First, check your local state and city certification requirements. In many states, to be a tattoo and piercing artist, you don't need to be certified. Although certification may not be required, reputable artists typically have been certified.
Find someone reputable and work a one-year apprenticeship doing both pirecings and tattooing. You learn by immersion, gaining hands-on knowledge of all the basics as well as the difficult techniques. Ask around local tattoo shops and see if there is anyone wiling to take on an apprentice, or you can pay to enroll in an apprenticeship program, which can range from $500 to $1,800, as of June 2011.
Research tattoo and piercing certification programs available online. There are a number of excellent courses. The American Tattooing Institute online allows you to purchase the courses online and to do the course work from home. You may even take the test from the comfort of your own home.
Enroll in an online tattoo and piercing certification course of your choosing and be prepared to study. The topics that are taught during the course include studying the anatomy and physiology of skin, procedures for studios and artists regarding blood-borne pathogens, OSHA Summary Standards 29 CFR - 1910.1030, and Food and Drug Administration Fact Sheet 58. You will learn about disease prevention as well as machine operation through virtual courses. As of June 2011, online courses run about $50 to $75. Keep in mind that the cost of courses generally coincides with the quality of training.
Complete the required 360 hours of training, chair-side, with continual supervision under a licensed tattoo and piercing artist. The training requires you to maintain proper documentation showing a minimum of 50 completed procedures of each.
Successfully complete the required course work and pass the exams, which are designed to be taken open book, with a score of 75 percent or better. Only then will you be issued a certificate of completion, making you a certified tattooist and piercer.