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9 permits · verified 2026-09-28

What permits do you need to open a salon or barber in Madison County Al?

In short

A salon or barber in Madison County Al, AL has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services charges $200 one-time filing for the certificate of formation (llc). 4 of the 9 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-28 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a salon or barber in Madison County Al

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
County Business/Privilege License — Salon/Barbershop Chair ClassificationMadison County License DepartmentThree separate chair/practitioner-based classification codes appear in the county's published schedule for salon and barbershop-type chair-rental businesses: code 0058 ('1st Chair'), $3.75 for the first chair plus $3.75 for each additional chair; code 0124 ('Manicurists, hairdressers, etc.'), a flat $7.50; and custom code 0C12 ('One Chair'), $3.00 for the first chair plus $3.00 for each additional chair. The published schedule does not explain which code applies to a given walk-in salon or barbershop, and more than one code plausibly fits the same business — this is a genuine overlap in the published document itself, confirmed by an independent, line-by-line re-read, not a transcription error. Confirm the classification code the License Department assigns before budgeting a fee.annual — Madison County's license year runs October 1 through September 30, with renewal accepted October 1-312026-09-28
ABOC Class I Barber Exemption and Madison County Reciprocityonly if it applies to youAlabama Board of Cosmetology and BarberingAlabama's Board of Cosmetology and Barbering exempts 'Class I Barbers' — practitioners who only shave or trim the beard or hair — from ABOC's licensing authority entirely, so a shop employing only Class I barbers needs no state shop license or fee. This exemption traces directly to Madison County's own former local-law Barber Board (Act 466 of 1939 and Act 435 of 1978); ABOC's own website still maintains a dedicated Madison County page explaining it. A 'Class II Barber,' offering the fuller range of services (treatments, singeing, shampooing, dyeing, permanent waving or straightening), and any shop employing one, needs the standard ABOC shop license: $200.00 new, $150.00 to renew, or $50.00 to relocate. ABOC also grants a Madison-County-specific reciprocity path: a barber licensed in Madison County for five years or more qualifies for direct reciprocity into the state system, while one licensed under five years must pass ABOC's own practical exam.the Class I exemption has no license to renew; where the standard ABOC shop license applies, it renews annually at $150.002026-09-28
Salon and Barber Shop LicenseAlabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering$200 new shop; renewal is $150biennial — expiring 30 September, renewable to 31 October, in odd-numbered years2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

AL registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
State and County Business Privilege Licenseonly if it applies to youAlabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax DivisionVaries — formula on the AL pageannual — 1 October to 30 September, delinquent 1 November2026-09-03
Certificate of Formation (LLC)only if it applies to youAlabama Secretary of State, Business Services$200 one-time filingperpetual — Alabama abolished the annual report in 20242026-09-03
Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to youAlabama Secretary of State, Business Services$200 one-time filingperpetual — Alabama abolished the annual report in 20242026-09-03
Corporation Annual Report (abolished)only if it applies to youAlabama Secretary of State, Business ServicesNo feenot applicable — the filing no longer exists2026-09-03
Business Privilege Taxonly if it applies to youAlabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax DivisionVaries — formula on the AL pageannual — due when the matching federal return is due2026-09-03
Sales Tax LicenseAlabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax DivisionNo feeannual — renew online between 1 November and 31 December2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a salon or barber in Madison County Al?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 9 records listed for a salon or barber in Madison County Al, AL, 3 apply to every business of this type and 6 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

Of the 3 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $200.00. That is a floor, not a total. 4 of the 9 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

County Business/Privilege License — Salon/Barbershop Chair Classification: Three separate chair/practitioner-based classification codes appear in the county's published schedule for salon and barbershop-type chair-rental businesses: code 0058 ('1st Chair'), $3.75 for the first chair plus $3.75 for each additional chair; code 0124 ('Manicurists, hairdressers, etc.'), a flat $7.50; and custom code 0C12 ('One Chair'), $3.00 for the first chair plus $3.00 for each additional chair. The published schedule does not explain which code applies to a given walk-in salon or barbershop, and more than one code plausibly fits the same business — this is a genuine overlap in the published document itself, confirmed by an independent, line-by-line re-read, not a transcription error. Confirm the classification code the License Department assigns before budgeting a fee.

ABOC Class I Barber Exemption and Madison County Reciprocity: Alabama's Board of Cosmetology and Barbering exempts 'Class I Barbers' — practitioners who only shave or trim the beard or hair — from ABOC's licensing authority entirely, so a shop employing only Class I barbers needs no state shop license or fee. This exemption traces directly to Madison County's own former local-law Barber Board (Act 466 of 1939 and Act 435 of 1978); ABOC's own website still maintains a dedicated Madison County page explaining it. A 'Class II Barber,' offering the fuller range of services (treatments, singeing, shampooing, dyeing, permanent waving or straightening), and any shop employing one, needs the standard ABOC shop license: $200.00 new, $150.00 to renew, or $50.00 to relocate. ABOC also grants a Madison-County-specific reciprocity path: a barber licensed in Madison County for five years or more qualifies for direct reciprocity into the state system, while one licensed under five years must pass ABOC's own practical exam.

The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Madison County Al permits page and the AL state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Madison County Al?

Permits for a salon or barber in Madison County Al, AL come from 5 separate offices: Madison County License Department, Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering, Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax Division, Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services, Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a salon or barber need in Madison County Al that other businesses do not?

3 of the 3 permits particular to a salon or barber here apply to no other business type we cover in Madison County Al: County Business/Privilege License — Salon/Barbershop Chair Classification, ABOC Class I Barber Exemption and Madison County Reciprocity and Salon and Barber Shop License.

County Business/Privilege License — Salon/Barbershop Chair Classification

This is the ordinary county chair-based business-privilege tax on a salon or barbershop, separate from and in addition to the state cosmetology/barbering board's own shop license ($200.00 new, $150.00 to renew, $50.00 to relocate, recorded on the ABOC Class I Barber entry below) and separate from Huntsville's own municipal chair-based schedule for shops inside city limits. The county schedule's three overlapping chair codes (0058, 0124, 0C12) were each independently re-read verbatim from the primary Alabama Department of Revenue filing, and all three genuinely describe chair-based fees at different rates with no disambiguating text in the source document, so all three are shown here; confirm which code applies to a given shop with the Madison County License Department.

ABOC Class I Barber Exemption and Madison County Reciprocity

This is a state-administered mechanism specific to Madison County, distinct from Jefferson and Mobile Counties, which still run their own independent, currently active county barber commissions today — Madison County's own local barber board is history, but ABOC continues to publish current guidance for the county because of it. This record is separate from the county's own chair-based business-privilege tax on salons and barbershops (classification codes 0058, 0124 and 0C12, recorded above) and from Huntsville's own municipal barbershop/beauty-shop license schedule for shops inside city limits — a Madison County shop can owe all three: the state ABOC fee (or exemption), the county classification tax, and, if inside a city, that city's own license.

Salon and Barber Shop License

Alabama merged its cosmetology and barbering boards, and the statutory definition of a shop covers both trades plus mobile salons — so a barber shop, a hair salon and a mobile unit all take the same license at the same price, and the rules provide only two business license types in total, shop and school. Two hundred dollars new, $150 to renew, with everything else priced modestly: relocation $50, a name or ownership change $25, and $25 for both together. Miss the 31 October postmark and the late charge is $54. The fee schedule here is unusually current, having been amended with effect from May 2026. Remember the second license: a salon also owes the beauty parlour privilege license at $16 for the owner plus $6 or $9 for each additional operator, or the barber shop version at $4.75 for the first chair plus $3.75 for each additional one, and the county issuing it is not required to check that the board license exists.

The 6 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across AL and are covered on the AL state page.

How does a salon or barber compare with other businesses in Madison County Al?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs County Business/Privilege License — Salon/Barbershop Chair Classification, ABOC Class I Barber Exemption and Madison County Reciprocity and Salon and Barber Shop License. A auto repair shop needs County Business/Privilege License — General Classification, Garage and Repair Shop Privilege License and Store License, which a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Madison County Al, AL, compared with a salon or barber
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a salon or barberOnly a salon or barber needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops3033
Childcare centres3033
Coffee shops4034
Contractors and trades4034
Fitness studios1031
Food trucks4034
Restaurants5035
Retail stores3033
Veterinary clinics3033

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Madison County Al permits page and the AL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Madison County Annual Business Privilege/License Tax Fiscal Year Report, FY2026Alabama Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  2. ABOC Licensing Fees — shop license: $200 new, $150 renewal, $50 relocationAlabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  3. Madison County Barber Information — Class I/Class II distinction and reciprocity pathAlabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  4. Alabama Administrative Code rule 250-X-2-.01 — Board of Cosmetology and Barbering fee schedule, effective 15 May 2026Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  5. Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering — renewal FAQ, with the odd-year expiry and late feeAlabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.