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13 permits · verified 2026-09-09

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

In short

A salon or barber in Bridgeport, CT has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Bridgeport, Office of the Town Clerk charges $20 one-time filing; a Release Trade Name Certificate is also $20.00 for the trade name (dba) certificate. 3 of the 13 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-09 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a salon or barber in Bridgeport

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Sign Permit (Zoning)City of Bridgeport Zoning Department$75 per sign ($60.00 base + $15.00 technology fee)one-time, per sign2026-09-09
Personal Services License (Barber, Beauty, Hair Braiding, Massage Therapy, Nail, Tattoo)City of Bridgeport Department of Health & Social Services, Environmental Health Division$175 per licensed category, per year (Barber, Beauty, Hair Braiding, Massage Therapy, Nail and Tattoo are each priced and licensed separately)annual — June 1 to May 312026-09-09
Barbershop and Salon License (local, not a separate state premises fee)only if it applies to youConnecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and InvestigationsNo feeset locally where a local salon license applies2026-09-04

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 Bridgeport

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Business License — City of Bridgeport positiononly if it applies to youCity of Bridgeport, Office of Planning & Economic DevelopmentNo feenot applicable2026-09-09
Trade Name (DBA) Certificateonly if it applies to youCity of Bridgeport, Office of the Town Clerk$20 one-time filing; a Release Trade Name Certificate is also $20.00one-time, no stated expiration2026-09-09
Zoning Compliance ApplicationCity of Bridgeport Zoning DepartmentVaries — formula on the Bridgeport pageone-time, per project2026-09-09
Building Permit (Commercial)City of Bridgeport Building DepartmentVaries — formula on the Bridgeport pageone-time, per project2026-09-09
Certificate of OccupancyCity of Bridgeport Building Department$125 added to every Building Department permit issued, rather than billed as its own separate applicationone-time, issued with the underlying permit, no expiration2026-09-09

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

CT 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
Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to youConnecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services Division$250 one-time filing for a stock corporation authorising up to 20,000 shares; a nonstock corporation is $50perpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Sales and Use Tax PermitConnecticut Department of Revenue Services$100 one-time registration; renewal is automatic and free2 years, then renews automatically at no cost if the account stays in good standing2026-09-04
Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youConnecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services Division$120 one-time filing, including appointment of the statutory agentperpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youConnecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services DivisionVaries — formula on the CT pageannual — an LLC files online between 1 January and 31 March2026-09-04
General Business License — Connecticut position (licensing by activity)only if it applies to youConnecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services DivisionNo feeset by the specific license a business actually needs2026-09-04

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 Bridgeport?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 13 records listed for a salon or barber in Bridgeport, CT, 6 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 6 that always apply, 4 carry a flat fee, coming to $475.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 13 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all.

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

Which offices issue these permits in Bridgeport?

Permits for a salon or barber in Bridgeport, CT come from 8 separate offices: City of Bridgeport, Office of Planning & Economic Development, City of Bridgeport, Office of the Town Clerk, City of Bridgeport Zoning Department, City of Bridgeport Building Department, City of Bridgeport Department of Health & Social Services, Environmental Health Division, Connecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services Division, Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations. 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 Bridgeport that other businesses do not?

2 of the 3 permits particular to a salon or barber here apply to no other business type we cover in Bridgeport: Personal Services License (Barber, Beauty, Hair Braiding, Massage Therapy, Nail, Tattoo) and Barbershop and Salon License (local, not a separate state premises fee).

Personal Services License (Barber, Beauty, Hair Braiding, Massage Therapy, Nail, Tattoo)

Unlike several other cities, Bridgeport does license personal-care premises directly, by named category rather than one general 'salon' license: Barber, Beauty (hairdresser/cosmetology), Hair Braiding, Massage Therapy, Nail, and Tattoo each cost a flat $175.00 a year, each renewing on the identical June 1-May 31 cycle with a matching $175.00 late charge, and each citing Municipal Code 5.16.010. A shop offering more than one of these services (for example, hair and nails) needs a separate $175.00 license for each category it offers, on top of whatever individual practitioner license Connecticut's own boards require (recorded at the state layer).

Barbershop and Salon License (local, not a separate state premises fee)

No state fee, because there is no separate state premises fee, and the barbering statute makes the reason explicit: rather than licensing a shop, it requires that whoever operates a barbershop has held an individual registered barber's license for at least two years, backed by a right for the health department to inspect whenever it judges necessary. Reading the whole chapter turns up no shop-license fee at all. What actually functions as a premises fee in practice is local: the Central Connecticut Health District, for instance, issues its own salon license priced by the number of stations, from $115 for up to four stations to $185 for ten or more. The individual barber's license itself is $100, renewed every two years for another $100; a hairdresser or cosmetician's individual license follows the identical pattern under the separate hairdressing and cosmetology chapter — a $100 examination fee and a $100 renewal every two years, with a 90-day grace period after expiration (General Statutes § 20-253). Check with the local health department for the premises side.

Shared with other businesses in Bridgeport

  • Sign Permit (Zoning) — City of Bridgeport Zoning Department, $75 per sign ($60.00 base + $15.00 technology fee), one-time, per sign. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, fitness studios, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.

The other 5 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Bridgeport, CT; what each one involves is set out on the Bridgeport permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across CT and are covered on the CT state page.

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

The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 1 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Personal Services License (Barber, Beauty, Hair Braiding, Massage Therapy, Nail, Tattoo) and Barbershop and Salon License (local, not a separate state premises fee). A fitness studio needs nothing here that a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Bridgeport, CT, compared with a salon or barber
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a salon or barberOnly a salon or barber needsOnly it needs
Fitness studios1120
Retail stores1120
Auto repair shops3122
Veterinary clinics3122
Coffee shops5124
Restaurants5124
Childcare centres4034
Contractors and trades7037
Food trucks3033

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 fitness studios page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Bridgeport permits page and the CT state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Environmental Health Licensing Schedule — personal services, food establishments, vendor, day care inspection, and other license fees (PDF version dated 6/11/2025 also published)City of Bridgeport, Department of Health & Social Services, Environmental Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
  2. Connecticut General Statutes chapter 386 — barbering, the individual license fee and the two-year operator requirementConnecticut Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  3. Central Connecticut Health District — fee schedule effective 1 July 2025, adopted 19 June 2025, with food and salon license feesCentral Connecticut Health District · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  4. Connecticut General Statutes chapter 387, § 20-253 — hairdresser and cosmetician license examination and renewal fees, each $100, renewed once every two yearsConnecticut General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18

Related

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