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

County Vendor's License

A business making taxable sales from a fixed place of business in Butler County gets this license from the County Auditor at 130 High Street in Hamilton. The amount is set by statute: ORC 5739.17(A) requires the applicant to pay 'a license fee in the sum of fifty dollars for each fixed place of business in the county that will be the situs of retail sales,' and directs the auditor to send twenty-five dollars of it to the state organized crime commission fund, with 'The remaining twenty-five dollars of each license fee' credited to the county general fund. The Auditor's vendor page states the same figure: 'There are two types of vendor licenses available, each costing $50. (The fee increased from $25 to $50 effective April 9, 2025 …) There is no annual renewal fee for either license.' The Auditor's April 2025 notice describes it as 'the one-time fee for applying for a new vendor license' under House Bill 366. Per the Auditor's page, the county license is 'required for vendors selling products at a permanent location,' service vendors with a fixed place of business in the county also need it, and on a move within the county 'There is no fee for transferring the license,' while 'A new license must be obtained if there is a change in ownership.' A vendor without a fixed location buys the transient vendor's license from the Ohio Department of Taxation instead, which is a state registration.

Body Art Establishment License

A salon or studio in the Butler County General Health District's area that offers tattooing or body piercing needs a body art establishment license; a salon without tattooing or piercing has no body art license to buy. The schedule lists an 'Annual License $380.00' for body art establishments in the Butler County General Health District '2026 APPROVED FEE SCHEDULE', approved by the Board of Health on 18 September 2025 (Motion 2025-09-005), and states 'There is a mandatory penalty fee of 25% of the license renewal fee for operating a Tattoo Parlor after the deadline (Section 3709.09 (D) of the ORC).' The district's Codes & Regulations page links ORC Chapter 3730 and OAC Chapter 3701-9, the state law and rules for body art, and its Environmental Health page lists body art (tattoo and body piercing) among the establishments it licenses and inspects. The Butler County General Health District's Board of Health page states that it serves 'residents across Butler County, Ohio—excluding the cities of Hamilton and Middletown, which maintain their own city health departments,' so an address inside either city is licensed by that city's health department and is not priced by this schedule.

Salon or Barbershop License

One board licenses both sides of the trade at the same price — $85 to open, $75 every two years after — but the renewal deadlines differ and are easy to miss. A cosmetology or tanning business renews by 31 January of each odd-numbered year; a barbershop renews by 31 August of each even-numbered year. Every business is inspected at least once in the two-year cycle. Moving premises or changing owner needs a fresh application, not a transfer, and a change of ownership must be applied for within thirty days. A late renewal adds $45.

Shared with other businesses in Butler County Oh

• Vendor's License — Ohio Department of Taxation, $50 one-time, per fixed location, no renewal — stays in effect until cancelled. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, fitness studios, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.