Ohio Code 3730.08 – Defenses of operator or employee concerning minors
(A) An operator or employee of a business that performs tattooing services, body piercing services, or ear piercing services performed with an ear piercing gun may not be found guilty of a violation of division (A) of section 3730.06 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under section 3730.10 of the Revised Code in which age is an element of the provisions of the rule, if the board of health or any court of record finds all of the following:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3730.08
- Board of health: means the board of health of a city or general health district or the authority having the duties of a board of health under section 3709. See Ohio Code 3730.01
- Body piercing: includes ear piercing except when the ear piercing procedure is performed with an ear piercing gun. See Ohio Code 3730.01
- Business: means any entity that provides services for compensation. See Ohio Code 3730.01
- Ear piercing gun: means a mechanical device that pierces the ear by forcing a disposable single-use stud or solid needle through the ear. See Ohio Code 3730.01
- Rule: includes regulation. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(1) That the individual obtaining a tattooing service, body piercing service, or ear piercing service performed with an ear piercing gun, at the time of so doing, exhibited to the operator or employee of the tattooing, body piercing, or ear piercing business a driver’s or commercial driver’s license or an identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code showing that the individual was then at least age eighteen;
(2) That the operator or employee made a bona fide effort to ascertain the true age of the individual obtaining a tattooing, body piercing, or ear piercing service by checking the identification presented, at the time of the service, to ascertain that the description on the identification compared with the appearance of the individual and that the identification had not been altered in any way;
(3) That the operator or employee had reason to believe that the individual obtaining a tattooing, body piercing, or ear piercing service was at least age eighteen.
(B) In any hearing before a board of health and in any action or proceeding before a court of record in which a defense is raised under this section, the registrar of motor vehicles or the registrar’s deputy who issued a driver’s or commercial driver’s license or an identification card under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code shall be permitted to submit certified copies of the records, in the registrar’s or deputy’s possession, of such issuance in lieu of the testimony of the personnel of the bureau of motor vehicles at such hearing, action, or proceeding.