A June 30 Dallas police update reportedly expanded the appearance options available to officers, including qualifying hand and finger tattoos and a narrowly specified nose stud. But some of the attention-grabbing provisions involving baseball caps and tattoo review already have counterparts in the department’s published rules.
FOX 4 and KRLD reported that the chief’s update took effect immediately. Both outlets said hand and finger tattoos would still require departmental approval.
What appears to be new
The reported update permits qualifying tattoos on officers’ hands and fingers, subject to approval, and a narrowly defined nose stud. Those permissions are the clearest reported changes from the rules currently available to the public.
What the public order already says
Dallas Police General Order 800 already allows a Quartermaster-issued DPD baseball cap with specified uniform classes. It also establishes a review process for visible body art through the Body Art Approval Board.
That means the reported June update should not be read as creating cap use or tattoo review from scratch. The meaningful tattoo change is the newly reported eligibility of hand and finger tattoos, while approval remains required.
The publicly posted order contains revision material that predates the reported June 2026 update. Until the published document catches up, readers should distinguish between the standing text in General Order 800 and the newer permissions described by the two local reports.
