Regulatory & Legislative Issues

North Dakota

As of Jan. 1, all tanning facilities in North Dakota were required to be licensed and inspected. In addition, the new law requires any customer under the age of 18 to provide written consent from a parent or legal guardian to the salon before they are allowed to tan—and that consent form must be presented and signed by the parent or legal guardian at the tanning facility after reading the warnings required by law. Customers younger than 14 must provide written consent from a physician and also must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Legislation also requires facilities to prominently post a warning sign in each area where a tanning device is used regarding the risks of failure to use eye protection, the dangers related to overexposure, and abnormal skin sensitivity to tanning devices caused by certain foods, cosmetics and medications. Other key provisions of the law include:

• Customers must agree to use approved protective eyewear.

• Customers may not tan more than once every 24 hours.

• Each tanning bed must be properly sanitized after each use.

• A trained operator must be present during all operating hours of the tanning facility.

Originally introduced in January 2007 as HB 1154, the bill sought to institute several statewide tanning salon restrictions and prohibit minors under age 16 from tanning indoors. The bill was amended to its current version in February 2007.

SB 52 was amended passed into law and requires that a parent/guardian of minors under age 18 come to the facility once a year.

On March 19, 2007 Gov. Tim Kaine signed SB 1231 which required parental consent for customers under age 15. The law went into effect July 1. The law requires prospective tanning facility customers to sign a written statement warning of potential dangers. If the prospective customer is under age 15 and not emancipated, the parent or legal guardian must sign the statement every six months. Statements shall be kept at the facility and facility owners are required to identify each customer’s skin type based on the Fitzpatrick scale and advise customers as to their maximum time of recommended exposure. Tanning devices shall be cleaned or sanitized after each use. Tanning facilities shall not claim that the use of tanning devices is safe, free from risk or will provide health benefits.