Terms and conditions for a piercing studio

A piercing studio needs terms that deal with what actually happens at the counter: the client who will not disclose a medical condition, the slot held with a deposit that nobody turns up for, the jewellery sold with the piercing, and the refund demanded three weeks later because a piercing has migrated. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Body piercing studios in England and Wales, from a single piercer with one room to a shop with several piercers, a retail jewellery counter and an online store. Almost every client is a consumer, which limits what your terms can do, and some studios also pierce at events or supply jewellery to other businesses. One set of terms can carry both if it is drafted that way.

What matters in a piercing studio's terms

Consent, screening and the right to refuse

Your consent form and your terms do different jobs and both need to exist. The terms should say that the client must disclose medication, skin conditions, pregnancy and anything else on your screening questions honestly, that you will not pierce anyone who appears intoxicated, and that a piercer may decline a placement where the anatomy will not hold it. Refusing to pierce is not a failure to perform: under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you owe reasonable care and skill, and declining an unsuitable placement is that duty in action. Say clearly what happens to the deposit when you refuse.

Age policy and identification

Minimum ages and what you may pierce on a younger client are matters of licensing and local authority rules rather than contract, so your terms should not try to restate them. What the terms should do is set out your studio's own policy: which documents you accept as proof of age and identity, who must attend with a younger client and what they must bring, and that a booking will not go ahead without them. A wasted slot because nobody brought identification is the commonest deposit argument in a piercing studio, so the consequence needs to be written down in advance.

Deposits, no-shows and the advertised price

Deposits are sensible where you hold a piercer's time, but the Consumer Rights Act 2015 grey list treats disproportionate default charges and prepayments kept with no matching obligation on you as unfair, so a deposit must be proportionate and the cancellation window must be stated plainly. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 a headline price shown to consumers must include all mandatory charges, which matters where a studio advertises a piercing fee and jewellery is not optional. Card surcharges are prohibited for consumers by the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012.

Jewellery is goods as well as a service

The piercing is a service, the bar or ring is goods, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies different rules to each. Jewellery must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, with a short-term right to reject within 30 days, then repair or replacement, then price reduction or final rejection. Your terms should separate a genuinely faulty threaded end from jewellery the client has decided they dislike, state what is included in the piercing price, and explain whether downsizing appointments and replacement parts are charged.

Aftercare, healing and rework

Healing depends on aftercare, sleeping habits, swimming, knocks and jewellery changed elsewhere, none of which you control. Your terms should record the aftercare instructions given, make compliance the client's responsibility, and set out your own policy on checks, re-siting and rework, including what you will do and what is charged. Those policies are generous commercial gestures, not admissions. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 prevents you from excluding liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence or limiting liability for a service to less than the price, so the terms have to allocate risk realistically and lean on your insurance.

Online booking and jewellery sold at a distance

An appointment booked through your website or arranged by message is a distance contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, giving the client fourteen days to cancel. A piercing performed inside that period needs the client's express request, and a client who then cancels pays only a proportionate amount. Where the cancellation information is missing the period can extend by up to 12 months. For jewellery posted out, the exception for sealed hygiene goods once unsealed is the one that matters, and refunds are due within fourteen days.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I post photographs of clients' piercings on social media?

Only with permission recorded properly, and the terms should say that consent is separate from the consent to be pierced and can be withdrawn. Where a photographer or videographer shoots your content, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 leaves copyright with them unless it is assigned to you in writing, so deal with that before the shoot.

Do these terms cover a guest piercer or someone renting a room from me?

These are client-facing terms, so they do not. The arrangement with a self-employed piercer working in your studio is a different contract dealing with fees, insurance, equipment, client records and who owns the client relationship if they leave. I draft those separately under my contractor agreements service.

A client says their piercing is infected and wants a refund. What should the terms say?

The terms should set out a complaints route: come back in and be seen before any claim is made, so the piercer can look at the site and record what they find. Under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 you must tell a consumer you cannot satisfy about a certified ADR provider and whether you will use it.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a tattoo studio
• Terms and conditions for a permanent make-up artist

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.