BACKGROUND Prevalence of tattoos is around 10-26% in men and 10-22% in women, and can involve negative effects such as: regret, removal attempts, physical and biological changes of the skin and association with some viral diseases. OBJECTIVE to determine the prevalence, characteristics and factors associated with tattoos in recruiters joining the military. METHODS the recruiters were examined by dermatologists that documented the presence or absence of tattoos, as well as their sizes, colors, designs and patterns, and whether they needed a parent's consent to get a tattoo. RESULTS 1,968 recruiters were examined and the prevalence of tattoos was 10.82% (213), 141 (66.20%) had a single tattoo, 44 (20.66%) two tattoos, 15 (7.04%) three tattoos, 9 (4.23%) four tattoos, and 4 (1.88%) had more than four. Of the total sample, 168 (80.77%) reported getting the first tattoo before the age of 18. 158 (74.53%) were monochromatic. In relation to size, 108 (50.70%) had tattoos of up to 10 cm, 75 (35.21%) had tattoos measuring between 11-20cm, while 30 had ones over 21cm (14.09%). CONCLUSIONS The population studied had a high prevalence of tattoos for their age, the percentage of complex (large and polychromatic) tattoos was also high.