10 permits · verified 2026-09-05
What permits do you need to open a salon or barber in Newark?
In short
A salon or barber in Newark, NJ has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 4 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Newark Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Fire Safety charges $75 a year for the fire certificate. 4 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-05 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a salon or barber in Newark
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sign Permit | City of Newark Office of the Construction Official | $1.00 per square foot of sign area, computed on one side only, capped at $690. | one-time, per sign | 2026-09-05 |
| Cosmetology and Hairstyling Shop License | New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, Division of Consumer Affairs | $250–$350 initial — $350 in the first year of the biennial cycle, $250 in the second; $200 to renew | biennial — renews in July of even-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 Newark
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Certificate | Newark Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Fire Safety | $75 a year | annual | 2026-09-05 |
| Commercial Building/Alteration Permit | City of Newark Office of the Construction Official | Varies — formula on the Newark page | one-time, per project | 2026-09-05 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Newark Office of the Construction Official | Varies — formula on the Newark page | issued once per qualifying occupancy | 2026-09-05 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
NJ registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | $75 a year; $30 for a nonprofit | annual — due the last day of the entity's anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — New Jersey Business Action Center Positiononly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | No fee | set by the municipality | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | $100 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due each anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Formation (LLC)only if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | $100 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due each anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| Business Registration (Form NJ-REG) | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | No fee | one-time registration — no renewal | 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 Newark?
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 Newark, NJ, 6 apply to every business of this type and 4 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, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $75.00. That is a floor, not a total. 4 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 particular to this business that vary:
Sign Permit: $1.00 per square foot of sign area, computed on one side only, capped at $690.
Cosmetology and Hairstyling Shop License: $250–$350 initial — $350 in the first year of the biennial cycle, $250 in the second; $200 to renew
The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Newark permits page and the NJ state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Newark?
Permits for a salon or barber in Newark, NJ come from 4 separate offices: Newark Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Fire Safety, City of Newark Office of the Construction Official, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, Division of Consumer Affairs. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Newark Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Fire SafetyIssues 1 permit on this page: Fire Certificate1010 18th Avenue, Newark, NJ 07106 · (973) 733-7495www.newarknj.gov
- City of Newark Office of the Construction OfficialIssues 3 permits on this page: Commercial Building/Alteration Permit, Sign Permit, Certificate of Occupancy920 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102www.newarknj.gov
- New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise ServicesIssues 5 permits on this page, including Annual Report, General Business License — New Jersey Business Action Center Position, Certificate of Incorporation33 West State Street, 5th Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608-1214 · (609) 292-9292www.nj.gov/treasury/revenue
- New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, Division of Consumer AffairsIssues 1 permit on this page: Cosmetology and Hairstyling Shop License124 Halsey Street, 6th Floor, PO Box 45003, Newark, NJ 07101 · (973) 504-6400www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/cos
What does a salon or barber need in Newark that other businesses do not?
1 of the 2 permits particular to a salon or barber here applies to no other business type we cover in Newark: Cosmetology and Hairstyling Shop License.
Sign Permit
A construction permit fee under the Building Subcode fee schedule of Newark Code section 7:2-3.1, payable to the Construction Official at 920 Broad Street: item (d)(12), Sign Fees, charges $1 per square foot with signs computed on one side only and a $690 maximum, and section 7:2-3.1(a) adds a non-refundable $58 processing fee to every permit, due at application and applied against the total permit fee. The section's history note ends with the March 20, 2024 amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-a (City Legistar file 24-0153), which added a building-permit fee waiver for City-occupied properties and left the sign fee unchanged, and eCode360's own table of contents, updated with legislation through May 20, 2026, flags no pending new law against chapter 7:2. Where a sign may go and how large it may be are set separately by the zoning code's chapter 41:9, Signs, which lists exempt signs, prohibits roof signs and billboards other than by conditional use, and caps sign type, size and number per street frontage by use.
Cosmetology and Hairstyling Shop License
One license covers six shop types — cosmetology and hairstyling, beauty culture, barbering, skin care, manicuring and hair braiding — because New Jersey has no separate barber board and no separate barber shop fee. The initial cost depends on where in the two-year cycle you apply: a $150 application fee that includes the inspection, plus $200 in the first year of the cycle or $100 in the second. Renewal is $200. The hard trap is lateness: more than ninety days past expiry the board will not renew at all and the owner must reapply as an initial license, so the $50 reinstatement fee is available only inside that window. The shop must employ a practitioner with three years' experience and occupy at least three hundred and fifty square feet, with a certificate of occupancy, zoning and fire permits attached to the application. The owner need not personally be licensed.
The other 3 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Newark, NJ; what each one involves is set out on the Newark permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across NJ and are covered on the NJ state page.
How does a salon or barber compare with other businesses in Newark?
The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 1 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Cosmetology and Hairstyling Shop License. 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 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Retail stores | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Auto repair shops | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Coffee shops | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Restaurants | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Childcare centres | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Contractors and trades | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 0 | 2 | 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 that apply to every type of business are listed on the Newark permits page and the NJ state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Newark Code of Ordinances section 7:2-3.1, Building Subcode Fees (chapter 7:2, Permits and Fees) — item (d)(12), Sign FeesCity of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Newark Code of Ordinances chapter 7:2, Permits and Fees — Certificate of Occupancy and sign permit feesCity of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
- Ordinance 6PSF-a, adopted March 20, 2024 (file 24-0153), certified copy — amending Title VII, Chapter 2, Section 3 to add a fee waiver for City-occupied propertiesCity of Newark Municipal Council (Legistar) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City of Newark code table of contents on eCode360 — Internet Archive capture of August 5, 2026 (includes legislation through 05-20-2026; new laws flagged against chapters 10:33, 18:6, 19:3 and 23:6 only)City of Newark (General Code/eCode360), captured by the Internet Archive · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Newark Code of Ordinances chapter 41:9, Signs — section 41:9-2 (Exemptions), section 41:9-4 (Prohibited Signs) and section 41:9-10 (Signage Design and Measurement Requirements, by use)City of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling — application to operate a new shopNew Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- New Jersey Administrative Code chapter 13:28 — Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling fee schedule (Internet Archive capture of the official document, 20 February 2025; the live file now returns 404)New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
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Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.