March 2026 HLO Update
POST-CURRICULM REVIEW COMMITTEE NEWS, 3/30/26
For the folks just joining us on this bureaucratic journey, a bit about how tattoo schools are set up in Oregon:
The Health Licensing Office (HLO) issues the licenses of the practitioners in Oregon, and oversees testing and school curriculum. HLO does not oversee the schools or do inspections/audits- any complaints about the schools themselves are out of HLO jurisdiction. Oregon law states that any trade that requires a license to practice must be obtained in a trade school, which is how this regulation came about decades ago.
The schools themselves are governed by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) which regulates items such as instructor qualifications and auditing of schools. Active students who file a formal complaint with HECC before filing an email thread complaint with their school directly will be overlooked and the organization will side with the school every time, leaving students largely unprotected.
Focus needs to shift to HECC to address issues like mistreatment, lack of auditing, lack of instructor qualifications, etc. This is its own mountain to climb within the Oregon regulatory system, and we will need to start attending meetings, build our contacts and start from scratch with a list of changes/issues we need to bring to their attention that are concise and well researched.
For the record many of us have broached the topic of one-on-one style apprenticeships, journeyman style programs after schooling or federal aid for tattoo programs and unfortunately it’s not something the state will allow with the way the current law is set up. FAFSA requires a trade school to be at least 6,000 hours to qualify, which for the tattoo programs clocking in well under a thousand we are not anywhere near that goal. The path of least resistance might just be working and tweaking the system that we have, because tattoo schools are not going anywhere.
There is an email addressing school oversight the HLO provided for us to reach HEC:
HLO Body Art Practioner Board Meetings
Decorum- How these meetings work:
These take place in Salem at the HLO building, but are available to attend virtually and recorded so anyone can watch them on the HLO website after.
Meetings happen quarterly, members of the public may send a statement ahead of time to read aloud during the Public Comment section of the meeting.
These meetings are fairly formal, have agendas laid out ahead of time, will go over statistics and possibly break for official Board business that is not available for the public to see.
You are required to state your name ahead of speaking and actually sign up for the public comment section if you wish to speak. They will also allow for public comment if you have not submitted beforehand.
This public comment time is allotted at the END of the board meeting agenda. They are not allowed to respond to you, this is only time allowed to make a statement, not converse with the staff or the board.
You can sign up to receive the newsletters and announcements from the HLO here: (insert link)
CATCHING UP…
A 4-meeting-long CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE session with a group of over a dozen committed tattooers, shop owners, tattoo and cosmetic tattoo school owners regarding the Tattoo School programs just wrapped after much careful deliberation. Members of the public were allowed to join and weigh in during the public comment section at the end.
A HUGE issue that continuously came up (and a large reason why this committee was very conservative with the increases that were decided on) is that ARTISTIC and COSMETIC tattooing live under the SAME license in the state of Oregon. In order to make sure this curriculum works for everyone for the time being until we can get these licenses separated, they have to be considered as a whole. This proved challenging to provide solutions that worked for everyone. The last time this curriculum was adjusted was 2017, and a lot has changed. In order to modernize it, certain touchstones were added to include things like digital payments and consent guidelines.
Keep in mind these requirements are the bare minimum, and many schools go above and beyond this threshold, but many do not and because there is no auditing to speak of from HECC. The HLO is only responsible for creating the BASELINE COMPETENCY of the school program for the license holder, much like any trade school. The logic is that it is up to the student to fill in the gaps and enhance their learning after they obtain their license. The changes that were proposed during this committee journey are now ready to go back to the board, they will then approve the new changes in a special meeting before the next HLO Board of Body Art Practitioners meeting in October. After this time of approval no new rules will go into effect until 2027.
The minimum amount of practical PROCEDURES was proposed to be raised from 50 to 60, raise the 1:1 instructor requirements to the first 25 procedures (meaning one on one direct supervision), the next 20 being 1:2 (one instructor to 2 students direct supervision and then the remaining 15 at 1:4 direct supervision. You’ll note under practical procedures in the table below it says (75-100) which is what was brought to the board to weigh in on, but the board did not want to make that decision and so an extra meeting was scheduled to further discuss. Compromise was set at 60 procedures so we could move on until the two licenses are separated.
The practical HOURS were raised by 45, adding a few more and subtracting some in other areas.
SO!
Our next goal should be to separate these two licenses so that each faction can get the curriculum tailored to what they want. This will take time and requires lobbying a senator to change the law. It is in the best interest of both factions of tattooing that this happens, without a doubt.
How do we stay connected? Here are some action steps to move this forward:
Follow us on Instagram @reformoregontattooing
We will do an AMA today 3/31 to answer any questions as best we can and save it in a highlight
Send us an email at reformoregontattooing@gmail.com
Sign up on the HLO website for them to send you updates about upcoming news and meetings here (This is to subscribe to the Board of Electrology & Body Art Practitioners info specifically)
Talk to your friends and peers about wanting to get involved
Show up at the next HLO meeting 10/19 9:30am either in person or virtually
Prepare a public comment statement and submit it
Show up at HECC meetings with other tattooers when we get their meeting dates and times
See you out there!