What is the Personal Services Act?
The Personal Services Act is a new piece of legislation that will require facilities and establishments offering tanning, tattooing, body piercing and other body modifications services to meet specific age restrictions and other requirements such as health and safety standards.
Personal services establishments are those that provide tattooing, body piercing and lesser known body modification procedures such as scarification, branding, skin peeling, sub-dermal and micro-dermal implants and tongue bifurcation.
Tanning facilities are those that provide clients’ with access to tanning beds or booths that expose them to artificially produced ultraviolet light.
When will the Act and Regulations come into force?
The Personal Services Act and Regulations will come into force on January 31, 2014.
What are the age restrictions?
Effective January 31, 2014:
- Tanning facilities will be prohibited from providing tanning services (using artificially produced ultraviolet) to anyone under the age of 19. Parental consent for minors will not be permitted.
- Personal services establishments will be prohibited from offering tattooing and body piercing services to anyone under the age of 16 without parental consent.
- Personal services establishments will be prohibited from offering body modification (e.g., scarification and implants) procedures to anyone under the age of 19, regardless of parental consent.
Can a tanning facility provide tanning services to someone under the age of 19, if the parent/guardian consents?
No, a tanning facility is prohibited from providing tanning services to anyone under the age of 19.
What type of ID is acceptable for determining age?
Government-issued photo identification with date of birth must be used to determine a young person’s age. Acceptable proof of age identification includes:
- A valid driver’s licence or identification card issued by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
- A valid Canadian passport.
- Certification of Canadian citizenship issued by the Government of Canada.
- A Canadian Armed Forces identification card.
- Other similar forms of identification issued by a federal, provincial or foreign government.
What Do I Need to Do Once the Act Comes Into Force?
The first thing you need to do is register. Effective January 31, 2014, all tanning facilities and personal services establishments will have 90 days to register with the Department of Service NL. Facilities and establishments can register in several ways. They include:
- Completing the registration form available at https://www.gov.nl.ca/snl/licenses/env-health/ and submitting it online;
- Downloading the form and sending it to a Service NL office. Mailing addresses for Service NL are available at https://www.gov.nl.ca/snl/department/contact/; or
- Obtaining a form at a local Service NL office and submitting it to that office.
Is there a cost for registering?
No, there is no cost to registering your facility or establishment.
What are the requirements for tanning facilities in the Regulations?
For tanning facilities, the Personal Services Regulations, and Tanning Facility Standards:
- Describe the types and sizes of health warning signs to be posted in tanning facilities.
- Describe the health information that must be made available to clients.
- Require the availability of protective eyewear.
- Restrict client access to controls that turn on or program the tanning equipment.
- Prohibit self-service tanning equipment.
- Tanning Facility Standards (80 KB)
What signs are required to be posted?
A health warning sign about the use of artificial tanning equipment must be placed at the point of sale in clear public view of clients prior to purchasing tanning services.
In addition, a health warning sign must be placed near each tanning bed and be visible to clients using the bed.
A copy of the above Point of Sale Health Warning Sign (11 KB)
A copy of the above Tanning Bed Health Warning Sign (10 KB)
What kind of health information do I need to provide to tanning clients?
Information on tanning health risk must be made available to clients as prescribed in appendix 3 of the Standards.
A copy of the above Tanning Health Risk Information poster (23 KB)
This can be done by either posting/displaying the information where clients can see it or providing the client with printed health risk information.
Are there other requirements for personal services establishments, at this time?
At this time, there are no further requirement for personal services establishments, such as tattooing and body piercing establishments.
However, government will be introducing health and safety standards for these establishments in the near future. Work on this will continue in the coming months.
How will the Act be enforced?
Environmental Health Officers with Service NL have been designated as inspectors and will enforce the Personal Services Act and Regulations.
As with any regulatory environment that imposes restrictions and standards on an industry, we must ensure that personal services establishments and tanning facilities comply with the legislation and standards.
Inspectors will have the authority to issue summary offence tickets. Persons and operators who fail to comply with the requirements of the Act or Regulations may face a fine.
What are the potential fines?
Upon conviction for a violation of the Personal Services Act or Regulations, fines will range between $50 and $5000.
Where can I get additional information on the Act or regulations?
Additional information can be obtained by calling your local Service NL office. Contact information is available at https://www.gov.nl.ca/snl/department/contact/
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