16 permits · verified 2026-09-11
What permits do you need to open a salon or barber in Morgantown?
In short
A salon or barber in Morgantown, WV has 8 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 Morgantown, Code Enforcement Office charges $20 one-time zoning review fee, per sign permit application — a separate building permit, with its own fee, is also required for signs costing more than $250 for the sign permit. 2 of the 16 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-11 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a salon or barber in Morgantown
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Occupation Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services) | No fee | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-11 |
| Salon/Barber/Cosmetology Municipal License (not found)only if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Finance Department | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-11 |
| Salon License | West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists | $90 for the initial license and opening inspection; renewal is $40 a year | annual — every license renews by 1 July | 2026-09-04 |
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 Morgantown
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire and Life Safety Plan Review (Building Permit) | Morgantown Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Division | Varies — formula on the Morgantown page | one-time, per project | 2026-09-11 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Code Enforcement Office | $20 one-time zoning review fee, per sign permit application — a separate building permit, with its own fee, is also required for signs costing more than $250 | one-time, per sign permit application | 2026-09-11 |
| Municipal Business License | City of Morgantown, Finance Department | $20 annual, flat | annual — fiscal year, expires June 30; renewal due by July 1 | 2026-09-11 |
| Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax | City of Morgantown, Finance Department | No fee | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-11 |
| Municipal Service Fee | City of Morgantown, Finance Department | No fee | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-11 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Morgantown, Code Enforcement Office | $65 one-time | one-time — issued for a new occupancy or a change of business | 2026-09-11 |
| Fire Marshal Certificate of Occupancy Inspection | Morgantown Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Division | $50 per inspection | one-time — performed as part of Certificate of Occupancy issuance | 2026-09-11 |
| Zoning Verification Letteronly if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services) | Varies — formula on the Morgantown page | one-time, per written verification request | 2026-09-11 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
WV registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing Division | $100 one-time filing | perpetual, but an annual report is due every year | 2026-09-04 |
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing Division | $100 one-time filing | perpetual, but an annual report is due every year | 2026-09-04 |
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing Division | $25 a year; a late-filed report adds $50 for a profit entity or $25 for a nonprofit | annual — filed between 1 January and 30 June of the year after registration | 2026-09-04 |
| Sales and Use Tax Registration — West Virginia position (through the Business Registration Certificate)only if it applies to you | West Virginia State Tax Division | No fee | not applicable — no separate permit exists | 2026-09-04 |
| Business Registration Certificate | West Virginia State Tax Division | $30 one-time — the certificate never expires | permanent — valid until the business relocates, closes, or the certificate is suspended or revoked | 2026-09-04 |
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 Morgantown?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 16 records listed for a salon or barber in Morgantown, WV, 8 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 8 that always apply, 5 carry a flat fee, coming to $255.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 of the 16 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 5 have no fee published at all.
The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Morgantown permits page and the WV state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Morgantown?
Permits for a salon or barber in Morgantown, WV come from 7 separate offices: Morgantown Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Division, City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services), City of Morgantown, Finance Department, City of Morgantown, Code Enforcement Office, West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing Division, West Virginia State Tax Division, West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Morgantown Fire Department, Fire Marshal's DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Fire and Life Safety Plan Review (Building Permit), Fire Marshal Certificate of Occupancy Inspection389 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505 (administration)www.morgantownwv.gov/208/Fire-Department
- City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services)Issues 2 permits on this page: Home Occupation Permit, Zoning Verification Letter389 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505 · (304) 284-7431www.morgantownwv.gov/188/Planning-Division
- City of Morgantown, Finance DepartmentIssues 4 permits on this page: Salon/Barber/Cosmetology Municipal License (not found), Municipal Business License, Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax, Municipal Service Fee389 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505 · (304) 284-7408www.morgantownwv.gov/204/Business-Occupation-Tax-Returns
- City of Morgantown, Code Enforcement OfficeIssues 2 permits on this page: Sign Permit, Certificate of Occupancy389 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505 · (304) 284-7401www.morgantownwv.gov/167/Code-Enforcement
- West Virginia Secretary of State, Business and Licensing DivisionIssues 3 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization (LLC), Annual Report1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Building 1, Charleston, WV 25305 · (304) 558-8000sos.wv.gov
- West Virginia State Tax DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Sales and Use Tax Registration — West Virginia position (through the Business Registration Certificate), Business Registration Certificate(304) 558-3333tax.wv.gov
- West Virginia Board of Barbers and CosmetologistsIssues 1 permit on this page: Salon Licensewww.wvbbc.com
What does a salon or barber need in Morgantown 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 Morgantown: Salon/Barber/Cosmetology Municipal License (not found) and Salon License.
Salon/Barber/Cosmetology Municipal License (not found)
No fee applies. Unlike Charleston, which still enforces a genuine 1938-era Barbers and Beauticians ordinance pricing a $2.00 individual license and a $20.00 shop license, Morgantown has no equivalent ordinance: the City's own current business-license classification list has no barber, beautician, or cosmetology category, and no dedicated barber/salon ordinance page or PDF is published on the City's own site. The Zoning Code's own 'BARBER SHOP / BEAUTY SALON' definition is folded into the broader 'PERSONAL SERVICES ESTABLISHMENT' land-use category (alongside beauty parlors and shoe repair shops) rather than treated as a licensed business type. This project treats this as a genuine, confirmed difference from Charleston rather than an unchecked assumption — though, as with the auto-repair, veterinary, and fitness-studio records above, this project could not directly inspect a complete codified table of contents for Morgantown's own Part Seven (Business and Taxation Code) to rule out a long-dormant, unadministered chapter (see this file's Access Note). A salon's Morgantown-specific obligations are otherwise the same Municipal Business License, B&O Tax, Municipal Service Fee, and Certificate of Occupancy requirements recorded elsewhere in this file, plus the Home Occupation Permit above if operated from a home.
Salon License
West Virginia licenses cosmetology and barbering premises under one shared umbrella term, salon, rather than pricing a separate barber shop category — the statute and the board's own fee page both use the single term, so a barber shop and a cosmetology salon take the identical $90 opening fee and $40 annual renewal. The board must approve the facility and receive at least twenty days' written notice before a new salon opens.
Shared with other businesses in Morgantown
- Home Occupation Permit — City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services), No fee, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the childcare centres page.
The other 8 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Morgantown, WV; what each one involves is set out on the Morgantown permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across WV and are covered on the WV state page.
How does a salon or barber compare with other businesses in Morgantown?
The closest match is a childcare centre, which shares 1 of these permits. A salon or barber also needs Salon/Barber/Cosmetology Municipal License (not found) and Salon License. A childcare centre needs Child Care Center Inspection/Plan Review Fee (Monongalia County Health Department), Conditional Use Permit (Board of Zoning Appeals) and Child Care Centre License, which 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare centres | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Auto repair shops | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Coffee shops | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Contractors and trades | 5 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Fitness studios | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Food trucks | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Restaurants | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Retail stores | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 0 | 3 | 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 shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the childcare centres page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Morgantown permits page and the WV state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Municipal Business License Application (Revised 9/1/2022) — the City's own current fillable form, pricing the license at $20.00, listing every B&O business classification, and stating the Municipal Service Fee applies to all employees and self-employed ownersCity of Morgantown, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- 2019 Planning and Zoning Code, City of Morgantown (current through Ordinance 2025-21) — the City's own complete current zoning text, including Section 1315.03 (subdivision filing fees, referencing the City's own Plan Review and Permitting Fee Schedule), Section 1331.06(19) (Day Care Facility Class 2/3 as a home-occupation conditional use), Table 1369.06.01 (sign permits, the $250 building-permit threshold), Section 1379.02 (Conditional Use filing fee), Section 1381.02 (variance fee), and the Definitions article (Automotive Repair Shop, Veterinary Clinic, Barber Shop/Beauty Salon, Personal Services Establishment, Recreation Facility Commercial Indoor, Kennel Commercial, Home Occupation)City of Morgantown, Planning Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists — salon license feesWest Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- West Virginia Code section 30-27-17 — salon licensing, covering both cosmetology and barbering, renewed annually by 1 JulyState of West Virginia · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.