{"data":{"id":"us-ca/pen-653","jurisdiction":"us-ca","citation":"PEN § 653","heading":"","body":"Every person who tattoos or offers to tattoo a person under the age of 18 years is guilty of a misdemeanor.\nAs used in this section, to “tattoo” means to insert pigment under the surface of the skin of a human being, by pricking with a needle or otherwise, so as to produce an indelible mark or figure visible through the skin.\nThis section is not intended to apply to any act of a licensed practitioner of the healing arts performed in the course of his practice.","path":["Penal Code - PEN","PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS [25. - 680.4.]","TITLE 15. MISCELLANEOUS CRIMES [626. - 653.75.]","CHAPTER 2. Of Other and Miscellaneous Offenses [639. - 653.2.]"],"source_url":"https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zip","current_through":"2026-09-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T05:56:33Z","sha256":"7999bc1f7dd97dcfc1a529fd09ba26aebc46042bce0ac9a7f14265b98b78a67b","source_id":"us-ca","stale":false,"prev":"us-ca/pen-652","next":"us-ca/pen-653b"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}