How to Start a Hair Salon in Virginia: 1,000-Hour Cosmetology License, $120 Fees, $220 Salon License

October 29, 2026

Opening a hair salon in Virginia takes two layers of licensing. The salon needs one shop or salon license from the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, administered by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). Every person who performs licensed services inside the salon needs an individual license, and you should check each one. Business formation and local business taxes come on top of that. This guide covers the licenses, the fees, and the order to take the steps in.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Fees and rules change, and the agencies named here are the final authority. Before you sign a lease, choose an entity, or write a booth rental agreement, talk with a Virginia attorney and a CPA who can review your situation.

What you need before you apply

Gather these before you start the salon license application. Most of them are needed for the steps that follow.

• Your entity's formation documents, such as the filed Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) or Articles of Incorporation (Form SCC619), with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) receipt
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• The street address of the salon and written confirmation that a salon is allowed there
• Each worker's individual license number, or their school transcript and exam results if they are still getting licensed
• A list of the services you will offer, since barber, nail and chemical services each have their own licensing rules
• Contact details for the zoning office and the Commissioner of the Revenue in your city or county

1. The salon license: one license for the business

DPOR's Board for Barbers and Cosmetology issues one shop or salon license. It covers a cosmetology salon, barbershop, nail salon, waxing salon and mobile salon (Va. Code 54.1-704.1; 18VAC41-20-120). You do not apply for a separate license for each service type. The application costs $220, renewal costs $220, and reinstatement after a lapse costs $440 (18VAC41-20-140).

The license comes with rules you need to plan around:

• It is issued to the firm, not to a person, and it cannot be transferred.
• If the legal entity changes, you must file a new application within 30 days.
• Changes to the salon's name, address or management must be reported within 30 days.
• The Board may inspect the salon, so keep your individual licenses and records current and ready to show.

How to apply for the salon license

1. Form the entity first. The license is issued to the firm, so the applicant should match the legal entity you formed with the SCC. Forming it first avoids a second application later.
2. Lock in the location. Confirm zoning and the local business tax before you apply. A later address change must be reported within 30 days, so a location you may move from creates extra work.
3. Verify your staff. Collect the individual license numbers of everyone who will perform services. The salon license does not replace their individual licenses.
4. File and pay. Submit the salon application to DPOR with the $220 fee. This guide does not give a processing time, so apply early and check DPOR for current timing before you set a lease start or an opening date.
5. Calendar the renewal. Record the renewal date DPOR gives you, along with the 30-day reporting rules for name, address, management and entity changes.

2. Who needs an individual license and how to get one

Every person who performs licensed services in the salon must hold an individual license. Owning the salon does not cover the people who work in it. Check each license with DPOR before that person's first shift. Do not rely on a card someone shows you, and do not assume an expired license is still valid.

Do not assume that an owner who does not cut hair needs no license of any kind. Confirm with DPOR which credential, if any, applies to your role.

Which license matches which job

• Cosmetologist: 1,000 clock hours is the school curriculum minimum (18VAC41-20-200). Textured hair is built into that curriculum, not taught as a separate add-on. The regulation requires shampooing, styling and cutting instruction for all hair types, including textured hair, with minimums of 25, 65 and 125 hours in those three areas (18VAC41-20-210).
• Barber: 750 hours, covering barber chair services. A master barber license adds chemical services and requires 250 hours.
• Nail technician: 150 hours.

Staff who do different work need different licenses. Match each license to the services that person actually performs, and check the scope with DPOR before you put someone on a service their license does not cover.

How to get the individual license

1. Complete the training. Enroll in a school that meets the curriculum minimum for your license: 1,000 hours for cosmetology, 750 for barber, or 150 for nail technician. Keep your transcript, because you will need it.
2. Pass both exams. Both a written and a practical exam are required. The exam vendor sets the fee, and it cannot exceed $225 per candidate (18VAC41-20-60). A passing result on one exam is kept if you pass the other within a year.
3. Apply for the license. The individual application costs $120. Renewal and reinstatement fees are covered in the next section.
4. Consider a temporary license. A temporary license has no fee, lasts 90 days and can be issued once. It requires direct supervision while you work.
5. Consider endorsement if you are licensed elsewhere. A person licensed in another state can apply for a Virginia license by endorsement if their training and exams were substantially equivalent to Virginia's requirements.

Who does not need a license

Hair braiding alone is not licensed. The statute also exempts people confined to blow-drying and arranging hair, people who only apply make-up, and apprentices working in a licensed place (Va. Code 54.1-701). Read each exemption carefully. Confirm with DPOR before you rely on one for a role that mixes exempt work with licensed services.

3. Fees and renewal

Item	Amount
Salon license application	$220
Salon license renewal	$220
Salon license reinstatement	$440
Individual license application	$120
Individual license renewal (every two years)	$120
Individual license reinstatement	$240

Two more items affect your budget. First, from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2030, certain DPOR fees carry a separate $7.25 a year technology fee (2026 HB 30). This guide does not list which fees carry it, so confirm with DPOR before you build your budget. Second, Virginia has enacted the Cosmetology Compact, but it is not active yet. Its start has been hoped for in early 2027, so check DPOR for its status before you plan around it.

Renewal is easy to overlook once the salon is open. Individual licenses renew every two years at $120. If a license lapses, reinstatement costs $240 for an individual and $440 for a salon. Set reminders for every license in the salon, not just your own.

4. Booth rent or employees: a staffing decision

How you staff the chairs is a business decision with licensing, tax and cost consequences. The two models work differently:

• Booth rent: The stylist pays you rent for a station and usually keeps their own client revenue. They generally set their own prices and schedules.
• Employees: You set schedules, prices and service standards. You handle payroll, withholding and workers' compensation coverage, and you pay wages that meet the law.

Booth renters still need individual licenses. Renting a chair does not replace the licensing rule.

The main risk with booth rent is classification. Calling someone a booth renter does not settle whether they are an independent contractor. That depends on how the working relationship operates in practice, including who controls hours, pricing, equipment and client handling. Getting it wrong can be costly to fix, so have a Virginia attorney or CPA review any booth rental agreement before you use it.

If you hire employees, Virginia's minimum wage is $12.77 in 2026, $13.75 in 2027 and $15.00 in 2028. Build your payroll budget around the rate in effect for each year you operate.

A simple way to decide: booth rent gives you lower payroll obligations and stylists who run their own books, in exchange for less control over schedule and price. Employees give you control over the client experience, in exchange for payroll costs and the administration that comes with them.

5. Setup and local items

Work through these steps in order. The entity, the lease and the local tax all depend on one another.

Step 1: Form the entity with the SCC

The SCC forms the entity and issues no business license. File online through the SCC Clerk's Information System at https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/. General business information is at https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/.

Filing	Amount
LLC Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011)	$100
LLC annual registration fee (no annual report)	$50
Corporation Articles of Incorporation (Form SCC619)	$75
Corporation annual report and annual registration fee	$100 for up to 5,000 authorized shares, plus $30 for each additional 5,000 shares (check the SCC annual fee schedule)
Name reservation (120 days)	$10

Your name must include 'limited company,' 'limited liability company,' 'LC,' 'L.C.,' 'LLC' or 'L.L.C.' and be distinguishable from names already on file. Reserve it for $10 if you need time to file.

Online filings can be expedited. Next-day service costs $50 or $100 if submitted by 2:00 PM Eastern, with a response by 4:00 PM the next business day. Same-day service costs $200 if submitted by 10:00 AM Eastern, with a response by 4:00 PM. Expedited service is online only and nonrefundable.

Virginia entities must keep a registered agent. The agent must be a Virginia resident with a Virginia street registered office, available during business hours, and either a member of the Virginia State Bar or a member, manager, officer, trustee or general partner of the entity. An entity cannot be its own agent.

An LLC files no annual report. It pays the $50 annual registration fee due the last day of the 12th month after the month it was organized, and every year after that. The SCC assesses the fee about two months ahead. A late payment adds a $25 penalty, and the LLC is canceled at the end of the third month after the due date. A corporation's annual registration fee is due the last day of the formation month. Its annual report is due the last day of the 12th month after formation and may be filed no earlier than three months before that date.

Step 2: File an assumed name if you need one

If the salon operates under a name other than the entity's legal name, file an Assumed Name Certificate with the SCC for $10. Do not file it with the circuit court. No newspaper publication is required. Details are at https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/.

Step 3: Get a federal EIN

Obtain an Employer Identification Number from the IRS once the entity exists, so the EIN matches the legal name. You will need it for payroll and for your business bank account.

Step 4: Confirm zoning and the local BPOL tax before you sign a lease

Virginia has no general statewide business license, and the SCC issues none. The local license is the Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax under Va. Code 58.1-3700 et seq. Each city or county administers its own BPOL, usually through the Commissioner of the Revenue. It is not universal. Under Va. Code 58.1-3704, a locality may levy no general license at all. Stafford, Rockingham, Bedford County, Washington County, Montgomery County, Louisa and Fluvanna are examples of localities without a general county license. Towns can displace the county tax, so check both the town and the county.

The floor depends on population. A locality with more than 50,000 people cannot require a license from a business with gross receipts under $100,000. In a locality with 25,000 to 50,000 people, the floor is $50,000. Localities under 25,000 people have no statutory floor. Localities over 50,000 people may waive the license for gross receipts up to $200,000, but verify that waiver ceiling with your locality. Localities set their own rates and filing deadlines, so a rate you read for one city tells you nothing about another.

Zoning is handled separately, by the city or county zoning office. Ask in writing whether a salon is permitted at the address and whether any special approval is needed. Then write a lease contingency that makes your signature conditional on that approval and on your local business tax registration.

Step 5: Register for sales tax

Most salons sell retail products, so register with Virginia Tax before your first sale at https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sales-and-use-tax. The base rate is 5.3%, which combines state and local tax. Some localities are higher: 6% in the regional-tax localities, 6.3% in eight localities, and 7% in the Historic Triangle (James City County, Williamsburg and York County). Groceries are taxed at 1%. Confirm with Virginia Tax which of your sales are taxable, including any service charges and product sales.

Step 6: Plan the build-out and insurance

If you hire a contractor, check the contractor's DPOR license class. Since July 1, 2025, Class C covers work over $1,000 to under $30,000, Class B covers $30,000 to under $150,000, and Class A covers $150,000 or more. Confirm which class your project needs and that the contractor holds it.

Plan plumbing and drainage for shampoo stations, and plan ventilation with your contractor for chemical services such as color, perms and relaxers. Get written quotes for the build-out. This guide does not give build-out or insurance price ranges, because they vary widely by building and market. Ask for quotes on general liability and property coverage, and add workers' compensation once you have employees.

Tips and common mistakes

• Signing the lease first. Get zoning and the local BPOL answer in writing before you commit to a long lease.
• Treating the salon license as covering staff. Each worker needs an individual license, and you should check it before their first shift.
• Mixing up hour requirements. Cosmetology is 1,000 hours, barber is 750, master barber adds chemical services and requires 250 hours, and nail technician is 150 hours.
• Missing the 30-day clock. Changes of entity, name, address or management each carry a 30-day window.
• Assuming there is no local tax. Virginia has no statewide business license, but localities that levy BPOL set their own rates and deadlines.
• Forgetting annual state filings. An LLC pays the $50 annual registration fee every year. A corporation must file its annual report and registration fee on schedule.
• Letting a license lapse. Reinstatement costs $240 for an individual and $440 for a salon.
• Classifying booth renters without review. Have a professional look at the agreement before you use it.
• Making unsupported product claims. Describe retail products cautiously, and check the labels before you repeat any claim.

What results to expect

Completing these steps should leave you with a formed entity, a salon location checked against local rules, and staff whose licenses you have verified. Timelines depend on your location, your staff and how quickly each agency responds. This guide does not promise an opening date or a revenue figure.

If you sell hair products, the product labels and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cosmetics rules govern what you can say about them. Use cautious wording, such as a product may help hair look smoother or feel softer. Avoid promises that a product treats, cures or permanently changes hair.

Next steps

Confirm the figures in this guide with the agency that administers them: DPOR for salon and individual licenses, fees and the technology fee; the SCC at https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/ for entity and name filings; Virginia Tax at https://www.tax.virginia.gov/ for sales tax; and your city or county for zoning and the BPOL license tax. The Virginia Small Business Development Center network at https://www.virginiasbdc.org/ can help you plan. For anything involving a lease, a booth rental or employment structure, or an entity choice, consult a qualified attorney and CPA.