Short answer: a good tattoo consultation form collects exactly what you need to make three decisions: whether the project is a fit, what price range to quote, and how many sessions it will take. That means the idea, placement, size, color, references, any existing tattoo in the area, a budget range and availability. Health questions, ID and signatures come later, on the consent form. Below is a copy-ready template, a five-question version for DMs, and a method to follow up when answers are missing.
Inkkore, which publishes this guide, makes a request form for tattoo artists. The template works in any tool, from a notes app to Google Forms.
What a consultation form is for
A consultation form (also called an inquiry, intake or booking form) is not paperwork. It replaces the first five messages of a DM thread. Each question should feed a decision you'll have to make anyway:
| Question | Decision it feeds |
|---|---|
| The idea, in a few sentences | Is it my style? Do I want to draw it? |
| Placement | Feasibility, size limits, session length |
| Rough size (in inches or "palm-sized") | Price range, number of sessions |
| Color or black and grey | Time, and whether it fits your work |
| Reference photos | What "fine line" or "traditional" means to this client |
| Existing tattoo in the area (cover-up, add-on, rework) | Whether you take it, and how much extra time it needs |
| Budget range | Whether to suggest a smaller or simpler version up front |
| Availability | Which dates to offer first |
| Name, email, phone, Instagram | How to send the quote |
If a question doesn't change one of these decisions, it doesn't belong on the first form.
The template (copy and adapt)
Copy the block below into your form tool, your website or a pinned note. Replace the text in [brackets]. Required questions are marked; everything else is optional, so nobody gets stuck.
TATTOO REQUEST — [Your name / studio]
I read every request myself and reply on [your reply days]. These questions let me give you a real answer on design, price and timing.
ABOUT YOU
1. First and last name (required)
2. Email (required)
3. Phone number (required)
4. Instagram handle (optional, helps me recognize you)
5. Are you 18 or older? (required) [ ] Yes [ ] No
YOUR PROJECT
6. Describe your idea in a few sentences (required)
Example: "A snake wrapped around a dagger, fine line, no color."
7. Is this... (required)
[ ] A custom design [ ] One of my flash designs: [name]
8. Where on your body? (required)
Example: inner forearm, outer calf, upper back.
9. Roughly how big? (required)
[ ] Small (under 3 in) [ ] Palm-sized (3–5 in)
[ ] Large (5–8 in) [ ] Half sleeve or bigger
Inches if you know them: ____
10. Color or black and grey?
[ ] Color [ ] Black and grey [ ] Open to your suggestion
11. Is there an existing tattoo in that area?
[ ] No [ ] Yes, I want to add to it [ ] Yes, I want it covered or reworked
If yes: please attach a clear, well-lit photo of it.
REFERENCES
12. Reference photos (optional, up to [number])
Images of ideas, styles or my past work you like. I won't copy another artist's tattoo, but references help me understand what you like.
BUDGET & TIMING
13. Budget range (optional, helps me suggest a size and level of detail that fits)
[ ] Under $[X] [ ] $[X]–$[Y] [ ] $[Y]–$[Z] [ ] $[Z]+ [ ] Not sure yet
14. When are you available?
[ ] Weekdays [ ] Weekends
[ ] Mornings [ ] Afternoons [ ] Evenings
Dates you can't do: ____
15. Anything else I should know? (optional)
What happens next: I'll reply by [day] with questions or a price range. If you're a fit for my books, I'll offer dates. A deposit of [amount] secures your date and comes off the final price.Why "Are you 18 or older?" and not a date of birth: you only need to know whether you can take the project. Minimum age and parental-consent rules are set by your state (and sometimes your county), and you check ID in person at the appointment anyway.
The five-question version (for DMs, texts and email)
When someone messages you instead of using the form, don't answer half the project in the DM. Send these five questions in one message:
Thanks for reaching out! So I can give you a real answer, can you send me:
1. Your idea in a few sentences
2. Where on your body, and roughly how big (inches or "palm-sized")
3. Color or black and grey
4. 1–3 reference photos, if you have them
5. A budget range and the days you're usually freeOr send them the link to your full form.
Extra questions for specific projects
Add these only when the project calls for them (as a follow-up, or as conditional questions if your form tool supports them):
- Cover-ups and rework: a photo of the existing tattoo in daylight, its size in inches, roughly how old it is, and whether it has had laser sessions. Cover-ups usually need to be larger and darker than the original; say so before the client falls in love with a delicate design.
- Lettering: the exact text, spelled out, the language, and a font reference. Ask the client to double-check spelling and dates in writing.
- Portraits and memorial pieces: the highest-resolution photo they have, with the face clearly lit. A blurry phone photo limits what any artist can do.
- Large or multi-session work: whether they're ready for several sessions, and how far apart. It changes how you quote (by session or by project).
- Flash: which design, and the placement. Size is often fixed already.
What not to ask on the first form
Every extra field costs you completed requests, and some collect data you shouldn't hold before you've even said yes:
- Health and medical history (allergies, medication, conditions): belongs on the consent form, on the day or just before.
- Full date of birth and ID photos: ask "18 or older?" now, check ID in person later.
- Home address: you don't need it to quote.
- Card numbers or payment details: never in a form. Send deposit details once the client accepts your quote.
- Long checklists of styles or body zones: a free-text field with an example is faster to fill on a phone.
- "How did you hear about me?" Useful for you, not for the quote. Keep it optional or ask later.
Before you quote: a checklist
Don't send a price until you can tick these boxes. Quoting on a half-brief is how you end up redoing the quote after the client sends the real size.
- You know the placement and a size in inches (or a size bucket you trust)
- You have a reference photo or a description precise enough to picture it
- You know color or black and grey
- You know whether there's an existing tattoo in the area, and you've seen a photo if so
- You know whether it fits in one session or needs several
- You know whether their budget and the project are in the same range
Then quote a range with what drives it ("$400–$500 depending on how much shading we add") rather than a single number, and say what happens next. Examples of quote messages are in how to respond to tattoo inquiries.
How to follow up when answers are missing
- Acknowledge fast, answer on your schedule. A short reply (or an automatic confirmation from your form tool) that says when you'll answer beats silence.
- Ask for everything missing in one message. Not one question per day. List the two or three things you need and why.
- Track where each request stands: new, needs info, quoted, waiting on deposit, booked, declined. A request waiting on the client is a different pile from one waiting on you. See how to organize tattoo inquiries.
- One nudge, then close. If there's no reply after a week or so, send one friendly reminder. After that, mark it closed; the client can always come back.
- Fix the form, not the client. If you keep asking the same follow-up question, it belongs on the form.
Where to put your form
- Google Forms: free and familiar, but file upload questions require clients to sign in to a Google account, and status tracking is manual in a spreadsheet.
- Jotform, Tally and similar form builders: tattoo templates, conditional questions, and paid plans for more submissions.
- Booking software: some tools include an intake form with self-booking and card deposits.
- Inkkore: a request form built for tattoo work, where each request becomes a client record you can reply to.
The Google Forms vs. Jotform vs. Inkkore comparison covers the trade-offs in detail.
Where Inkkore fits
Inkkore gives you one link (inkkore.com/yourname) with a request form already shaped like the template above:
- Built-in questions: first and last name, email, phone, Instagram handle, project type (Flash, Small, Medium, Large, Sleeve, Full back), placement, an optional budget, a description of the idea, up to five optional reference photos, and availability limited to the days and hours you're open.
- Your own questions on the Solo plan, such as the cover-up or lettering questions above.
- Each request becomes a client record in a pipeline by status, with a private client page where you reply in a chat, send a quote the client can accept, and offer time slots.
It doesn't read your Instagram DMs, sort requests with AI or reply for you: you read every request and write every answer. Clients don't need an account or an app.