As of today, February 1, anyone in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who is 18 or older can get a fluorescent butterfly, a KISS logo, or a good old-fashioned anchor and chain tattooed on his or her virgin flesh. Legally. Now communities statewide must decide for themselves how (or whether) to welcome this ancient form of body art to town.

It’s been a long, hard fight. In October of last year, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge overturned the Commonwealth’s 38-year ban on tattooing (instituted in 1962 after a hepatitis outbreak in neighboring New York), ruling it unconstitutional. The catalyst was an ACLU-sponsored lawsuit brought by tattooist Stephan Lamphear, charging that the prohibition violated freedom of expression. In her ruling, Judge Barbara Rouse cited the flourishing underground tattoo industry in the Bay State as further reason to legalize and regulate. “[T]he Commonwealth agrees that unregulated tattooing poses greater public-health risks than regulated tattooing,” she wrote.

But the Commonwealth was caught off guard by the swiftness of the decision, and many tattoo artists, champing at the bit to practice their trade, opened up shop immediately after it was delivered. For a few weeks, tattooing in Massachusetts was legal and completely unregulated. So on November 21, Judge Rouse reinstated the ban until the end of January, in order to give health officials time to draw up regulations.

On January 23, after a series of public hearings, the Department of Public Health unveiled a “model code for the practice of body art and for the maintenance and operation of body art” — a detailed series of recommendations for local health boards to follow statewide. Among them:

• “No tattooing, piercing of genitalia, branding or scarification shall be performed on a person under the age of 18.”

• “A practitioner shall refuse service to any person who may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”

• “Training for all practitioners shall be approved by the Board and, at a minimum, shall include the following: (a) bloodborne pathogen training program (or equivalent) which includes infectious disease control; waste disposal; handwashing techniques; sterilization equipment operation and methods; and sanitation, disinfection and sterilization methods and techniques; and (b) First Aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).”

Keep in mind that these aren’t laws. They’re merely a set of guidelines that individual communities are expected to follow. According to a memorandum issued with the “Model Body Art Regulations” by the Department of Public Health (DPH), “The state legislature has not yet passed legislative language that would create a statutory framework for regulating various body art, tattoo and body piercing practices, but it is expected that this will occur early in this legislative session. It should be noted that local boards have statutory authority to regulate health-related issues in a city or town.” In other words, this stuff is still somewhat up in the air. Some towns have tried to institute even more stringent guidelines than the ones put forth by the DPH. And it’s expected that others may try to use zoning laws to keep tattoo parlors out altogether.

In the meantime, many tattooists say they intend to open for business immediately — on February 1. It’s a momentous day. Have your ID ready.