Tattoo booking form questions: what to ask and why

Ask only what you need to quote and offer dates: the idea, where it goes, how big in inches, references and when they're free. Most forms have a budget box, but artists split on keeping it. The common first reply points to the form.

A photo of a forearm and "how much for something like this?" You ask for the size. Wednesday: "medium, on my arm." The references arrive over the weekend, one message at a time, and you've spent most of a week on someone you still can't quote.

Most artists who describe their forms ask for the same things. Here they are, with what artists add:

1. Contact. Name, phone, email. One artist asks for a phone number because email sometimes lands in spam.

2. The idea and references. The idea in their own words, with reference photos. For a client who freezes, a line saying a rough theme is plenty gets them started.

3. Where on the body, with a photo of the spot. One artist's inquiry guide also asks for notes on scars and existing tattoos in the area.

4. How big, in inches. Size is the field people get wrong. One artist said measurements were her main problem and switched to asking how many dollar bills it is.

5. What they don't want in it. Two artists ask this at the consult. It fits on the form too.

6. When they're free. Weekdays, weekends or specific days. Add a line: dates are first come, first served, and none is held without a deposit.

7. Budget, if you keep it. Next section.

8. Your deposit and cancellation policy. One shop's consult form puts a signature on the policy page.

Only a few artists said which fields they require: one a budget, another the deposit before the form will submit. Start with what you can't quote without: the idea, the spot and the size.

Most forms artists describe include a budget field, and at least four artists keep one. One comment would delete it and one would keep it with example prices beside it; neither got an upvote. The lean in these threads is to keep it.

A required deposit didn't screen out low budgets for one artist, who lists an hourly rate yet got a $150 budget for a detailed dragon, eight inches or bigger. What to say when the number comes in low is in what to say when a tattoo client's budget is too low: a range, once, then wait.

Artists split on length, and nobody gave a number for where people quit.

One commenter's fix for time-wasters was a form that lists every question you normally get asked, and another said a little friction screens out low-effort clients. Others went the other way: one artist moved off a form for "a little too much extra friction," and one client said that when an artist with open DMs sends another link, "my desire to book goes down by like 90%."

One artist found a middle. Her form covers contact, schedule and budget, plus parking and day-of notes, and the client messages the references and the idea afterward. She took references off the form because people send new ones at the last second.

Test each question: will the answer change what you quote, which dates you offer or whether you take the job? If not, cut it or save it for the consult. Nobody in these threads mentioned health questions, an age box or "how did you hear about me" on a request form; it just didn't come up. Consent and release forms are a different document, and what yours needs depends on where you work. Artists said to ask your shop, your health department or licensing board, your insurer or a lawyer.

Jotform is the one artists name most, and Google Forms, Squarespace and Wix forms come up too. One artist called them all equally the same. Two complaints: Google Forms needs a Gmail, said one artist, and another's Squarespace replies landed in spam, so she asks for a phone number to text.

A short, warm first reply that points to the form is the common move in the threads we read. Whether it beats chatting first is split, and how to answer tattoo inquiries in your DMs has both sides.

Send it from a saved reply:

Keep the DM open while they fill it in. When the form comes back thin, send one message for what's missing instead of asking one question at a time. One artist said that when they have to keep asking the most basic questions in the conversation, they just stop.

When it's complete, the quote goes out with your open dates and the deposit link in one message, and nothing gets drawn until the deposit lands. The drawing side is in should you send the tattoo design before the session.

If you do consults, the form can come first: one artist requires an inquiry form even to set one up. Charging for it is covered in should you charge for a tattoo consultation.

The idea, where on the body with a photo of the spot, size in inches, references and when they're free. Budget is the box artists split on keeping.

Most forms artists describe have one, and at least four artists keep it. One comment would delete it and one would keep it with example prices beside it. If a low number comes in, answer with a range and wait.

Long enough to quote from. No artist in the threads we read gave a drop-off number, and artists split on friction.

The common first reply points to the form, with the DM open for questions. Artists split on whether that beats chatting first.

Checked October 2026. Artist threads on r/TattooArtists and r/TattooApprentice (2024 to 2026), and one artist's inquiry guide. Most details are one or two artists' accounts, the budget box rests on a few small threads, and nobody gave completion numbers. It's not a survey.

Gal, founder of Collabo.ink, the booking app for tattoo artists. For 15 years I booked sessions for dozens of artists, some of them among the best known in the world. Collabo.ink takes your bookings and deposits, so you can focus on what matters: tattooing.