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9 permits · verified 2026-09-28

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

In short

A salon or barber in Mobile 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 Mobile County Al

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Barber Commission Shop License (salon)only if it applies to youMobile County Barber CommissionShop License $15.00/year; New Shop Inspection $50.00 one-time for a newly opened shop. Individual barbers working in a Mobile County shop separately hold their own Barber Commission licenses: Master (barber) $20.00/year, Apprentice $20.00/year, Barber Assistant $20.00/year, Instructor $35.00/year. A barber school pays $500.00 to open/register and $50.00 annual College Renewal. A $5.00/month late-renewal penalty applies starting February 1 each year. (2026 Mobile County Barber Commission fee schedule.)annual; Barber Commission licenses run on a yearly cycle with a $5.00/month late-renewal penalty beginning February 12026-09-28
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.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Mobile County Al

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Business Privilege LicenseMobile County License CommissionVaries — formula on the Mobile County Al pageannual; all Business Privilege Licenses expire September 30 each year and renew without penalty October 1 through October 312026-09-28

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 Mobile 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 Mobile 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:

Barber Commission Shop License (salon): Shop License $15.00/year; New Shop Inspection $50.00 one-time for a newly opened shop. Individual barbers working in a Mobile County shop separately hold their own Barber Commission licenses: Master (barber) $20.00/year, Apprentice $20.00/year, Barber Assistant $20.00/year, Instructor $35.00/year. A barber school pays $500.00 to open/register and $50.00 annual College Renewal. A $5.00/month late-renewal penalty applies starting February 1 each year. (2026 Mobile County Barber Commission fee schedule.)

The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Mobile County Al permits page and the AL state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Mobile County Al?

Permits for a salon or barber in Mobile County Al, AL come from 6 separate offices: Mobile County Barber Commission, Mobile County License Commission, Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax Division, Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services, Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division, Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. 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 Mobile County Al that other businesses do not?

2 of the 2 permits particular to a salon or barber here apply to no other business type we cover in Mobile County Al: Barber Commission Shop License (salon) and Salon and Barber Shop License.

Barber Commission Shop License (salon)

A barbershop operating in Mobile County needs a Shop License from the county's own Mobile County Barber Commission, priced at $15.00 a year, plus a one-time $50.00 New Shop Inspection fee for a newly opened location — confirmed on the county's own, currently active fee schedule (2026 licenses available; board meetings scheduled through December 2026). Mobile is one of only five Alabama counties — with Baldwin, Jefferson, Lauderdale and Madison — that ran an independent local barber-licensing board before Alabama's first statewide barber law took effect in 2013, and those boards were grandfathered rather than abolished; Mobile County's board still operates today, licensing barbers, barbershops and barber schools in addition to, and separately from, the state Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. Individual barbers working in the shop hold their own separate licenses under the same fee schedule — Master (barber) $20.00/year, Apprentice $20.00/year, Barber Assistant $20.00/year, and Instructor $35.00/year — and a barber school pays $500.00 to open plus $50.00 annual College Renewal. A $5.00/month late-renewal penalty applies from February 1. This record covers the barbering slice of the 'salon' industry specifically; no county-level requirement is published for non-barber cosmetology services such as hair styling, nail care or esthetics, which remain governed only by the state Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. This license applies in addition to the general Business Privilege 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 other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Mobile County Al, AL; what each one involves is set out on the Mobile County Al permits page. 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 Mobile County Al?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Barber Commission Shop License (salon) and Salon and Barber Shop License. A auto repair shop needs Junkyard / Auto-Salvage License (auto-repair), Garage and Repair Shop Privilege License and Store License, which a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Mobile 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 shops3023
Childcare centres2022
Coffee shops3023
Contractors and trades3023
Fitness studios1021
Food trucks3023
Restaurants4024
Retail stores3023
Veterinary clinics1021

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 Mobile County Al permits page and the AL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Barber Commission Fees — current fee schedule for Shop, Master, Apprentice, Instructor, Barber Assistant, New Shop Inspection, and barber college feesMobile County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  2. Mobile County Barber Commission — confirms the Commission is currently active, with 2026 licenses available and board meetings scheduled through December 2026Mobile County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  3. 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
  4. 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.