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14 permits · verified 2026-10-02

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

In short

A salon or barber in Kern County, CA has 2 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 12 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department charges $52 flat, one-time (code COP-006), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025 for the home occupation permit. 5 of the 14 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-02 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a salon or barber in Kern County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Business License (Massage Establishment / Massage-Related Business)only if it applies to youKern County Sheriff's Office, Licensing UnitMassage Establishment: $166.00 initial, $75.00 annual renewal (Kern County Code Table 5.04.160, line 15). A business providing massage or related services other than a dedicated massage establishment: $136.00 initial, $75.00 annual renewal (Table 5.04.160, line 16).annual, terminating one year after issuance (Kern County Code §5.04.210)2026-10-02
Home Occupation Permitonly if it applies to youKern County Planning and Natural Resources Department$52 flat, one-time (code COP-006), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025runs with the property; Kern County Code Ch. 19.94 states no renewal requirement2026-10-02
Zoning Compliance Review — Title 5 Business License Companion Feeonly if it applies to youKern County Planning and Natural Resources Department$140.00 for a new Title 5 license zoning review (code COP-015); $62.00 for a renewal zoning review (code COP-R15), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025.per application; recurs annually alongside the Title 5 license renewal2026-10-02
Massage Establishment Permitonly if it applies to youKern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services DivisionKern County Code §§8.70.050(A), 8.70.070(C) and 8.70.120 set this permit's fee through the Director of Public Health's own fee ordinance rather than stating a dollar amount in the code text itself, and that fee ordinance is not published in any document on Kern County Public Health Services Department's website. Contact Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division, for the amount currently invoiced before applying.annual, non-transferable, invoiced each July 12026-10-02
Cosmetology or Barbering Establishment LicenseCalifornia Board of Barbering and Cosmetology$50 application and initial license2 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 Kern County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Zone Changeonly if it applies to youKern County Planning and Natural Resources DepartmentVaries — formula on the Kern County pageone-time per application2026-10-02
Zone Varianceonly if it applies to youKern County Planning and Natural Resources Department$1,352 one-time per application (code PIM-003), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025one-time per application2026-10-02

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

CA 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
Statement of Information (LLC)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$20 per filing, biennialbiennial2026-09-03
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$70 one-time filingno expiry, but a Statement of Information is due biennially2026-09-03
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$100 one-time filingno expiry, but a Statement of Information is due annually2026-09-03
Statement of Information (Corporation)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$25 per filing, annualannual2026-09-03
Seller's Permitonly if it applies to youCalifornia Department of Tax and Fee AdministrationNo fee — no fee to applyno expiry while actively engaged in business as a seller2026-09-03
Annual LLC Tax and Minimum Franchise Taxonly if it applies to youCalifornia Franchise Tax BoardVaries — formula on the CA pageannual, until the entity is cancelled2026-09-03
General Business License — California position (city or county, not state)California Secretary of State, Business Programs DivisionNo feeset by the issuing city or county2026-09-03

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 Kern County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 14 records listed for a salon or barber in Kern County, CA, 2 apply to every business of this type and 12 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 2 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $50.00. That is a floor, not a total. 5 of the 14 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

General Business License (Massage Establishment / Massage-Related Business): Massage Establishment: $166.00 initial, $75.00 annual renewal (Kern County Code Table 5.04.160, line 15). A business providing massage or related services other than a dedicated massage establishment: $136.00 initial, $75.00 annual renewal (Table 5.04.160, line 16).

Zoning Compliance Review — Title 5 Business License Companion Fee: $140.00 for a new Title 5 license zoning review (code COP-015); $62.00 for a renewal zoning review (code COP-R15), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025.

Massage Establishment Permit: Kern County Code §§8.70.050(A), 8.70.070(C) and 8.70.120 set this permit's fee through the Director of Public Health's own fee ordinance rather than stating a dollar amount in the code text itself, and that fee ordinance is not published in any document on Kern County Public Health Services Department's website. Contact Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division, for the amount currently invoiced before applying.

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

Which offices issue these permits in Kern County?

Permits for a salon or barber in Kern County, CA come from 7 separate offices: Kern County Sheriff's Office, Licensing Unit, Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division, California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California Franchise Tax Board, California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. 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 Kern County that other businesses do not?

5 of the 5 permits particular to a salon or barber here apply to no other business type we cover in Kern County: General Business License (Massage Establishment / Massage-Related Business), Home Occupation Permit, Zoning Compliance Review — Title 5 Business License Companion Fee and 2 more.

General Business License (Massage Establishment / Massage-Related Business)

Kern County Code §5.04.020 enumerates the specific business types that need this Title 5 license in unincorporated Kern County: loose vehicle parts dealer, carnival, circus, fortuneteller/clairvoyant, itinerant peddler, locksmith, weapons dealer, taxicab service/driver, shooting galleries/games of skill, swap meets, commercial photographer without a fixed place of business, temporary business, street vendor, and massage establishment. None of the other nine tracked industries — restaurant, coffee-shop, food-truck, retail-store, childcare, fitness-studio, contractor, auto-repair, veterinary — appear on that list, so a salon is the only tracked industry this chapter reaches, and only when it operates as a 'massage establishment' or provides massage or related services beyond the barber/cosmetologist exemption described in the Home Occupation and Massage Establishment Permit records below. A massage establishment also needs the separate Ch. 8.70 Massage Establishment Permit from Public Health Services before this license issues, per §5.04.020 item P. The license term runs one year from issuance under §5.04.210, and §5.04.080 requires Kern Planning to confirm zoning-ordinance compliance before this license is granted, which is billed as the separate Zoning Compliance Review companion fee recorded next.

Home Occupation Permit

Kern County Code §19.94.020(C) permits a home-based 'barber or cosmetologist, one (1) chair or booth only,' limited to manicurist, esthetician, electrologist, or hair stylist/colorist practice, as a qualifying home occupation in unincorporated Kern County. Section 19.94.030 excludes a restaurant or catering business, a veterinary clinic or hospital, car or small-engine repair, and a full-service barbershop or beauty parlor beyond the one-chair exemption from home-occupation status, meaning this permit applies to the tracked industries only in the narrow one-chair salon case. The flat fee is $52.00 (code COP-006), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025, and the permit runs with the property rather than on a stated renewal cycle, since Kern County Code §§19.94.050-.080 contain no renewal or expiration language.

Zoning Compliance Review — Title 5 Business License Companion Fee

Kern County Code §5.04.080 requires the Planning Director to confirm zoning-ordinance compliance before any Title 5 license — including the Massage Establishment / Massage-Related Business license recorded above — may issue, so a salon applying for that license also pays this separate Kern Planning fee. The new-application review costs $140.00 (code COP-015) and the renewal review costs $62.00 (code COP-R15), per the Land Development Services Fee Schedule effective 1/1/2025, confirmed live and unchanged on the county's current fee page. This is a Kern Planning fee distinct from the Sheriff's Office's own license fee, billed on top of it rather than in place of it, and applies only in unincorporated Kern County, the same scope as the Title 5 license itself.

Massage Establishment Permit

Since Ordinance G-8730 (2017), Kern County no longer issues a permit to individual massage practitioners — a practitioner instead holds certification from the state California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). The county still requires this separate, non-transferable permit for the massage establishment's business location itself, obtained from the Director of Public Health and invoiced each July 1 (half-fee if a new permit issues January through June, per §8.70.070(C)). Kern County Code §8.70.040(C) exempts 'barbers, beauticians, and cosmetologists who are duly licensed under the laws of the state of California,' including manicurists, nail technicians and estheticians, when their work is limited to massaging the neck, face, scalp, hands up to the wrist, or feet up to the ankle — so an ordinary nail or hair salon operating within that scope needs neither CAMTC certification nor this permit, while a dedicated massage or day-spa business does. This permit is a Kern EHS program and reaches a qualifying business countywide, the same scope as EHS's food and hazardous-materials programs below.

Cosmetology or Barbering Establishment License

$50 covers the application and the initial license together — it is one combined fee, not two — and renewal is $40 every two years, with a $20 delinquency fee. The establishment license is separate from every practitioner license held by the people working there. Three rules catch owners out: only the owner may apply, only one license is issued per address, and the license is valid only for the location and the owners named on it. Moving premises, selling the business, or adding or removing a partner all require a fresh application rather than an amendment. A mobile unit is licensed separately at $50 plus a $100 initial inspection and license fee. A license left unrenewed for five years is cancelled outright.

The other 2 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Kern County, CA; what each one involves is set out on the Kern County permits page. The 7 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across CA and are covered on the CA state page.

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

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs General Business License (Massage Establishment / Massage-Related Business), Home Occupation Permit, Zoning Compliance Review — Title 5 Business License Companion Fee and 2 more. A auto repair shop needs Hazardous Materials Business Plan / CUPA Program, which a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Kern County, CA, compared with a salon or barber
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a salon or barberOnly a salon or barber needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops1051
Childcare centres2052
Coffee shops6056
Contractors and trades2052
Fitness studios0050
Food trucks4054
Restaurants6056
Retail stores5055
Veterinary clinics2052

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 Kern County permits page and the CA state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Kern County Code Chapter 5.04 (Business Licenses Generally) — the enumerated list of licensed business types in §5.04.020, the Massage Establishment and related fee table in §5.04.160, and the annual term in §5.04.210Kern County, via Municode (Kern County Municipal Code) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  2. Kern County Land Development Services Fee Schedule, effective 1/1/2025Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department / Public Works Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  3. Kern County Code Chapter 19.94 (Home Occupations) — the one-chair barber/cosmetologist exemption in §19.94.020(C) and the excluded uses in §19.94.030Kern County, via Municode (Kern County Municipal Code) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  4. Kern County Code Chapter 8.70 (Massage/Bodywork Practitioner Permits and Regulations) — the Massage Establishment Permit requirement, the CAMTC practitioner-certification shift under Ord. G-8730, the barber/cosmetologist/salon exemption in §8.70.040(C), and the fee-deferral language in §§8.70.050(A), .070(C) and .120Kern County, via Municode (Kern County Municipal Code) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  5. California Code of Regulations title 16 section 998, Schedule of Fees, as published by the Board of Barbering and CosmetologyCalifornia Board of Barbering and Cosmetology · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  6. California Business and Professions Code section 7415 — two-year license term for barbering and cosmetology licensesCalifornia Legislative Information · 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.