The Navy has one of the most relaxed tattoo policies of all the military branches. If you have loads of tattoos, big tattoos, loud tattoos, and pretty much anything in-between, the US Navy might be your best bet.
As you can see, tattoos on the arms and torso are allowed in the military, as these are often covered up by standard-issue uniforms, anyway. Additionally, the Navy is the most lenient of the branches as far as tattoos are considered.
The Marine tattoo policy is the strictest in all the armed forces. Marine tattoos must be entirely covered by the standard physical training uniform, and no tattoos may appear on the head, neck, wrists, knees, elbows, or hands, although one ring tattoo under 3/8 of an inch in width is allowed.
The Air Force and Space Force are now allowing tattoos on the neck and hands, a policy change aimed at bringing younger talent into the ranks as the Air Force recovers from one of its toughest recruiting years in recent history.
The Army updated tattoo regulations (670-1) in April 2015. Plan to remove ink on your wrist, face, hands, head or neck (below the t-shirt line is acceptable) prior to joining. Additional no-no's include tattoos in your ears, mouth or eyelids, according to the regulations.
Q: Are tattoos simply banned by the ADF? A: Absolutely not. In fact, the ADF sees some Australian army tattoos as a way to express “a sense of identity, belonging and a form of remembrance”.
Generally speaking, visits to a tattoo removal clinic will be on your own dime—the government will not pay for you to have a tattoo removed, nor will health insurance.
Yes, navy seals can have tattoos. There is no law announcing that a Navy seal cannot have tattoos. However, there are some limitations and restrictions regarding the placement and design of tattoos. As of March 2016, tattoos including full sleeves are acceptable.
However, the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) website states, “Tattoos will not disqualify you from gaining employment at the CIA, and all professionally-qualified persons are encouraged to apply.”
If you're enlisting in the army and happen to have tattoos that are in violation of the army's tattoo policies, like the Navy, you may request a waiver from your recruiter. Chances are pretty good that a counseling session will be in order if it's approved, though.
Marines can have tattoos on any area of the body, except for the head, neck, and hands in most cases. Banned tattoos include those that are "drug-related, gang-related, extremist, obscene or indecent, sexist, or racist."
Hand, arm, leg, neck, and ring tattoos can be exposed and visible while wearing any uniform combination. Chest and back tattoos will not be visible through any uniform combination or visible while wearing an open collar uniform.
The Air Force does not allow tattoos that are very visible such as on your face, neck, hands, wrists, and head. The rules have changed in recent years to include a little more allowance for tattoos, such as allowing tattoos when they cover less than 25% of the body and the removal of size stipulations.
The Navy tattoo regulations, updated in 2021, are now some of the most lenient in all military branches. Prior rules prohibited any neck tattoos and limited the amount of ink that could be shown on forearms or legs. New regulations allow unlimited tattoos on the legs, arms, neck, hands and behind the ears.
The tattoo policy no longer limits the amount or size of tattoos on the body so long as they are not present on the head, face, ears, neck, elbows, or hands. If you have more questions about the Army tattoo policy, including body art that you are not sure will be authorized, contact a local recruiter.
In the US Navy, hand and neck tattoos must be no more than one inch in diameter. Neck tattoos may exceed this limit if a waiver is granted by a recruiting commander. Face, head, scalp and ear tattoos are always prohibited regardless of size.
The FBI does have strict rules on physical appearance, especially during training, but they don't specifically ban all tattoos.
While organizations like the FBI have stricter regulations on physical appearance in regards to remaining clean and professional, they don't specifically ban tattoos for employees.
CIA agents are generally not allowed to reveal details of their jobs as per their contract. They can tell their spouse or loved ones that they work for the CIA, but further inquiries into their job details are prohibited, and the agents are not allowed to divulge what they did at work.
Flame Resistant Organizational Gear (FROG) is clothing used by the United States Marine Corps to reduce the number of injuries resulting from fire and flash (especially burns), due to the increased use of improvised explosive devices in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Army personnel can have have tattoos wherever they want, provided those tattoos are in accordance with the U.S. Army's tattoo guidelines. Leg sleeves are fine; arm sleeves are a no go.
Neck: The Navy is the only branch to allow a single neck tattoo. One neck tattoo, no larger than 1-inch in diameter, is permitted. All other branches prohibit neck tattoos visible above a crew neck shirt.
Ink Armor sleeves by Tat2X were designed specifically to help people cover up their tattoos. No tattoos in the Army doesn't mean you have to have them removed. Our U.S. Made Ink Armor sleeves can help you comply with military tattoo policy.
U.S. Army updates tattoo policy to allow some hand, ear and neck tattoos. The U.S. Army is updating its tattoo policy. According to a memorandum issued Wednesday from the Secretary of the Army, effective immediately, Army policy surrounding tattoos now allows some tattoos on the hand, ear and neck.
– Unlimited tattoos between the fingers, as long as they cannot be seen when the fingers are closed. This also does not include the ring tattoo. – One tattoo on the back of the neck cannot be more than 2 inches in measurement. – One tattoo behind the ear no more than 1 inch and not to extend past the ear lobe.