How to Get Your Salon Business License in Florida

If you’re thinking about starting a salon in Florida, congratulations! A salon is a great business to run. Not only do you get to interact with a lot of different kinds of people, but you also get to help people achieve their dream looks! However, there are a few steps you have to go through to get your salon business license in Florida.

To get your salon business license in Florida you will need to, undergo a salon examination, pay a license fee, and fill out an application. However, the list of salon requirements you need to abide by can be a bit taxing.

Getting Your Salon Business License

To operate a salon in Florida, you will need to get a Salon License. To get a salon license, you need to abide by the salon requirements, allow your salon to undergo an examination, pay a license fee, and fill out the application.

The Salon Requirements

To make sure every salon is suitable for receiving customers, the state of Florida requires salons to make sure their spaces abide by a certain number of health rules. These rules apply no matter what kind of salon you have, whether it be a traveling salon or an actual salon in a store.

Necessities

A salon must provide five essential guarantees to customers.

• Ventilation and Cleanliness guarantee. This guarantee is essentially a promise to the customer and to the government that you will keep the Salon as clean as possible and properly ventilated. Steps to Keeping the salon clean include regularly sweeping up hair clippings and separate areas for services that tend to give off fumes, such as nail sculpting areas.
• Clean Toilet Areas. Salons in Florida must come equipped with places that customers can use as a lavatory. There must be at least one bathroom in each salon along with one sink and running water. The area should also have a way for customers to dry their hands. Make sure this area is kept clean.
• Have a place in of residence. In essence, you cannot run a salon straight out of your living room. It is fine to use a room in your house as long as it is separated from any living spaces by a wall. However, it is best to just avoid any complications with your area of business by keeping your Salon completely separate from your living quarters.
• No animals. Pets of any kind, except for service animals like dogs for blind people. One reason that pets aren’t allowed in Salons is that they can be unhygienic and dirty up the premises. Fish kept in a closed aquarium can be kept in the salon.
• Shampoo Bowls. If you are a Salon that specializes in nails and cosmetics, then the sink in the bathroom is enough for this requirement. If you are a salon that provides hair care in Florida, you need to have working shampoo bowls that can provide both hot and cold water. The bowls also must be located in the area where the services are being performed. A failure to do this will keep you from getting your license.
• Floor space requirements. You need to have at least 100 sq. feet of floor space for each cosmetologist you have working in the store. For those who wish to have a lot of cosmetologists, you’re going to need a lot of floor space.
• Proper compliance. To get a salon license, your salon will need to comply with all of the local fire and building codes of the area. These are very basic steps to check that you should be able to clear with a real estate agent before buying a place. Just make sure you don’t do anything during redecoration to take the building out of compliance.

Cleanliness

Along with requiring salons to keep the above standards, the state of Florida also lists several procedures salon owners should follow to keep their salon in line with the license requirements. Below are just a few of their cleanliness standards.

• Day-to-day routines. The state of Florida requires specific procedures to be used every day in the cleaning of pedicure basins or other basins that could foster fungal growth. This process includes using certain cleaners to remove any possible growth and washing out the basins.
• Weekly routines. These routines tend to apply mostly to pedicure spas and basins but can also apply to other basins in the salon. These basins should be washed with a certain concentration of bleach once a week to help prevent fungal and other kinds of growth.
• Disinfectant outlines. Each type of tool used in a salon has a procedure for disinfecting the materials used in the salon. All of the disinfectants used must be either approved by the EPA or considered an adequate equivalent to the EPA-approved disinfectant. These outlines include disinfecting objects such as hairbrushes and combs. Such common use tools should be disinfected after every use.
• Being hospital grade. If an EPA-approved disinfectant cannot be found, hospital-grade disinfectants can be used to clean materials. The idea is that the products you are using on customers should be as clean as if they were staying in a hospital.
• Proper storage. Along with making sure all of your tools are cleaned properly, it is important to make sure they are stored properly. Cleaned brushes that are stored in a dirty drawer are no longer clean. The issuance of your salon license could be dependent on how clean your drawers are.

There are many more specific details Florida will ask you to follow to make sure your salon is a safe place for customers to come to. The full list can be found here.

Check out our article on starting a salon business in Florida HERE.

Getting A Salon Examination

A cosmetology examination could be for people who wish to practice cosmetology. However, at this time Florida does not require the examination to get a license for a regular salon. It is important to note though that the state still might come around to examine your salon to make sure it is staying up to code.

For those who wish to open a salon in a flea market, the state will usually require your salon to be examined before it is opened.

The License Fee

To get a salon license, the state of Florida requires that you pay a fee for the license along with the application. This fee is roughly 95 dollars but is subject to change from year to year. This is the only fee associated with obtaining the license.

Filling Out the Application

Florida currently provides future salon owners with two ways of filling out an application for a salon license. The owner can either go through an online service that requires making an account, or they can use a printable version that they then mail to Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Some of the things you should know when filling out the application are as follows:

• What type of salon do you want to open? Have an idea of where your salon will be located and what you want to offer in your salon before applying.
• Type of business model. Are you going to go to this endeavor solo? Will you be opening your salon with a partner? Will it be a corporation? You should have the business model for the salon figured out before applying.
• Information about previous salon businesses. If you have had a salon license before, Florida is going to want to know when you had it if you ever violated the salon license, and why the salon you had then closed.

If you know all of this information when you go to get a salon license, you should be well prepared. The online entry form for the application as well as the printable form can be found here.

Related Questions

What kind of business entity should a salon be?

Salons are typically run as sole proprietorships, partnerships, or limited liability companies (LLC). Sole proprietorships are the simplest to make, but they tie you completely to the business, which makes you liable if the business goes south. Partnerships are usually only done when you are working with another person. An LLC allows you to treat yourself as an employee and avoid some potential liability issues.

What other licenses do you need to run a salon?

If you want to run a salon, you will need to get a business license and most likely a cosmetology license. To work in your salon, you will need to have a license from the state saying you’ve done the required number of hours to assist customers. Also, to be an incorporated business in the state’s books, you’ll need to have obtained a license stating what kind of business you plan to run the salon as.

Looking to start your own Salon? Get the documents you need to get organized and funded here.

Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.