• 66 questions

Virginia Tattoo Practice Test

Infection control, skin, client records, machines and Virginia's own tattooing rules, with the section under every answer.

How long does Virginia require biological spore test records to be kept?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 60 questions, 45 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, Prov or NIC. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

The real exam, as Virginia and its testing vendor publish it

Questions
120
Time limit
90 minutes
Retakes
The vendor gives a 30-day wait before retesting. A candidate who has not passed within one year of the first examination files a new application.
Valid for
A license runs two years from the last day of the month it was issued.
Languages
English, Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese, as the vendor lists them.
Parts
Scientific concepts 55, tattoo procedures and services 45, state law 10 and pilot items 10.
Passing score
75, as the vendor lists it. The vendor does not say how the score is worked out.
Kind of test
Written theory only: the National Tattooing Theory Examination with a Virginia state law part.
Before the test
An approved 1,500-hour apprenticeship in a licensed tattoo parlor, or a program at a licensed tattoo school.
After passing
Apply for the license within five years, or the examination is taken again.

Checked October 16, 2026 against The testing vendor's Virginia examinations page and 18VAC41-50-40. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

The Board's page

Next step More on workplace safety rules: OSHA 10 testAnother tattoo exam: Oregon study guide

All 66 questions

Scientific concepts 30

  • A glove tears during a tattoo in Virginia. What do the regulations require? 18VAC41-50-400 E
  • A tattoo needle first passes through the outermost layer of the skin. What is that layer called? NCI SEER Training Modules, Layers of the Skin
  • A tattoo parlor keeps disinfectants and other hazardous chemicals. Where does 29 CFR 1910.1200 have their safety data sheets kept? 29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(8)
  • A Virginia tattooer has draining lesions on the hands. When may that tattooer work again? 18VAC41-50-400 G
  • After the disposable barrier comes off, what does Virginia require for the items it covered? 18VAC41-50-400 M
  • Among the risks of tattooing the FDA lists, what is a keloid? FDA, Tattoos & Permanent Makeup: Fact Sheet
  • During which tasks must a Virginia tattooer wear single-use examination gloves? 18VAC41-50-400 D
  • How does the FDA classify the pigments used in tattoo inks? FDA, Tattoos & Permanent Makeup: Fact Sheet
  • How does Virginia require used stainless steel tubes, tips and grips to be processed? 18VAC41-50-400 O
  • How long does Virginia require biological spore test records to be kept? 18VAC41-50-390 R
  • How often must a steam sterilizer in a Virginia tattoo parlor be biological spore tested? 18VAC41-50-390 P
Show all 66 questions (55 more)

Scientific concepts, continued

  • How often must an employer review and update its Exposure Control Plan under 29 CFR 1910.1030? 29 CFR 1910.1030(c)(1)(iv)
  • How often must the ultrasonic unit in a Virginia tattoo parlor be sanitized? 18VAC41-50-400 R
  • In the dermis, what does the protein elastin do? NCI SEER Training Modules, Layers of the Skin
  • In Virginia's tattooing regulations, what does "aseptic technique" mean? 18VAC41-50-10
  • Under 29 CFR 1910.1030, when must employees wash their hands after taking off gloves? 29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(2)(v)
  • What does 29 CFR 1910.1030 call a specific eye, mouth, non-intact skin or parenteral contact with blood that results from an employee's duties? 29 CFR 1910.1030(b)
  • What does 29 CFR 1910.1030 say about shearing or breaking contaminated needles? 29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(2)(vii)
  • What is the stratum corneum, the top sublayer of the epidermis, made of? NCI SEER Training Modules, Layers of the Skin
  • What must a Virginia tattoo parlor use to clean its work surfaces? 18VAC41-50-390 D
  • What must cover multiuse equipment and surfaces that may be contaminated during a tattoo in Virginia? 18VAC41-50-400 L
  • What must the responsible management of a Virginia tattoo parlor offer to its licensees? 18VAC41-50-380 C
  • When must a surface that came in contact with blood be disinfected under Virginia's sanitation standards? 18VAC41-50-390 D
  • Where must sharps containers be in a Virginia tattoo parlor? 18VAC41-50-400 W
  • Which autoclave bags does Virginia require for the sterilization process? 18VAC41-50-400 T
  • Which cells make melanin, the pigment that gives skin its tan or brown color? NCI SEER Training Modules, Layers of the Skin
  • Which hand cleaning does 18VAC41-50-400 give a Virginia tattooer before and after tattooing? 18VAC41-50-400 C
  • Which pair of items must be in the blood spill clean-up kit a Virginia tattoo parlor keeps in the work area? 18VAC41-50-390 C
  • Which protein, made by fibroblasts, holds the dermis together? NCI SEER Training Modules, Layers of the Skin
  • Who verifies the biological spore tests of a Virginia tattoo parlor? 18VAC41-50-390 Q

Tattoo procedures and services 24

  • A client appears to be under the influence of alcohol. What do Virginia's tattooing regulations say? 18VAC41-50-410 C
  • After a tattoo in Virginia, what happens to the pigment left in the client's container? 18VAC41-50-400 I
  • How long must a Virginia tattoo parlor keep a client's record? 18VAC41-50-410 F
  • How must a Virginia client be told of the possible risks before each tattoo? 18VAC41-50-410 E
  • How must nondisposable instruments be placed in the autoclave in a Virginia tattoo parlor? 18VAC41-50-400 U
  • How must tattooing pigments be set out for a client in Virginia? 18VAC41-50-400 I
  • If the skin must be shaved before a tattoo in Virginia, which razor is used? 18VAC41-50-400 J
  • In Virginia, what is done to used nondisposable instruments that are ultrasonically cleaned, before they go into the used instrument container? 18VAC41-50-400 P
  • Into which layer of the skin does tattooing place pigment? Wikipedia, Tattoo
  • Over which kind of mole do Virginia's regulations forbid tattooing? 18VAC41-50-410 D
  • Virginia Code section 18.2-371.3 requires a disclosure to every tattoo client. What does it say about allergic reactions? Code of Virginia § 18.2-371.3
  • What do Virginia's regulations require of the needles used on each client? 18VAC41-50-400 N
  • What is a liner tattoo machine built to do? Wikipedia, Tattoo machine
  • What moves the armature bar up and down in a coil tattoo machine? Wikipedia, Tattoo machine
  • What must a client show at the time of a tattoo in Virginia? 18VAC41-50-410 A
  • What must a sealed autoclave bag show under Virginia's tattooing regulations? 18VAC41-50-400 S
  • What must a Virginia client record say about the pigments used? 18VAC41-50-410 F 4
  • What must a Virginia client record state about aftercare? 18VAC41-50-410 F 7
  • What must a Virginia tattooer verify and write in the permanent client record after checking identification? 18VAC41-50-410 B
  • What powers a pneumatic tattoo machine? Wikipedia, Tattoo machine
  • Which coil arrangement is considered standard on a coil tattoo machine? Wikipedia, Tattoo machine
  • Whose signatures go on Virginia's client disclosure form? 18VAC41-50-410 E
  • Why does a shader tattoo machine cycle slightly slower than a liner? Wikipedia, Tattoo machine
  • With what must the client's skin be cleaned before a tattoo in Virginia? 18VAC41-50-400 H

Virginia law 12

  • A Virginia candidate passes the written examination. Within what time must the candidate apply for the license, or retake the examination? 18VAC41-50-40 E
  • For how long is a Virginia guest tattooer license effective? 18VAC41-50-91
  • For how many consecutive days, at the most, may an event tattoo parlor be licensed to operate in Virginia? 18VAC41-50-10
  • How long does a Virginia tattoo temporary license remain in force? 18VAC41-50-45 B
  • How many hours, at the least, does Virginia's tattooing apprenticeship curriculum take? 18VAC41-50-210 A
  • How many tattooing performances, at the least, does a Virginia apprenticeship include? 18VAC41-50-210 A 3
  • Under Code of Virginia section 18.2-371.3, when may a person under eighteen be tattooed for hire? Code of Virginia § 18.2-371.3
  • Under Code of Virginia section 54.1-700, who is a "tattooer"? Code of Virginia § 54.1-700
  • What experience must a Virginia tattooing apprenticeship sponsor document? 18VAC41-50-70 A
  • What must a Virginia tattooer complete during each licensed term and document at renewal? 18VAC41-50-160
  • When does a Virginia tattooer license expire? 18VAC41-50-150 A
  • Within how many days must a Virginia licensee report a change of name or address to the Board in writing? 18VAC41-50-420

How this list was compiled: Outline: the National Tattooing Theory Examination Candidate Information Bulletin of the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (effective January 1, 2018, revised February 1, 2024), as the Board's testing vendor posts it for Virginia tattooer candidates (https://prov-testing.github.io/nic_cib/tattooing_national_theory_english.html, linked from https://provexam.com/test-information/virginia-barbers-and-cosmetology-board), and the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology's page (https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/BarberCosmo). Facts: the Tattooing Regulations, 18VAC41-50, in the Virginia Administrative Code (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency41/chapter50/), as amended effective January 5, 2026; Code of Virginia sections 54.1-700 and 18.2-371.3; the OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and hazard communication standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, in the eCFR; the NCI SEER training module on the layers of the skin; the FDA fact sheet on tattoos and permanent makeup; and the Wikipedia articles on the tattoo machine and the tattoo. Each question names its section or page and links to it. Read 2026-10-16. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the regulations, statutes and public pages named. Nothing comes from the examination, from a released form, a textbook, a prep course or a question pool.

How it works

This unofficial practice test for the tattoo license in Virginia asks our own questions on the tattooer theory exam's two domains and on Virginia law. It is not affiliated with the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, Prov or NIC.

Read the full guide

What the Virginia tattooer exam covers

Virginia's tattooer examination is the National Tattooing Theory Examination, given by the Board's testing vendor with a Virginia state law part. Its bulletin (revised February 1, 2024; opened October 16, 2026) splits the theory into scientific concepts, 55 percent, and tattoo procedures and services, 45 percent.

How this bank is split

Thirty questions cover scientific concepts and 24 cover procedures and services, written from Virginia's own sanitation and client rules where they reach, then from OSHA, FDA and other public pages. Twelve more are Virginia law: the license, the apprenticeship, renewal and minors.

  • Steam sterilizers are spore tested at least monthly through an independent laboratory, and the records are kept three years (18VAC41-50-390).
  • Client records stay at the parlor at least two years after the last entry (18VAC41-50-410).
  • A temporary license runs 90 days and is issued only once (18VAC41-50-45).

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the Virginia tattoo exam?

The Board's testing vendor lists 120 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes: 100 on the two theory domains, 10 on state law and 10 pilot items.

What score do you need to pass the Virginia tattoo exam?

The testing vendor lists a passing score of 75. It does not say whether that is a percentage or a scaled score, so this page shows your score without a pass or fail verdict.

Is the Virginia tattoo exam written or practical?

Written. 18VAC41-50-40 speaks of the written examination, and the testing vendor lists one theory test for the tattooer license and no practical test.

How do you get a tattoo license in Virginia?

Complete an approved 1,500-hour apprenticeship in a licensed Virginia tattoo parlor or a program at a licensed tattoo school, pass the Board-approved examination and apply to the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology (18VAC41-50-20).

Are these the real Virginia tattoo exam questions?

No. Each was written for this page from Virginia's tattooing regulations and the public sources named under each answer. Nothing comes from the examination, a released form or a textbook.

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