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

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a salon or barber in St Louis, MO, 5 apply to every business of this type and 5 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 5 that always apply, 2 carry a flat fee, coming to $180.00. That is a floor, not a total. 5 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones that vary:

Graduated Business Licence: New business initial fee: $200 if starting June 1–January 1, $100 if starting January 2–May 31. Annual renewal, by prior-year St. Louis employee count (an employee is anyone working 1,920+ hours/year in the city): 0–2 employees $200; 3–5 $325; 6–10 $675; 11–20 $1,500; 21–30 $2,250; 31–40 $3,000; 41–50 $4,500; 51–75 $7,500; 76–100 $11,250; 101–150 $15,000; 151–200 $20,250; 201–300 $25,500; 301–400 $30,000; 401–500 $34,500; 501+ $37,500.

Commercial Building Permit: A $25 application fee is payable when filing, regardless of project cost. The permit fee, payable after final approval: $19 (up to $1,000 in estimated construction cost); $23 ($1,001–$2,000); $30 ($2,001–$3,000); $10 per $1,000 (or fraction) of cost above $3,000. All fees are non-refundable.

Fire Prevention Permits: A $25 non-refundable application fee applies to each permit. Individual permits are then $50 each for: propane for cooking or heating (under 300 lbs per site), open flame, welding/cutting at a site, and storage tank abandonment, installation, or removal.

Articles of Incorporation: $58 for authorised capital of $30,000 or less, rising $5 for every further $10,000 authorised — the same fee on paper or online

Corporate Annual Registration Report: $20 a year online or $45 on paper for a corporation, due annually by default; an LLC files no such report at all

Permits for a salon or barber in St Louis, MO come from 6 separate offices: City of St. Louis License Collector's Office, City of St. Louis Building Division, Permits Section, St. Louis Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention, Fire Marshal's Office, Missouri Secretary of State, Corporations Division, Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

• City of St. Louis License Collector's OfficeIssues 1 permit on this page: Graduated Business LicenceCity Hall, Room 102-104, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103 · (314) 622-4528www.stlouis-mo.gov/license-collector/index.cfm
• City of St. Louis Building Division, Permits SectionIssues 2 permits on this page: Commercial Occupancy Permit, Commercial Building PermitCity Hall, Room 425, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-safety/building
• St. Louis Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention, Fire Marshal's OfficeIssues 1 permit on this page: Fire Prevention Permits1421 N. Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO · (314) 289-1960www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-safety/fire/fire-prevention-permits-information.cfm
• Missouri Secretary of State, Corporations DivisionIssues 3 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization (LLC), Corporate Annual Registration Report600 West Main Street, Room 322, Jefferson City, MO 65101 · (866) 223-6535www.sos.mo.gov/business
• Missouri Department of RevenueIssues 2 permits on this page: General Business Licence (local, not state), Retail Sales Licencedor.mo.gov/business
• Missouri State Board of Cosmetology and Barber ExaminersIssues 1 permit on this page: Cosmetology or Barber Establishment Licence3605 Missouri Boulevard, Jefferson City, MO 65109 · (573) 751-1052pr.mo.gov/cosbar.asp

The city's own enumerated list of 'Businesses With Additional Requirements' (31 categories) does not include salon/barbershop, auto repair, or veterinary — those need only this licence and any applicable state board credential.

The codified Chapter 26.96 states the original certificate itself carries no charge, with only a $0.50 copy fee — this conflicts with the Building Division's own current administrative page, which charges $80/$160. The live administrative figure is used here as more likely to reflect current practice; not fully reconciled.

No separate 'tenant buildout' fee schedule exists — alterations use this same general schedule.

No recurring/annual fire-inspection fee for an ordinary commercial occupancy could be found — the Fire Inspections Unit describes a $500 fine for code violations, not a routine inspection fee.

Priced by how much capital the corporation authorises rather than a flat figure — $58 covers up to $30,000, and every further $10,000 authorised adds $5, with no discount for filing online the way an LLC gets. A nonprofit corporation skips that formula at a flat $25. Unlike an LLC, a corporation then owes a recurring annual registration report — see that record for the fee and the biennial alternative.

No fee, because Missouri issues no general business licence — the revenue department's own guidance treats a city or county occupation licence as the normal thing a retailer needs, with a state licence appearing only as a residual, activity-specific possibility. What the state does require of a retailer is a statement of no tax due, which functions as a prerequisite to getting or renewing that local licence in the first place, rather than as a licence in its own right.

Filing online is genuinely cheaper here, at $50 against $105 on paper — the reverse of how some states price the two channels. What matters more than the discount is what happens afterward: a Missouri LLC files nothing recurring with the state at all. That is not merely an absence in this record's own research — the LLC statute contains no annual report section anywhere in it, and the Secretary of State's own fee schedule lists an annual filing for corporations and for nonprofits but has no such line for an LLC. A corporation is a different story; see the annual report record.

This obligation belongs to corporations, not to LLCs — a Missouri LLC files nothing of the kind. A for-profit corporation's report is due every year in the month it was originally incorporated, at $20 online or $45 on paper, unless it elects a two-year cycle instead, which costs $40 online or $90 on paper for the pair of years — a real discount for filing electronically either way. A nonprofit corporation's version is cheaper again, $10 online or $15 on paper annually, or $20 and $30 biennially.

No fee, and no renewal cycle either — the statute is explicit that the licence is issued at no cost and stays valid until the department revokes it or the holder surrenders it because sales have stopped. The licence carries real leverage over local permitting: state law makes a current statement of no tax due a prerequisite for getting or renewing any city or county occupation licence tied to retail sales, and revoking the state licence automatically voids that local one too. A bond is occasionally required of a licensee who has fallen behind on filing or paying, capped at twice average monthly liability, but is not a routine part of getting the licence in the first place.

A hundred dollars to open a barber shop or a cosmetology establishment and $50 to renew, on a two-year cycle for both trades — Missouri regulates barbering and cosmetology through the same board and the same establishment fee structure. The minimum cosmetology fee covers up to three operators, including apprentices or students on a temporary permit; a fourth operator and each one beyond costs a further $10. A change of location costs the full $100 again; a change of ownership is $100 for cosmetology or $50 for a barber shop. An establishment that opened without registering first is charged a $100 delinquent fee, and reinstating a lapsed licence costs $80.