later one from that skin type, offers protective eyewear, and shows the client the booth handrail and the emergency switch (OAC 4713-19-05(A)(2)).
Under rule 4713-19-09, in the version effective January 1, 2026, each client's file needs the signed consent forms, the skin type with its date and the operator who determined it, an eyewear acknowledgment, and an acknowledgment that the client was told the maximum exposure time for the assigned unit. If you use a paper sign-in sheet, transfer its information into each client's file every day.
Staff, equipment and inspections
- Keep a certified operator on duty at all times, stationed close to the UV beds, and keep each operator's certificate at the salon. Certificates last four years.
- Replace lamps as the manufacturer recommends, and keep the lamp compatibility sheets where you can show them to an inspector.
- Check mechanical timers at every lamp change and at least once a year, and keep the record.
- Renew the permit for each location by January 31 of each odd-numbered year. Expect an inspection at least once every two years, and possibly without notice.
- Spray clients get protective eyewear, lip balm and nose filters (OAC 4713-19-05(B)).
For timers and lamps in more depth, see tanning bed timer rules and tanning bed lamp replacement.
How TanVision helps
With TanVision's consent forms, clients sign on their own phone or a tablet, and each signed record keeps the signature and the exact wording the client agreed to. Ohio names the board's form, so make sure the wording on file matches it. A session cannot start without a signed statement and a date of birth on file, and a client under the salon's minimum age needs guardian consent on file.
TanVision does not track Ohio's 90-day consent period, the 45-session cap or the rule that a parent stays for an under-16 session, so keep those as desk checks. Exposure safety recommends a time from the client's skin type and refuses a typed time above the room's maximum, and lamp hours for each room warn when a change is due. Compare other states on the tanning laws by state page.
Common questions
- What is the minimum age to tan in Ohio?
- Ohio sets no minimum age. A client under 16 may use sun lamp tanning only if a parent or legal guardian signs the board's consent form before each session and stays at the facility for the whole session. Ages 16 and 17 need a parent's signed consent, which lasts 90 days (ORC 4713.50).
- How long does a parent's tanning consent last in Ohio?
- For a 16- or 17-year-old, 90 days from the date the parent signs, with no more than 45 sessions in that period. The parent must sign in front of the operator or an employee. For a child under 16, consent covers only one session.
- Do adult tanning clients in Ohio need to sign a new form each year?
- No. ORC 4713.50(B)(1) says an adult's signed consent on the board's form is valid indefinitely. It must be signed before the client first uses sun lamp tanning services, and a copy stays in the client's file.
- Does a spray tan business need a permit in Ohio?
- Yes. Premises with booths that apply spray-on, mist-on or sunless tans count as a tanning facility under ORC 4713.01(PP)(2), and a tanning facility offered to the public for a fee needs a permit from the State Cosmetology and Barber Board.
Sources
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.50, Age restrictions for tanning services (effective January 21, 2018)
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.48, Permit to operate tanning facility
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.07, Duties of board (effective October 24, 2024)
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.08, Administrative rules (effective October 24, 2024)
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.01, Cosmetologist definitions (effective April 9, 2025)
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.14, Prohibited acts (effective October 24, 2024)
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-19-01, Application process and fee requirements (effective January 2, 2025)
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-19-02, Definitions
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-19-04, Installation of equipment
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-19-05, Facility and equipment operation (effective January 2, 2025)
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-19-09, Maintaining records for sunlamp product services (effective January 1, 2026)
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-19-14, Training of operators
- Ohio Adm. Code 4713-1-10, Inspection and investigation
- Tanning Risks and Important Information, consent form (Revised 09232026)
- Ohio Revised Code 4713.51, Consent form
- Senate Bill 25, 136th General Assembly, status (prohibit sun lamp tanning services to individuals under age 16)