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14 permits · verified 2026-09-28

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

In short

A salon or barber in Hennepin County, MN 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. Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division charges $135 one-time filing by post; $155 online or in person for the articles of incorporation. 3 of the 14 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 Hennepin County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Body Art Establishment Licenseonly if it applies to youHennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental HealthHennepin County Public Health sets the standing body art establishment license and plan-review fees by resolution of the County Board; the county's own license page points applicants to that fee-resolution document rather than stating a dollar figure directly, so no annual establishment fee is stated here — confirm the current amount with Hennepin County Environmental Health, 612-543-5200. The county's separate temporary/special-event body art booth permit IS priced with a figure: $100 per licensed technician plus $20 for each additional day of a multi-day event, up to 21 days.not stated on the county's body art license page; Hennepin County Public Health's other license programs (food, pool) run on an annual cycle2026-09-28
Hazardous Waste Generator License (annual)only if it applies to youHennepin County Environmental Services (Public Works), Hazardous Waste LicensingAnnual, by generator tier (license period May 1 to April 30): Minimal Generator $0; Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG) ≤100 lbs/yr $76; VSQG 101–1,000 lbs/yr $301; VSQG >1,000 lbs/yr $450; Small Quantity Generator (SQG) ≤5,000 lbs/yr $601; SQG >5,000 lbs/yr $901; Large Quantity Generator (LQG) $2,259 — plus a per-pound volume fee for SQG/LQG generators of $0.00753/lb at the standard rate or $0.000753/lb at the reduced rate.annual; license period May 1 to April 302026-09-28
Salon / Cosmetology Licensing — Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners (Hennepin County)only if it applies to youHennepin County Licenses & CertificatesNo feenot applicable2026-09-28
Barber Shop Registrationonly if it applies to youMinnesota Board of Barber Examiners$85 a year, initial and renewal alike1 year — expires 30 June2026-09-03
Salon LicenseMinnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners$350 initial license for three years — $250 plus a $100 application fee; $225 to renew3 years, expiring on the last day of the month of initial licensure2026-09-03

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 Hennepin County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Business License — Hennepin County Positiononly if it applies to youHennepin County Licenses & CertificatesNo feenot applicable — the county's business licenses and certificates page lists no general business license2026-09-28
Subsurface Sewage Treatment System (SSTS) Permitonly if it applies to youHennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental HealthVaries — formula on the Hennepin County pageper installation, alteration or compliance inspection; no fixed renewal term published2026-09-28
Well Permit — Minnesota Department of Health Notification (Hennepin County)only if it applies to youHennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental HealthNo feenot applicable at the county level — Minn. Stat. §103I.205 preempts county well permitting unless the Commissioner of Health has delegated it under §103I.1112026-09-28
Building Permit / Zoning Approval — City Issues (Hennepin County)only if it applies to youHennepin County Licenses & CertificatesNo feenot applicable — the county's ordinance index lists no building or zoning ordinance; each city issues building permits and zoning approvals2026-09-28

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

MN 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
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youOffice of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$135 one-time filing by post; $155 online or in personperpetual, subject to a free annual renewal every December2026-09-03
General Business License — Minnesota state positiononly if it applies to youOffice of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionNo feeset by the city2026-09-03
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youOffice of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$135 one-time filing by post; $155 online or in personperpetual, subject to a free annual renewal every December2026-09-03
Annual Renewalonly if it applies to youOffice of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionNo feeannual — due by 31 December every year after the year of formation2026-09-03
Sales and Use Tax AccountMinnesota Department of Revenue, Business RegistrationNo feevalid until cancelled or revoked2026-09-03

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 Hennepin 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 Hennepin County, MN, 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 $350.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 14 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 7 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Body Art Establishment License: Hennepin County Public Health sets the standing body art establishment license and plan-review fees by resolution of the County Board; the county's own license page points applicants to that fee-resolution document rather than stating a dollar figure directly, so no annual establishment fee is stated here — confirm the current amount with Hennepin County Environmental Health, 612-543-5200. The county's separate temporary/special-event body art booth permit IS priced with a figure: $100 per licensed technician plus $20 for each additional day of a multi-day event, up to 21 days.

Hazardous Waste Generator License (annual): Annual, by generator tier (license period May 1 to April 30): Minimal Generator $0; Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG) ≤100 lbs/yr $76; VSQG 101–1,000 lbs/yr $301; VSQG >1,000 lbs/yr $450; Small Quantity Generator (SQG) ≤5,000 lbs/yr $601; SQG >5,000 lbs/yr $901; Large Quantity Generator (LQG) $2,259 — plus a per-pound volume fee for SQG/LQG generators of $0.00753/lb at the standard rate or $0.000753/lb at the reduced rate.

The other 1 variable fee belongs to permits that apply to every type of business here; its formula is set out on the Hennepin County permits page and the MN state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Hennepin County?

Permits for a salon or barber in Hennepin County, MN come from 7 separate offices: Hennepin County Licenses & Certificates, Hennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Hennepin County Environmental Services (Public Works), Hazardous Waste Licensing, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Minnesota Department of Revenue, Business Registration, Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners, Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners. 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 Hennepin County that other businesses do not?

4 of the 5 permits particular to a salon or barber here apply to no other business type we cover in Hennepin County: Body Art Establishment License, Salon / Cosmetology Licensing — Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners (Hennepin County), Barber Shop Registration and Salon License.

Body Art Establishment License

A salon or other business performing tattooing, body piercing or permanent cosmetic makeup needs this establishment license — EXCEPT in seven cities that run their own independent body-art inspection programs: Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, New Hope and Richfield. This list is NOT the same as the six-city food/pool exclusion list: New Hope is on the body-art exclusion list even though it IS covered by Hennepin County's food program, so a city's status under one program cannot be assumed to carry over to the other. Wayzata is on neither exclusion list — it is covered by the county for both food/pool and body art. A hair or nail salon without piercing or tattoo services is outside this license; only a salon that itself offers ear piercing beyond a single-use stud-and-clasp system, microblading/permanent makeup, or tattooing needs it. Every individual technician, regardless of which city or county licenses the establishment, separately needs the state Department of Health's own body art technician license under Minn. Stat. Ch. 146B — an individual credential, not a business-premises license, and out of scope for this establishment-level record.

Salon / Cosmetology Licensing — Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners (Hennepin County)

No fee applies at the county level. Cosmetology, esthetics, nail and salon-shop licensing in Minnesota is administered exclusively by the state Board of Cosmetologist Examiners under Minn. Stat. Ch. 155A — no cosmetology or salon license of any kind appears anywhere in Hennepin County's own five-category ordinance index or its enumerated business-license list, and both are authoritative, county-published sources for what the county does and does not license. A salon's two plausible points of county-level exposure are conditional, not automatic: the Body Art Establishment License (Part E), if the salon offers tattooing, piercing beyond a single-use stud-and-clasp system, or permanent makeup; and the Hazardous Waste Generator License (Part D), if the salon's chemical use or disposal crosses a threshold quantity. A hair or nail salon without either service is outside both of those county licenses.

Barber Shop Registration

Minnesota keeps two entirely separate boards for barbering and cosmetology, at different addresses, on quite different economics: eighty-five dollars a year here against three hundred and fifty for three years there. The premises credential is a registration rather than a license, and the shop must at all times be under the direct supervision of a registered barber whose owner holds a current shop registration card. Everything expires on 30 June regardless of when it was issued, and the board mails renewal notices in May purely as a courtesy — it says explicitly that renewing on time is the owner's responsibility with or without the form. Restoring a lapsed registration costs $105 and a change of ownership or location $55.

Salon License

One price covers every salon type — cosmetology, nail, esthetician and advanced practice esthetician all pay the same. Three years makes it good value against the barber shop's annual $85, though the shapes are so different that comparing them is awkward. Expediting an initial license costs a further $300. The penalties are where it bites: fifty dollars for a late renewal, a hundred for failing to display the current license, a hundred and fifty for a reinspection and five hundred if an inspector finds an expired salon operating. The board must decide a complete application within fifteen working days, or five for an expedited or military application.

Shared with other businesses in Hennepin County

  • Hazardous Waste Generator License (annual) — Hennepin County Environmental Services (Public Works), Hazardous Waste Licensing, Annual, by generator tier (license period May 1 to April 30): Minimal Generator $0; Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG) ≤100 lbs/yr $76; VSQG 101–1,000 lbs/yr $301; VSQG >1,000 lbs/yr $450; Small Quantity Generator (SQG) ≤5,000 lbs/yr $601; SQG >5,000 lbs/yr $901; Large Quantity Generator (LQG) $2,259 — plus a per-pound volume fee for SQG/LQG generators of $0.00753/lb at the standard rate or $0.000753/lb at the reduced rate., annual; license period May 1 to April 30. Also required for auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.

The other 4 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Hennepin County, MN; what each one involves is set out on the Hennepin County permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across MN and are covered on the MN state page.

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

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 1 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Body Art Establishment License, Salon / Cosmetology Licensing — Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners (Hennepin County), Barber Shop Registration and Salon License. A auto repair shop needs Automotive Repair Shop License — Minnesota state position, which a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Hennepin County, MN, compared with a salon or barber
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a salon or barberOnly a salon or barber needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops2141
Veterinary clinics3142
Childcare centres4054
Coffee shops5055
Contractors and trades5055
Fitness studios1051
Food trucks5055
Restaurants5055
Retail stores5055

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 auto repair shops page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Hennepin County permits page and the MN state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Body art license — states the seven cities with their own independent body-art programs (Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, New Hope, Richfield)Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
  2. Body Art Code Ordinance (Ordinance 23), effective November 15, 2022Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
  3. 2026 Body Art Special Event Health Permit Booth Application — $100 per licensed technician plus $20 per additional dayHennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
  4. Ordinances (five-category master index: Health; Law enforcement; Licenses, property, and roads; Solid waste; Special taxes — no building/zoning category)Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
  5. Business licenses and certificates (master index of every county-issued business license)Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
  6. Minnesota Statutes section 154.003 — barber board fees including shop registrationMinnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  7. Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners — Owning a Barbershop, stating that all barber shop registrations expire June 30 annuallyMinnesota Board of Barber Examiners · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  8. Minnesota Statutes section 155A.25 — cosmetology fees, including the three-year salon licenseMinnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · 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.