Compliance reference
Asked about most
Article 01 · The Agreement
1.1
"The studio" means Hardcore Tattoo 1982, operating at 1546 St Rt 31, Port Byron, NY. "You" means any person who uses this site, submits a booking or intake request through it, or receives a tattoo service from the studio. "These terms" means this document at the version and effective date printed above.
1.2
You accept these terms by using this site, by submitting a booking or consultation request, or by paying a deposit. If you do not accept them, do not book — call the shop instead and we will talk it through before any money moves.
1.3
The studio may revise these terms. A revision takes effect on the effective date printed at the top of this page and applies to bookings made on or after that date. A booking already held is governed by the version in force when its deposit was taken. Revisions are not applied backwards to a session you have already paid toward.
1.4
Where these terms and a signed consent form disagree, the signed consent form governs the session it was signed for. Where these terms and a written quote disagree on price, the written quote governs that project. Nothing said in conversation overrides either.
Article 02 · Eligibility
2.1
You must be 18 or older to be tattooed by the studio. New York State law prohibits tattooing a person under 18, and no parental consent, waiver or accompaniment changes that. There is no exception and there is no discretion on this clause.
2.2
Bring government-issued photo identification to every session, including sessions on an ongoing project you have already sat for. Without it the session does not run and clause 4.4 applies.
2.3
You must be sober and not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The studio will end an appointment, at any point, if in the artist's judgement you are impaired, and the deposit is forfeit under clause 3.3.
Tell the studio before the session about pregnancy, breastfeeding, diabetes, haemophilia or any bleeding disorder, a heart condition, epilepsy, an immune condition, any skin condition at the placement site, current use of blood thinners or Accutane, or a known allergy to inks, latex or adhesive. The studio may decline or reschedule the work on any of these grounds. Declining to disclose does not shift the risk back to the studio.
2.4
The studio may decline any request, at any stage, for any lawful reason — including a design, placement or condition the artist judges cannot be executed to the studio's standard. Where the studio declines before the session for a reason that is not your conduct, the deposit is returned in full under clause 3.4.
Article 03 · Booking & Deposit
3.1
A booking is a specific date and start time held for you against a specific project. A request submitted through this site is not a booking. A booking exists only when the studio has confirmed the slot and the deposit has cleared. Until both are true the slot may go to someone else.
3.2
The deposit is $50. Non-refundable. Comes straight off your session total when you arrive. It is applied in full against the cost of your session on the day you sit.
The deposit is non-refundable. It covers the slot the studio holds for you and the design time spent before you arrive — both of which are spent whether or not you show up.
3.3
The deposit is forfeit if you cancel with less than 48 hours' notice, if you do not arrive, if you arrive more than 30 minutes late and the remaining time cannot carry the planned work, or if the session is ended under clause 2.3.
A forfeited deposit ends that booking. Rebooking is welcome and requires a new deposit.
3.4
The deposit is returned in full in two circumstances only: the studio cancels or reschedules and you choose not to rebook, or the studio declines the work under clause 2.4 for a reason that is not your conduct. In either case the return is made to the original payment method.
3.5
You may move a booking once, without losing the deposit, with at least 48 hours' notice. The moved date must be within 90 days of the original. A second move requires a new deposit.
3.6
Custom design begins after the deposit clears. Design time is included in the session price and is not billed separately. If you cancel after design work has begun, clause 3.3 governs the deposit and the studio retains the drawing.
Article 04 · Sessions & Payment
4.1
Work is billed at $100 per hour, or $300 for a 4-hour session. The standard booking — 4 hours in the chair, quoted as a session rate rather than by the hour.
A rate is fixed for a booking once its deposit has cleared. A rate change published afterwards does not reach back into a session you have already secured.
4.2
A quote given before the design is finished is an estimate, and the studio says so when it gives one. A written quote issued after the design is approved is firm for 90 days for the project as drawn. Changing the design, the size or the placement voids the quote and requires a new one.
4.3
Large work is completed across multiple sessions. The studio gives a session-count recommendation with its reasoning before you book, and that recommendation is an estimate, not a cap. Healing, skin response and any change you request during the project can move it.
4.4
The balance is due at the end of each session. Where an appointment does not run because a condition of section 2 was not met, the deposit is forfeit under clause 3.3 and no further balance is owed for that appointment.
4.5
Touch-ups needed because of how a tattoo settled, on work the studio did, are quoted case by case at consultation. Touch-ups needed because the aftercare in section 5 was not followed are billed at the hourly rate.
Article 05 · Aftercare
5.1
You receive written aftercare instructions at the end of every session. Following them is your responsibility. The studio's published aftercare page carries the same instructions and is the reference version.
5.2
Sun exposure, submersion, picking, scratching, unclean handling and unapproved products all change how a tattoo settles. Where a result follows from aftercare that was not followed, the studio is not responsible for it and clause 4.5 governs the correction.
5.3
Contact the studio at (518) 522-2837 if healing does not look right. Contact a physician, not the studio, for spreading redness, fever, or discharge — the studio is not a medical provider and clause 6.3 says so plainly.
Article 06 · Liability
6.1
Tattooing is an invasive procedure that breaks the skin. It carries risks including pain, swelling, bruising, scarring, allergic reaction, infection, and a healed result that differs in appearance from the stencil or the reference. By sitting for a session you accept those risks.
6.2
A tattoo is permanent. Removal is neither offered nor guaranteed by the studio, is not always complete, and is not the studio's responsibility. Approve the stencil, the spelling, the placement and the size before the needle starts — approval is yours to give and yours to have checked.
6.3
The studio is not a medical provider and nothing on this site or said in the shop is medical advice. Aftercare guidance is craft guidance. For a medical question, ask a physician.
6.4
The studio is not responsible for an outcome arising from a condition, medication or allergy that clause 2.3 required you to disclose and you did not.
6.5
To the fullest extent permitted by New York law, the studio's total liability arising out of any project is limited to the amount you actually paid the studio for that project. The studio is not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential loss, including lost income or lost opportunity.
Nothing in these terms limits liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
6.6
This site is provided as it is. The studio does not warrant that it will be uninterrupted or error-free. A booking request that does not reach the studio is not a booking — if you have not had a confirmation, call the shop.
Article 07 · Content & Imagery
7.1
Custom artwork produced by the studio remains the studio's intellectual property. Paying for a session buys the tattoo on your skin — it does not transfer the drawing, and it does not license reproduction of the design elsewhere.
7.2
By uploading a reference you confirm you have the right to share it. The studio uses references to understand the project. The studio will not knowingly copy another artist's original work; where a reference is another artist's piece, the studio will treat it as direction and build something new.
7.3
The studio photographs completed work for its portfolio. Tell the studio before or during your session if you do not want your tattoo photographed or published, and it will not be. Consent given can be withdrawn — ask and the image comes down.
7.4
Photographs, copy and marks on this site belong to the studio. Do not reproduce them commercially without written permission.
7.5
The studio's design generator produces concept references, not tattoo designs and not a quote. A generated image is a starting point for a conversation with the artist; it is not a commitment by the studio to execute what it shows, and it does not guarantee the result on skin.
Article 08 · Conduct
8.1
Harassment, threats, intoxication and refusal to follow the artist's health and safety instructions end an appointment immediately, with the deposit forfeit under clause 3.3. Guests you bring are your responsibility.
8.2
Do not submit unlawful content, another person's data, or automated bulk requests through the booking or intake forms. The studio may refuse or remove any submission on these grounds.
8.3
A straight answer on price before any money moves, a stencil you approve before the needle starts, a clean station, and written aftercare. If the studio falls short of that, say so — clause 9.2 sets out how a dispute is handled.
Article 09 · Governing Law
9.1
These terms and any dispute arising from them or from a service the studio provides are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.
9.2
Raise a dispute with the studio first — call (518) 522-2837 or write to nobullshit@hardcoretattoo1982.com — and the studio will respond in writing. Where a dispute cannot be resolved that way, it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York, and both parties consent to that jurisdiction.
9.3
If a clause is found unenforceable, it is severed and the rest of these terms remain in force. A right the studio does not enforce on one occasion is not waived for the next.
9.4
These terms, together with any signed consent form and any written quote, are the entire agreement between you and the studio on their subject matter.
9.5
Questions about these terms go to nobullshit@hardcoretattoo1982.com or (518) 522-2837. The shop is open Mon–Fri 12–8 · Sat 10–6 · Sun Closed.
Questions first