11 permits · verified 2026-09-08
What permits do you need to open a salon or barber in Colorado Springs?
In short
A salon or barber in Colorado Springs, CO has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Colorado Springs Fire Department, Division of the Fire Marshal charges $1,032 a year for the annual facilities permit. 2 of the 11 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-08 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a salon or barber in Colorado Springs
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salon / Barbershop — City Business Licensing Position (Colorado Springs)only if it applies to you | City of Colorado Springs, City Clerk's Office | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-08 |
| Annual Facilities Permitonly if it applies to you | Colorado Springs Fire Department, Division of the Fire Marshal | $1,032 a year | annual | 2026-09-08 |
| Fire Construction Plan Review | Colorado Springs Fire Department, Division of the Fire Marshal | By occupancy group and floor area (includes two plan reviews plus initial and final inspection): Group A-2 (restaurants/assembly with food and drink) $602 (up to 5,000 sq ft) or $774 (5,000–10,000 sq ft); Group B (business/office) $473/$688/$946 by size up to 100,000 sq ft; Group M (mercantile/retail) $516–$1,204 by size up to 100,000 sq ft. A fire alarm plan review (50 or fewer devices) is $473; a sprinkler system (100 heads or fewer) is $731. A $25 technology fee applies to all permits; re-inspection is $500; a Work-at-Risk permit is $500; working without a permit doubles the fee. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-08 |
| Shop and Salon Registration | Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure, Division of Professions and Occupations | $35 new registration; renewal is $26 | biennial — every registration expires on 30 November of odd-numbered years | 2026-09-03 |
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 Colorado Springs
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License — City of Colorado Springs positiononly if it applies to you | City of Colorado Springs, City Clerk's Office | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-08 |
| Sales/Use Tax License | City of Colorado Springs Sales Tax Office | No fee | expires every odd year on December 31; mandatory renewal | 2026-09-08 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
CO registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | $50 one-time filing, online only | perpetual, but a periodic report is due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — Colorado position (issued locally)only if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | No fee | set by the city or county | 2026-09-03 |
| Sales Tax License | Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division | Varies — formula on the CO page | 2 years — every license expires on 31 December of an odd-numbered year | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | $50 one-time filing, online only | perpetual, but a periodic report is due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Periodic Reportonly if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | $25 a year; $50 more if filed late | annual — due in the entity's own periodic report month | 2026-09-03 |
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 Colorado Springs?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 11 records listed for a salon or barber in Colorado Springs, CO, 4 apply to every business of this type and 7 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 4 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $35.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 of the 11 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 4 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Fire Construction Plan Review: By occupancy group and floor area (includes two plan reviews plus initial and final inspection): Group A-2 (restaurants/assembly with food and drink) $602 (up to 5,000 sq ft) or $774 (5,000–10,000 sq ft); Group B (business/office) $473/$688/$946 by size up to 100,000 sq ft; Group M (mercantile/retail) $516–$1,204 by size up to 100,000 sq ft. A fire alarm plan review (50 or fewer devices) is $473; a sprinkler system (100 heads or fewer) is $731. A $25 technology fee applies to all permits; re-inspection is $500; a Work-at-Risk permit is $500; working without a permit doubles the fee.
The other 1 variable fee belongs to permits that apply to every type of business here; its formula is set out on the Colorado Springs permits page and the CO state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Colorado Springs?
Permits for a salon or barber in Colorado Springs, CO come from 6 separate offices: City of Colorado Springs, City Clerk's Office, City of Colorado Springs Sales Tax Office, Colorado Springs Fire Department, Division of the Fire Marshal, Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division, Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division, Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure, Division of Professions and Occupations. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- City of Colorado Springs, City Clerk's OfficeIssues 2 permits on this page: General Business License — City of Colorado Springs position, Salon / Barbershop — City Business Licensing Position (Colorado Springs)(719) 385-5901coloradosprings.gov/BusinessLicensing
- City of Colorado Springs Sales Tax OfficeIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales/Use Tax License(719) 385-5903coloradosprings.gov/finance-sales-tax/page/sales-tax-faq
- Colorado Springs Fire Department, Division of the Fire MarshalIssues 2 permits on this page: Annual Facilities Permit, Fire Construction Plan Review(719) 385-5978coloradosprings.gov/fire-department/page/fee-schedules-fire
- Colorado Secretary of State, Business DivisionIssues 4 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, General Business License — Colorado position (issued locally), Articles of Organization (LLC), Periodic Report1700 Broadway, Suite 550, Denver, CO 80290 · (303) 894-2200www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/business/businessHome.html
- Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales Tax License1375 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80261 · (303) 238-7378tax.colorado.gov/sales-tax-account-license
- Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure, Division of Professions and OccupationsIssues 1 permit on this page: Shop and Salon Registration1560 Broadway, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80202 · (303) 894-7800dpo.colorado.gov/BarberCosmetology
What does a salon or barber need in Colorado Springs that other businesses do not?
2 of the 4 permits particular to a salon or barber here apply to no other business type we cover in Colorado Springs: Salon / Barbershop — City Business Licensing Position (Colorado Springs) and Shop and Salon Registration.
Salon / Barbershop — City Business Licensing Position (Colorado Springs)
The City Clerk's Business Licensing page lists 12 city-licensed categories and names no salon or barbershop license among them, so this record carries no fee for a salon or barbershop generally. A salon offering massage services would separately need the city's Massage Business license ($110/year), which is one of the 12 categories on that page.
Annual Facilities Permit
The Fire Department's own Construction Services Fee Schedule lists the Annual Facilities Permit at $1,032.00, a recurring fire permit for an ordinary commercial occupancy. A separate document, the Fire Code Services Fee Schedule, prices a different pair of products — high-pile combustible storage and hazardous materials permits — and sits outside this record's scope, which covers only the annual occupancy permit for the industries listed above.
Shop and Salon Registration
Thirty-five dollars covers a fixed establishment, a temporary one, a mobile unit or a school, and one registration covers whichever services are ticked — barbering, cosmetology, esthetics or manicuring — with no separate booth registration. The registration attaches to the physical location, so there is no reciprocity from another state and a change of ownership needs a fresh application at the full fee. The owner need not hold a practitioner license. Colorado merged its barber and cosmetology regulation into a single office under a director rather than a board. One caveat on the renewal figure: the regulatory agencies department publishes no current fee schedule at all — the $26 is the last officially published amount, from the state's own 2025 sunset review, and predates the November 2025 renewal cycle.
Shared with other businesses in Colorado Springs
- Fire Construction Plan Review — Colorado Springs Fire Department, Division of the Fire Marshal, By occupancy group and floor area (includes two plan reviews plus initial and final inspection): Group A-2 (restaurants/assembly with food and drink) $602 (up to 5,000 sq ft) or $774 (5,000–10,000 sq ft); Group B (business/office) $473/$688/$946 by size up to 100,000 sq ft; Group M (mercantile/retail) $516–$1,204 by size up to 100,000 sq ft. A fire alarm plan review (50 or fewer devices) is $473; a sprinkler system (100 heads or fewer) is $731. A $25 technology fee applies to all permits; re-inspection is $500; a Work-at-Risk permit is $500; working without a permit doubles the fee., one-time, per project. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, fitness studios, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the veterinary clinics page.
The other 2 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Colorado Springs, CO; what each one involves is set out on the Colorado Springs permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across CO and are covered on the CO state page.
How does a salon or barber compare with other businesses in Colorado Springs?
The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 2 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Salon / Barbershop — City Business Licensing Position (Colorado Springs) and Shop and Salon Registration. A fitness studio needs nothing here that a salon or barber does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a salon or barber | Only a salon or barber needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness studios | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Retail stores | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Auto repair shops | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Veterinary clinics | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Coffee shops | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Restaurants | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Childcare centres | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Contractors and trades | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
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 shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the veterinary clinics page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Colorado Springs permits page and the CO state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- City of Colorado Springs — Business LicensingCity of Colorado Springs, City Clerk's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- Colorado Springs Fire Department — Construction Services Fee ScheduleColorado Springs Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure — applications and forms, with the registration expiry dateColorado Division of Professions and Occupations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Colorado Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform — 2025 sunset review of the Barber and Cosmetologist Act, with the business registration fee tableColorado Department of Regulatory Agencies · 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.