How to become a tattoo artist
Official title: Tattoo artist
Also called: Tattooist, Permanent make-up artist, Body artist, Tā moko artist, Medical tattoo artist, Cosmetic tattoo artist
Tattoo artists use sterilised skin-piercing equipment and ink or jewellery to decorate people’s skin.
Main tasks
- Tattoo clients using needles
- Design and copy images for tattoos
- Make stencils for tattooing
- Clean and sterilise skin and equipment
- Follow health and safety rules
- Explain tattooing practices to clients
- Help clients pick tattoo designs
How to become one
You usually need experience to become a tattoo artist and training may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: to do a training course; experience in similar work.
Pay · Past change
- Median pay: $56,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $117,000 a year
- TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $26.92 an hour.
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 680 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Other Personal Service Workers, 61% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Other Personal Service Workers work (2023 Census): Auckland 33.2%, Canterbury 14.4%, and Wellington 11.8%.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a tattoo artist?
You usually need experience to become a tattoo artist and training may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: to do a training course; experience in similar work.
How much does a tattoo artist earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $56,000 a year, before tax.
Has the number of people working as a tattoo artist grown in New Zealand?
It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026