Set up for a regular's next session. The deposit terms are the same ones a stranger gets.
REGULARS
Artists split on regulars. Write one rule for everyone: the same deposit for the same session, one free move with 48 hours' notice, a new deposit after that, and one stated exception for a real emergency. Any slack for a regular happens in person, not on paper.
A client you've tattooed for years texts about the next piece. You've got the deposit link ready and can't send it. Holding anything against someone you've known that long feels wrong. Then the client asks first: "Do I still need the deposit?"
One letter a week, on the business side of tattooing.
Deposits, no-shows, pricing, and getting bookings out of the DMs. Free.
Should you hold your tattoo deposit policy with regular clients?
Artists split. One side gives regulars slack: a free move, a late cancel forgiven, a lower deposit. The other holds everyone to the same rules. One artist's is one reschedule and zero no-shows (17 upvotes).
Few comments in the threads we read are about regulars at all. Two ease up for a clean record: one left regulars who aren't flaky out of a $100 minimum deposit (55 upvotes), another let a solid regular's last-minute emergency go (7). For one with a pattern, artists stop booking them or keep the slack to scheduling.
My rule: strict on paper, judgment in person. The paper side, with wording, is in how many free moves a tattoo reschedule policy should allow.
Do regular tattoo clients still pay a deposit?
The deposit for a given session stays the same whoever books it. A regular booking a half day pays what a stranger would, and it comes off the price; the sizes are in how much a tattoo deposit should be. What changes with a client's record is what you ask after a move. The threads that mention regulars describe it that way, and the three steps below are our sort.
A regular who shows up: the usual deposit on the usual terms. One artist says they almost never take a deposit and their cancellations didn't change. Others keep it for everyone.
A regular who has started moving: the policy applies, so the next date takes a new deposit. Some artists ask for a deposit at each sitting, only from flaky clients, and one said those clients got more reliable once called out.
A regular with a pattern: the whole session up front, or no booking. One artist makes problem clients prepay the full day, nonrefundable on a no-show or late cancel, or won't book them. The messages are in what to do after a tattoo no-show.
A moved date leaves the chair covered, whether the client is new or you've tattooed them for years.
What is the one exception to put in a tattoo policy?
Artists in the threads write a strict policy and flex it by case. One gives every client a single "get out of jail free" late cancel, said up front (21 upvotes), and after that it's 48 hours' notice or a new deposit.
The written rule is 48 hours' notice, one free move and a new deposit after that. The deposit policy template has the full wording. The exception itself is one line:
If something real comes up, tell me and I'll move you once, free, even inside 48 hours. After that, a new date needs a new deposit.
The pass is in the policy and every client gets it, regulars included. The sick-day wording is in the cancellation policy template.
What if a regular tattoo client calls your policy unprofessional?
The cancellation policy piece has the thread: a two-year regular who moved more than ten times, then went public when the artist asked for a deposit. One artist in it sends a matter-of-fact message and makes exceptions only for what nobody controls, like a crash on the way or a snowstorm (2 upvotes).
My policies are clearly stated on my website and I never apologize for enforcing them.
When it is a pattern, many artists stop booking that person. If you end it while holding a deposit, refund it first, then send the message. The wording is in how to turn down a tattoo client, and how to drop one.
How do you tell a regular or a friend about the tattoo deposit rules?
Send the same terms a stranger gets, before any money moves, and say it flat. Artists whose policy sticks send the terms before the deposit and tie the payment to them: paying means agreeing.
A regular, next booking: Good to have you back. Same terms everyone gets: the deposit for this session is $150, it comes off the price, and one move with 48 hours' notice is free. Paying it means you're good with that.
A regular who asks to skip the deposit: I take the same deposit from everyone, so I never have to decide who counts. It comes off the price. Link's here.
A regular who says "just hold my spot": Dates go first come, first served, and I don't hold them without a deposit. Same for everyone.
A regular who's moved the last few: The last few sessions moved, so the policy applies to this one: a new deposit. Same rule everyone gets.
A few artists skip the deposit for a regular they trust. If you do, say it once as your call and keep the rest of the terms.
Do friends and friends of clients need their own tattoo deposit?
Nobody in these threads says what they do for their own friends. They say more about friends a client brings. One artist who books friends together takes a deposit from each, and if only one shows, the other deposits are forfeit. One studio's policy says a deposit can't pay for a friend's tattoo. The same written terms, sent in the same message, spare you from deciding whether a friend counts.
The same terms go out to the regular and the first-timer. Photo: Planet Airbrush / Unsplash.
Quick answers
Do tattoo artists take a deposit from regular clients?
Artists split. One says they almost never take a deposit and their cancellations didn't change, and others keep it for everyone. Either way, the written terms are the same for every client.
How many times can a regular reschedule a tattoo?
The same as anyone, on paper. One free move is the most common rule and two is next. After that, a new deposit. Slack for a regular with a clean record is your call in person.
What do you say when a friend asks to skip the tattoo deposit?
Say you take the same deposit from everyone and that it comes off the price, then send the link. If you'd rather waive it for someone you trust, that's your call; keep the other terms.
Should you keep booking a regular who keeps canceling?
Many artists stop, and some ask for the full session up front first.
Start with one. Add one line to your policy naming your single exception, such as one free move for a real emergency, and send the policy with the deposit link to your next regular.
Checked October 2026. The one-rule-for-everyone setup is our method; what artists say about regulars comes from a handful of comments in artist threads on r/TattooArtists and r/TattooApprentice (2022 to 2026) and a few US studio policy pages, and none of it is a survey.
Read next
Tattoo cancellation policy template, and how to stick to it: the written rules to send every client before the deposit.
Tattoo deposit policy template: the wording, line by line: where the stated exception goes.
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.
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