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12 permits · verified 2026-08-21

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

In short

A salon or barber in Dallas, TX has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Dallas Planning and Development Department charges $375 general permit fee for the certificate of occupancy. 5 of the 12 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-08-21 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a salon or barber in Dallas

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Backflow Prevention Device Filingonly if it applies to youCity of Dallas Planning and Development Department$81 per filingone-time2026-08-21
Barbering and Cosmetology Establishment LicenseTexas Department of Licensing and Regulation$78 per license periodtwo years2026-08-21

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 Dallas

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Certificate of OccupancyCity of Dallas Planning and Development Department$375 general permit feeone-time2026-08-21
Alterations or Repairs PermitCity of Dallas Planning and Development DepartmentVaries — formula on the Dallas pageone-time2026-08-21
New Commercial Construction Permitonly if it applies to youCity of Dallas Planning and Development DepartmentVaries — formula on the Dallas pageone-time2026-08-21
Sign Permit (Premise Sign)only if it applies to youCity of Dallas Planning and Development Department$281 per premise sign, plus $281 plan reviewone-time2026-08-21
Fire Alarm Plan Reviewonly if it applies to youCity of Dallas Planning and Development DepartmentVaries — formula on the Dallas pageone-time2026-08-21
Fire Sprinkler Plan Reviewonly if it applies to youCity of Dallas Planning and Development DepartmentVaries — formula on the Dallas pageone-time2026-08-21
Demolition Permitonly if it applies to youCity of Dallas Planning and Development DepartmentVaries — formula on the Dallas pageone-time2026-08-21

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

TX 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
Certificate of Formationonly if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$300 one-time filingno expiry2026-08-20
Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)only if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$25 one-time filingup to ten years, renewable2026-08-21
Texas Sales and Use Tax PermitTexas Comptroller of Public AccountsNo fee — there is no fee for this permitno expiry while actively engaged in business2026-08-21

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 Dallas?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a salon or barber in Dallas, TX, 4 apply to every business of this type and 8 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 4 that always apply, 3 carry a flat fee, coming to $453.00. That is a floor, not a total. 5 of the 12 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 0 have no fee published at all.

The other 5 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Dallas permits page and the TX state page.

Is Dallas expensive for a salon or barber?

Comparing like with like — only the permits charged as a single flat fee, since a valuation formula has no figure to rank — Dallas sits where the table below puts it against every other TX jurisdiction covered here that publishes the same permit.

Certificate of Occupancy: Dallas charges $375. Across 22 jurisdictions it runs from $50 in Waco to $425 in Universal City, with a median of $105. 20 charge less and 1 charges more.

Read the spread rather than the rank. Certificate of Occupancy varies by $375 between the cheapest and dearest jurisdiction here, which is the sort of gap worth knowing before you sign a lease on one side of a city line rather than the other.

Which offices issue these permits in Dallas?

Permits for a salon or barber in Dallas, TX come from 4 separate offices: City of Dallas Planning and Development Department, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 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 Dallas 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 Dallas: Barbering and Cosmetology Establishment License.

Backflow Prevention Device Filing

An $81 filing fee for a backflow prevention device. Austin charges $34.44 a year per high-hazard device instead, so the two cities bill the same public health control in opposite ways: Dallas takes a one-off filing fee, Austin an annual compliance charge per device.

Barbering and Cosmetology Establishment License

Establishment licenses are valid for two years from the date of issue, so the $78 is a two-year cost rather than an annual one — worth halving before you compare it with a yearly permit elsewhere. The fee applies to standard and specialty establishments; a mini-establishment license is $70. It covers full-service, mobile and specialty establishments, and applies to licenses expiring on or after 1 September 2023. Individual practitioners are licensed separately from the establishment, so a salon needs both its own license and a license for each operator working in it.

The other 7 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Dallas, TX; what each one involves is set out on the Dallas permits page. The 3 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TX and are covered on the TX state page.

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

The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 1 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Barbering and Cosmetology Establishment License. A fitness studio needs High-Risk Occupancy Certificate of Registration and Health Spa Certificate of Registration, which a salon or barber does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Dallas, TX, compared with a salon or barber
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a salon or barberOnly a salon or barber needsOnly it needs
Fitness studios3112
Veterinary clinics3112
Auto repair shops4113
Coffee shops9118
Restaurants111110
Childcare centres2022
Contractors and trades2022
Food trucks3023
Retail stores4024

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 Dallas permits page and the TX state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Permit Fee Schedule, effective 1 July 2025 — City of Dallas Planning and DevelopmentCity of Dallas Planning and Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
  2. Barbering and Cosmetology Fee Changes — TDLRTexas Department of Licensing and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.