2016 Wyoming Code
TITLE 14 - CHILDREN
CHAPTER 3 - PROTECTION
ARTICLE 1 - PROHIBITED ACTS
SECTION 14-3-107 - Performing body-art on persons who have not reached the age of majority; penalties; definition.

14-3-107. Performing body-art on persons who have not reached the age of majority; penalties; definition.

(a) No person shall knowingly perform body-art upon or under the skin of a person who has not reached the age of majority, except with the consent of the person's parent or legal guardian who is present at the time the body-art procedure is performed upon the person. The person performing the body-art procedure shall demand proof of age prior to administering the body-art procedure upon the person. A motor vehicle driver's license, a registration card issued under the federal Selective Service Act, an identification card issued to a member of the armed forces, a valid United States passport, a tribal identification card issued by the governing body of the Eastern Shoshone tribe of Wyoming or the Northern Arapahoe tribe of Wyoming or an identification card issued by the department of transportation is prima facie evidence of the age and identity of the person. Proof that the person performing the body-art procedure demanded, was shown and acted in reasonable reliance upon the information contained in any one (1) of the above documents as identification and proof of age is a defense to any criminal prosecution under this section.

(b) Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both.

(c) As used in this section:

(i) "Body-art" means the practice of physical body adornment utilizing body piercing, branding, scarification, sculpting or tattooing. This definition does not include practices conducted under the supervision of a physician licensed to practice medicine under Wyoming law nor does this definition include piercing of the outer perimeter or lobe of the ear by means of sterilized stud-and-clasp ear piercing systems;

(ii) "Body piercing" means any puncturing or penetration of the skin or mucosa of a person and the insertion of jewelry or other adornment in the opening;

(iii) "Branding" means any invasive procedure in which a permanent mark is burned into or onto the skin using either temperature, mechanical or chemical means;

(iv) "Scarification" means any invasive procedure in which the intended result is the production of scar tissue on the surface of the skin;

(v) "Sculpting" means any modification of the skin, mucosa, cartilage or tissue of the body for nonmedical purposes;

(vi) "Tattoo" means any indelible design, letter, scroll, figure, symbol or any other mark placed upon or under the skin with ink or colors, by the aid of needles or other instruments.