Your sunbed consultation form,
question by question.

What should a sunbed consultation form include?

A sunbed consultation form should say who the client is and confirm they’re 18 or over, then ask about their skin type, any medication that makes their skin more sensitive to UV, a personal or family history of skin cancer, and sunburn or broken skin on the day. It should tell them goggles stay on for the whole session, then take their consent and a signature with the date. See photo ID the first time they come in. Check the final wording with your insurer.

We make Covered Beauty, which has a ready-made sunbed form, so we’ve said where it fits. Nothing here is legal or medical advice. Your insurer’s rules and your sunbed manufacturer’s instructions come first.

What does our sunbed form ask?

Every ready-made form in Covered Beauty starts with the client’s full name, date of birth and home address, so the signed form stands on its own as a record. Then the sunbed form asks:

• Are you under 18? (yes or no)
• How would you describe your skin type? (e.g. always burns, rarely tans / olive, rarely burns) (written answer)
• Are you taking any medication that increases sensitivity to UV light? (yes or no)
• Have you, or has anyone in your immediate family, had skin cancer? (yes or no)
• Do you have sunburn or broken skin today? (yes or no)
• I confirm the information I’ve given above is accurate, and I consent to this treatment. (a tick to agree)

Between the questions, it tells the client:

• By law, under-18s cannot use a sunbed or be present in the sunbed area.
• Eye protection must be worn for the full session. We’ll provide goggles if you don’t have your own.

Its note to the client says UV is the real risk, linked to skin ageing and skin cancer, and that the risk is higher for some skin types, on some medication, or with a personal or family history of skin cancer.

What does the law say about under-18s?

• England and Wales. Section 2 of the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 says a sunbed business must make sure nobody under 18 uses a sunbed on its premises, that nobody under 18 is offered one, and that nobody under 18 is in the room or cubicle where a sunbed is, unless they’re working for the business. It’s a defence to show you took all reasonable precautions and all due diligence.
• Scotland. Part 8 of the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 makes it an offence to allow someone under 18 to use a sunbed.
• Northern Ireland. Section 1 of the Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 makes it an offence to allow someone under 18 to use a sunbed or to be in the sunbed room or cubicle, unless they work there. Being shown a document such as a passport or photocard driving licence that would have convinced a reasonable person counts as taking reasonable precautions.

So our form’s line about under-18s not being in the sunbed area is the law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland’s is about using a sunbed, so a Scottish salon might reword it. The HSE’s guidance for tanning salons adds that under-18s who come in with an adult shouldn’t be exposed to UV.

Every form asks for a date of birth, and the form asks outright whether they’re under 18. Check photo ID the first time someone comes in and note that you’ve seen it, so you can show the care you took.

Why ask about skin type, medication and skin cancer?

Cancer Research UK says everyone who uses sunbeds increases their risk of skin cancer, and some people more than others: skin that burns easily, a lighter skin tone, light coloured hair or eyes, lots of moles or freckles, a history of sunburn, and a personal or family history of skin cancer. That’s what the skin type and skin cancer questions are for.

Some medicines make skin more sensitive to UV. The NHS page on isotretinoin (Roaccutane), for one, tells people taking it not to use sunbeds or sunlamps. A client who isn’t sure about their own medicine can check the leaflet in the box or ask their pharmacist.

Our skin type question takes a written answer. You might add:

• Do you have lots of moles or freckles?
• Have you had bad sunburn in the past?
• Have you used a sunbed anywhere else today?
• Is this your first sunbed session with us?

Goggles, supervision and health information

Beyond the under-18 rules, what the law asks depends on where your salon is:

• Northern Ireland. Under the Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, you must make protective eyewear available to anyone about to use a sunbed and make sure, as far as you reasonably can, that they wear it (section 7). You can’t let anyone use a sunbed without you or someone working for you on the premises (section 3). You must give them the health information the law sets out each time they’re about to use one (section 4), and put up a notice with it where they’ll see it (section 5).
• Wales. The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 (Wales) Regulations 2011 say a competent supervisor must be on the premises whenever someone is about to use or is using a sunbed. The supervisor checks they’re 18 or over, helps them work out their skin type, gives them guidance and advice on using the sunbed safely, and makes sure goggles are provided and worn (regulation 4). Each time, the client must be given the health information the regulations set out, printed black on yellow at A4 or bigger, and a notice with it must be on display (regulation 7). You must provide goggles, or make sure the client has their own, and make sure as far as you reasonably can that they wear them (regulation 8).
• Scotland. Part 8 of the 2008 Act bans allowing unsupervised use, and says you must give people information about the effects of sunbeds on health before they use one and put up an information notice.

The Welsh regulations also say you mustn’t hand out or display other statements about the health effects of sunbeds, apart from relevant health and safety information. Our form opens with a note about UV and skin cancer, so a Welsh salon should ask its council whether that note can stay, before using the form.

The HSE’s guidance, from 2011, is good practice rather than law. It says eye irritation, conjunctivitis and cataracts can follow where suitable goggles aren’t worn, and that it’s good practice to provide goggles, have trained staff there while clients use the beds and clean the beds between clients. It also says some councils in England and Scotland have their own licensing for tanning equipment, so ask yours.

BABTAC’s Good Practice Guide, from 2016, is the trade body’s guidance for its members. It says someone with the manufacturer’s training should give the consultation and advice, goggles should be worn, safety information should be on display, and clients shouldn’t go over the manufacturer’s recommended session times.

How do you get it signed before their first session?

In Covered Beauty, a sunbed session doesn’t send a form with the booking the way a treatment does. So get the sunbed form signed once, when someone becomes a client, then again whenever something might have changed:

• A private link. Email it, or copy it into WhatsApp or a text. It works for 14 days and only for that client, so it’s done before they come in.
• On your phone or tablet. Set a kiosk PIN, then use Hand to client when they arrive. It shows only their forms until someone from your team enters the PIN.

Forms sent as a private link or handed over on your tablet are always filled in fresh, so whoever holds the device never sees another client’s earlier answers. BABTAC suggests reviewing a client’s medical history every six months, so send it again then, and sooner if they mention new medication.

The 18+ check is built in too. Nobody can be booked onto a UV bed without a date of birth showing they’re 18 or over, whether they book online or you book them in. Someone new who joins your client portal online types their own date of birth, and until you’ve seen their photo ID their record, their sessions and the bed calendar say Check ID.

The signed form lands on the client’s record, ready to print or download as a PDF, and Covered Beauty keeps it for 7 years from the day it was signed, while your account is open. See how online consultation forms work. Sunbed bookings, minutes packages and the 18+ check are on the Salon plan, £19 a month. Try it free for a week, with no card needed.

Download the free blank form

It’s an A4 PDF with every question our form asks (listed above), boxes to tick yes or no, a line for your business name, and lines for the client’s signature and yours with the date. The extra questions we suggest aren’t on it, so write in the ones you need. The foot of each page says it’s a free template from Covered Beauty. Print it, keep a few on a clipboard, and check the wording with your insurer first.

• Sunbed consultation form (PDF)

Paper still means the client fills it in once they’re at your desk. Send this form before they arrive, free for a week, with no card needed.

Sources

Each page was read on 24 October 2026. Our own form questions are printed as Covered Beauty’s ready-made forms ask them today.

• Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010, section 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008, Part 8 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 1 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 3 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 5 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
• The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 (Wales) Regulations 2011, regulations 4, 7 and 8 (legislation.gov.uk)
• HSE: Reducing health risks from the use of ultraviolet (UV) tanning equipment (INDG209, PDF)
• Cancer Research UK: How do sunbeds cause skin cancer?
• NHS: Isotretinoin (Roaccutane)
• BABTAC Good Practice Guide 2016 (PDF)

Other consultation form guides

Every free blank form, sorted by treatment, is on free salon consultation form templates. Or read what to put in a consultation form for:

• a new client’s medical history
• lash extensions
• lash lifts and lash tints
• brow lamination, tint and henna
• nails
• waxing
• hair extensions
• semi-permanent makeup and microblading
• dermaplaning
• facials, peels and LED
• electrolysis
• massage
• spray tans