Employers With Tattoo Policies
We will be combing the Internet and keeping our ears open for all of the companies with tattoo policies and posting links or info about their policies here. We will do everything we can to make sure the information listed here is accurate, but we can’t guarantee it. If you know of a tattoo policy at a company not listed, let us know about it.
Business:
- Albertson’s Grocery Store – no visible tattoos
- AMC Theaters – no visible tattoos
- Banfield Veterinary Hospital (associated with Petsmart) – no visible tattoos
- Bath & Body Works – no visible tattoos
- Blockbuster Video – no visible tattoos
- The Body Shop – no visible tattoos
- Borders Book Store – tattoos ok
- Burger King – no visible tattoos
- Calvin Klein – no visible tattoos
- The Cheesecake Factory – no visible tattoos
- Coco’s Bakery Restaurant – no visible tattoos
- Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf – no visible tattoos
- Comcast Cable – no visible tattoos (if a person has direct contact with the public)
- Costco – no visible tattoos
- Crabtree & Evelyn – no visible tattoos
- Dairy Queen – no visible tattoos
- Denny’s Restaurant – no visible tattoos
- DirectTV – no visible tattoos
- Disney Store – no visible tattoos
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car – no visible tattoos
- Express Fashions – no visible tattoos
- Geico Insurance – no visible tattoos
- KFC – no visible tattoos
- Kohl’s Department Stores – tattoos ok
- Little Caesar’s Pizza – no visible tattoos
- McDonalds – no visible tattoos
- Movie Gallery – no visible tattoos
- Nationwide Insurance – tattoos ok (IT staff or others who do not have direct contact with the public)
- Office Depot – no visible tattoos
- Olive Garden – no visible tattoos
- Panera Bread – no visible tattoos
- Pearson Carpet Care (TX) – no visible tattoos
- Petsmart – no visible tattoos
- Pier 1 Imports – no visible tattoos
- Pizza Hut – no visible tattoos
- Princess Cruise Lines – no visible tattoos
- Queen Mary 2 – no visible tattoos
- RadioShack – no visible tattoos
- Red Robin Restaurant – no visible tattoos
- Regal Entertainment Group – no visible tattoos
- Safeway – no visible tattoos
- Starbucks – blog post on a tattoos and piercings poll result and their current policy (no visible tattoos)
- Starwood Hotels – no visible tattoos
- Suncoast Motion Pictures – no visible tattoos
- Sunglass Hut – no visible tattoos
- Swiss Chalet – no visible tattoos or piercings
- Teavana – tattoos and piercings ok
- Toys “R” Us – no visible tattoos
- UltraStar Cinemas – no visible tattoos
- Unites States Postal Service – no visible tattoos
- Van Heusen – no visible tattoos
- VCA Animal Hospitals – no visible tattoos
- VNA of Care New England – no visible tattoos
- Victoria’s Secret – no visible tattoos
<Six Flags Amusement Parks – no visible tattoos
Military:
- US Air Force – current tattoo policy
- US Army – current tattoo policy
- US Marine Corps – current tattoo policy
Police Departments:
- Dallas Police Department, Texas – no visible tattoos
- Des Moines Police Department, Iowa – no visible tattoos
- Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii – draft policy being written
- Houston Police Department, Texas – must cover arm tattoos
- Huntsville Police Department, Alabama – no visible tattoos
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California – no visible tattoos
- San Diego Police Department, California – must cover arm tattoos
- St. Louis Police Department, Missouri – no visible tattoos. Some officers sent home because their tattoos were showing!
School Districts:
- Western Kentucky School District – Hide visible tattoos as well as piercings in places other than the ears.
I just got a job at swiss chalet , and they came up to me on my second day of work and told me i have to cover my tattoos they never said anything about the tattoos or piercings at the interview or even when they called me or anything. Also at the moment im not even interacting with customers.
i have three stars behind my ear first of all HOW DOES ONE COVER A TATTOO BEHIND THE EAR?!?!?
and second i have handwritting on my wrists its not like i have anything offensive or over the top and the handwritting on my wrists is in memory of my father and it bothers me quiet a bit to have to cover them.
and i also have a lip stud but I totally understand about that because its a health risk .
as far as i know they dont have a tattoo policy , so I was wondering if there is a way i can fight this or should i just listen to them and somehow (dont know how ) cover them up?
More and more companies have tattoo policies. It all started to change because there was a 2006 U.S. Appeals Court ruling that found Hartford, Conn., police officers’ tattoos do not enjoy First Amendment protection and can be subject to department uniform rules. The court ruling has caused a tidal wave of new tattoo policies popping up everywhere. Anyone working with people can be affected (customer service, police, military, teachers, and the list goes on).
Sounds like your job doesn’t require you to have contact with customers. They should have been upfront with you about their policies when they hired you, but you may need to find a way to “cover up”.
There are different options available depending on where your tattoos are. You could use a skin tone color Ink Armor Full or Half Sleeve to cover up tattoos on your arms or legs. Other areas you may need to use makeup. We are working on another product to help cover up other parts of the body and we will post to this blog when it is ready.
Good luck and have a great day!
You can add Petsmart and VCA Animal Hospitals to the list of “No visable tattoos” policys
However, thanks to you’r product, I have renewed interest in completing my sleeve without fear of persecution. THANKS INK ARMOR!!!
Thanks, Carlotta! We will add Petsmart and VCA Animal Hospitals to the list.
Banfield, the veterinary hospital associated with PetSmart also has a no visible tattoo policy
I work in academia and have six beautiful tattoos in very visible places, each forearm, each bicep, and each calf…one of them is even Albert Einstein’s face! I do have to cover them up because of the venue. It sucks, but hey, I gotta eat too!
I find nice comfortable, lovely, gauzy flowing blouses and skirts for the summer time, and the winter, fall, is easy, sweaters, tailored trousers.
Most people are I work with are so shocked when they see me at the gym or out in the world with shorts, tank tops, and fully inked! I just love the looks I get, or the comments: “You so do NOT look like the tattoo type”. I don’t know what that means, but it cracks me up.
Great list thanks for posting it. I went for a job interview at Movie Gallery and was told I could not wear my nose ring if I got the job. I agreed to wear a clear retainer.
My first day of work and the girl I worked with was Eastern and had a big gold nose ring. I asked her why she could wear it and she said it was a religious thing. I talked to the manager and he said that because of her religion they could not ask her to remove it or discriminate. I said I was going to put my stud back in since it wasn’t fair that “I” could be discriminated against. So he said I would have to be let go if I did, this really bugged me. I am a mature (in my forties) lady who has owned my own business and my nose ring did not deter people from coming to my establishment.
This manager had a tattoo on his elbow and wore a tensor bandage on it to cover it up when ever a district manager came. I asked him why he covered it up and he said about the no tattoo policy. But he still showed his tattoo when a district manager wasn’t there.
My husband works for Nationwide Insurance in their corporate HQ. The members in IT and other departments are permitted to have visible tattoos. I’m not sure about those who have contact with the public.
Great post! Can I use part of your article on my blog with a linkback to you? Thanks
Yes and thanks for the linkback!
I shop at Target all the time and they do hire people with tattoos, which i am happy about as i happen to love tattoos and love asking people where they got them and the story behind as well, i happen to be a mom with a couple tattoos and even my adult children don’t have one yet, but when they do, i can speak from experience and direct them to the good tattoo places around my area.
Thanks for letting us know about Target! We have added them to our “Tattoo Friendly Jobs” page.
Limited Brands Companies (Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret) allows tattoos but only if they can be easily covered and small.. I have one on my wrist and they don’t say anything to me and someone else I work with has one on their ankle and it’s ok. Just as long as it’s not a huge tattoo.
you can also add VNA OF CARE NEW ENGLAND.
I use to work at Six flags magic mountain in California and they have a No visible tattoo policy . They ask you during the interview if you do have any tattoos. I’m not 100% sure but I think all of the Magic mountains have the same policy.
Hey! I work in IT in the Banking industry, and they /JUST/ started pushing internal nit picking over my sleeve in progress. I have 5 icon-like tattoos on my left arm – wristband, inner and outer forearm, upper bicep, and shoulder.. It hasn’t been a problem for 6 years and NOW all of a sudden, crap? Today is the first day I decided to don my homemade arm cover fabric sleeve to see the reaction I’m going to get. The color’s not a very close match at all, but with it tucked up and under a standard button down shirt and tie (for now) with the sleeves rolled up, it’s sure to garner some attention. If they give me the okay to keep wearing a cover, I’ll likely order a Tattoo Armor and then probably fabricate one with a more matching color tone. I have a full tube of Dermablend body cover too, but it’s just flat out MESSY and painstaking.
I’ll not yet mention the company name, as they /ARE/ supporting me through my !transition! (I’m a 30-something transwoman) but yet giving me a ration of bull for ink.. umm… so, which issue do you think’s going to bring more attention to them? *sigh*
Hi, I just got hired at a new job at a healthcare center and they never mentioned having to cover up my wrist tattoos or covering my nose piercing. I did look at the ink armor – however I was wondering if there was any product that looked like a colorful bracelet? My friend said she saw a waitress that had a band around her wrist that reminded her of the slap-bracelet but it was something that slid on over your hand and was colorful. I have searched the web and cannot find anything – do you have any ideas? I know I can wear a bracelet to cover them up, but I would like other options. Thank you!
Robin, we found some different options. We are not associated with the any of the companies/product links we are about to share with you.
The slap bracelet is making a comeback and would be an easy way to cover your wrist tattoos, but many of them are geared for young teens. We were not able to find an appropriate “adult” version.
There are also a lot of different leather bracelets that are wide enough to cover a tattoo and have many different designs and colors (tattoo bracelet or your favorite team bracelet).
We did find a slip-on bracelet that is available in many different colors that looks very interesting. The big and clunky colorful bracelet was featured in fashion week by DIANE von FURSTENBERG. This one might be an fun style to check out.
We hope you find the right solution and would be interested in hearing about what you find!
Teavana has no problem with tattoos and piercings. The official policy is “in good taste”, but the people I work with have large stretched earlobes, multiple facial piercings, and full sleeves/other visible tattoos. It’s not a bar in advancement either; the GM who hired me had more than 5 visible tattoos, and he is now an area manager.
Thanks for letting us know about Teavana! Sounds like a great place to work. We have added them to our “Tattoo Friendly Jobs” page.
Kohl’s department stores allows employees to have visible tattoos.
Thanks, Nikki! It’s great that there are a few department stores that allow visible tattoos. We have added them to our “Tattoo Friendly Jobs” page.