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9 permits · verified 2026-09-05

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

In short

A salon or barber in Memphis, TN has 5 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 4 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Shelby County Clerk, Business Tax Division charges $150 initial state application fee for the barber shop establishment license. 3 of the 9 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 Memphis

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Barber Shop Establishment LicenseShelby County Clerk, Business Tax Division$150 initial state application feeset by the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology & Barber Examiners2026-09-05
Sign PermitMemphis & Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement$1.25 per square foot for erection, construction, relocation, alteration or maintenance of a sign, with a $25.00 minimum fee, plus a $4.00 administrative charge and a $5.00 commercial surcharge ($9.00 total added to the commercial fee). An annual reinspection fee is $25.00 (up to 150 sq ft) or $50.00 (over 150 sq ft). Installing a sign before the permit issues triples the fee.annual — every sign permit must be renewed, contingent on inspection2026-09-05
Cosmetology or Barber Shop LicenseTennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners$150 to open — a $100 license plus a $50 inspection; $75 to renew2 years2026-09-03

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 Memphis

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Business Tax LicenseShelby County Clerk, Business Tax Division$30 combined $15 city plus $15 county remittance, per application; must register within 20 days of starting businessthe underlying state business tax return is filed annually via TNTAP2026-09-05

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

TN 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 Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youTennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable OrganizationsVaries — formula on the TN pageno expiry, but an annual report on the same per-member scale is due each year2026-09-03
For-Profit Corporation Charteronly if it applies to youTennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations$100 one-time filingno expiry, but a $20 annual report is due each year2026-09-03
Standard or Minimal Activity Business Licenseonly if it applies to youTennessee Department of Revenue$15 per jurisdiction per location — charged again by the city if it has enacted the taxannual for a standard license, renewed free when the tax return is filed2026-09-03
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youTennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable OrganizationsVaries — formula on the TN pageannual — due the first day of the fourth month after the fiscal year ends2026-09-03
Sales and Use Tax Certificate of RegistrationTennessee Department of RevenueNo feeno expiry stated2026-09-03

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 Memphis?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 9 records listed for a salon or barber in Memphis, TN, 5 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 5 that always apply, 3 carry a flat fee, coming to $330.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 9 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Sign Permit: $1.25 per square foot for erection, construction, relocation, alteration or maintenance of a sign, with a $25.00 minimum fee, plus a $4.00 administrative charge and a $5.00 commercial surcharge ($9.00 total added to the commercial fee). An annual reinspection fee is $25.00 (up to 150 sq ft) or $50.00 (over 150 sq ft). Installing a sign before the permit issues triples the fee.

The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Memphis permits page and the TN state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Memphis?

Permits for a salon or barber in Memphis, TN come from 5 separate offices: Shelby County Clerk, Business Tax Division, Memphis & Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement, Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations, Tennessee Department of Revenue, Tennessee 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.

What does a salon or barber need in Memphis 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 Memphis: Barber Shop Establishment License and Cosmetology or Barber Shop License.

Barber Shop Establishment License

This is a state license, not a distinct Memphis-issued shop permit — the application requires attaching the standard Shelby County/Memphis business tax license already recorded above, rather than the city issuing its own separate shop credential. Memphis's own exhaustive list of regulated business types does not include a salon/barbershop category.

Cosmetology or Barber Shop License

The two boards merged in 2014 but the licenses did not: barbering and cosmetology still sit under separate statutes and separate rule chapters, at the same headline price. A shop offering both needs a dual license, at $200 to open and $100 to renew. One divergence is worth knowing because the board's own public fee page understates it — the late renewal penalty is $50 on the cosmetology side and $75 on the barber side, and the rules control. A mobile shop is licensed at the same fees and must operate under a fixed primary shop. Applications and fees are good for only ninety days. The practitioners themselves are far cheaper at $60.

Shared with other businesses in Memphis

  • Sign Permit — Memphis & Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement, $1.25 per square foot for erection, construction, relocation, alteration or maintenance of a sign, with a $25.00 minimum fee, plus a $4.00 administrative charge and a $5.00 commercial surcharge ($9.00 total added to the commercial fee). An annual reinspection fee is $25.00 (up to 150 sq ft) or $50.00 (over 150 sq ft). Installing a sign before the permit issues triples the fee., annual — every sign permit must be renewed, contingent on inspection. 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 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Memphis, TN; what each one involves is set out on the Memphis permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TN and are covered on the TN state page.

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

The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 1 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Barber Shop Establishment License and Cosmetology or Barber Shop License. A fitness studio needs nothing here that a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Memphis, TN, 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 shops2121
Veterinary clinics2121
Coffee shops4123
Restaurants4123
Childcare centres2032
Contractors and trades1031
Food trucks4034

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 Memphis permits page and the TN state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Tennessee Board of Cosmetology & Barber Examiners — Initial Barber Shop Application feeTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
  2. Tennessee Comp. R. & Regs. 0440-01 — cosmetology feesTennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  3. Tennessee Comp. R. & Regs. 0200-01 — barber fees and certificate termsTennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners · 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.