How to Start a Barbershop in Florida: Barber Licenses, Shop License & Costs
Florida never merged barbering into cosmetology. Barbers answer to their own board, their own statute chapter and their own fee schedule, and a barbershop carries its own establishment license that a cosmetology salon license cannot substitute for. This guide walks through the barber licenses, the shop license, and the business, tax and employment setup around them, using the rules published by Florida agencies.
State sources last reviewed: November 3, 2026Researched from Florida state sources. Our guides are free. We may earn a commission when you use a partner service, at no additional cost to you.
On this page
- Who licenses barbershops in Florida
- Florida barbershop requirements at a glance
- Florida licenses for the people who cut the hair
- The barbershop license for your space
- Forming your LLC with the Division of Corporations
- Registering your shop name as a fictitious name
- Getting your federal Employer Identification Number
- Florida sales tax: services are not taxed, retail products are
- Hiring staff: reemployment tax, wages and workers' comp
- County business tax receipts, zoning and occupancy
- Insurance and the costs that keep coming back
- Dates to put on your calendar
- Frequently asked questions
Who licenses barbershops in Florida
Barbering in Florida is licensed by the Barbers' Board, inside the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), under Chapter 476 of the Florida Statutes and Chapter 61G3 of the Florida Administrative Code. The Board's own summary is the cleanest statement of the structure: the Barbers' Board regulates barbers, restricted barbers and barbershops. That is a different board, a different statute and a different rule chapter from the Board of Cosmetology, which handles cosmetologists, specialists and salons under Chapter 477.
The split has practical consequences for a shop owner. A cosmetologist license does not make someone a barber, a salon license does not license a barbershop, and DBPR is explicit that barbers may not perform nail services, which belong to the cosmetology side. Shops that blend barbering with cosmetology services run both licensing tracks at once, and this guide covers the barber track; the Florida hair salon guide covers the other. Everything else in the setup, the entity, the trade name, the tax accounts and the local receipt, is shared Florida ground administered by the Department of State, the Department of Revenue and your county and city.
Florida barbershop requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Agency | Cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barber license, one for each barber | DBPR, Barbers' Board | $100 original license fee, plus examination application fees | 900 hours of school first; two year license term, $70 renewal |
| Restricted barber license | DBPR, Barbers' Board | $100 original license fee; $70 renewal | 600 hour restricted course first; no chemical services |
| Barbershop license, Form BAR 5 | DBPR, Barbers' Board | $130 total | Apply before opening; tied to the location, ownership and business name |
| LLC Articles of Organization | Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) | $125 | One time filing; annual report due every year between January 1 and May 1 |
| Fictitious name registration (DBA) | Division of Corporations | $50 | Advertise the name in a county newspaper first; registration runs five years |
| Employer Identification Number (EIN) | IRS | Free | Apply directly with the IRS |
| Business tax registration, Form DR-1 | Department of Revenue | No registration fee | Covers sales tax and reemployment tax; file before your first retail sale or first hire |
| Reemployment tax | Department of Revenue | 2.7% new employer rate on the first $7,000 of wages per employee | Quarterly reports on Form RT-6 once you are a liable employer |
| Workers' compensation coverage | Department of Financial Services (rules); private insurers (policies) | Premium varies | Required once you have four or more employees in this non-construction industry |
Florida licenses for the people who cut the hair
Every barber working in your shop must hold their own Barbers' Board license. Florida issues two versions, and the difference between them is chemicals.
| License type | Training hours | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Barber | 900 hours | The full barbering scope: cutting, styling, shaving and chemical services such as coloring. |
| Restricted Barber | 600 hours | Barbering without chemical services: cutting, styling, shampooing and shaving only. |
The barber path: you must be at least 16 years old and complete a minimum of 900 hours of barber training at a Florida barbering school, covering sanitation, safety and Florida laws and rules. Under section 476.114 of the Florida Statutes, your school can certify you to sit for the examination after 600 actual school hours; if you test early and fail, you complete the full 900 hours before retesting. The examination is a written test administered through Pearson VUE once the Department processes your examination application. Fees sit in the Barbers' Board fee schedule, Chapter 61G3-20: the original license fee is $100 under Rule 61G3-20.014, reduced to $50 if your initial licensure falls in the second year of the two year cycle, and the biennial renewal fee is $70 under Rule 61G3-20.009. Section 476.192 caps barber licensing fees at $100 and examination related fees at $150, so the schedule cannot quietly grow past those numbers without a law change.
The restricted barber license is the shorter route onto the floor. Florida trained applicants complete a restricted barber course of at least 600 hours, and Rule 61G3-16.006 prescribes what is in it: 75 hours of Florida laws and rules, 325 hours of safety, sanitation and sterilization, 150 hours of hair structure, cutting and cleansing, and 50 hours of shaving and beard and mustache trimming. The license carries the same $100 original fee and $70 renewal, and one hard limit: no chemical services. A restricted barber is a good fit for a classic cuts and shaves shop, and the wrong hire for a shop selling color.
Two scope rules follow from the two board structure. First, barbers cannot cross into cosmetology services: DBPR states that barbers are not allowed to perform manicure, pedicure or nail extension services. Second, verify every applicant's license with DBPR before their first shift, and check which of the two barber licenses they hold. An unrestricted chair staffed by a restricted license is a board problem for the shop, not just the barber.
The barbershop license for your space
Separate from every individual license, the shop itself needs a barbershop license from the Barbers' Board before it opens. Apply on Form DBPR BAR 5. The fee is $130 in total, built from the Board's fee rules: a $75 barbershop application fee (Rule 61G3-20.003), a $50 original barbershop license fee (Rule 61G3-20.0035) and a $5 unlicensed activity fee (Rule 61G3-20.025). The application asks you to confirm the shop meets the safety and sanitation requirements in Rule 61G3-19.011, and to classify the shop as commercial, residential or flea market; flea market shops are inspected before licensure.
Like the salon license on the cosmetology side, this license is issued to the shop as applied for, at that location, under that ownership and business name, and it does not travel. DBPR's guidance is direct: if the location, ownership or business name of the barbershop changes, you must submit a new barbershop application, pay the required fee and surrender the old barbershop license. You can open your barbershop when you receive the license; you do not wait for inspection. Within approximately 90 days of licensure, an inspector will visit unannounced for the initial inspection, so the shop has to run to rule from the first day, not from the inspection date.
One point surprises many first time owners: you do not need a barber license to own a barbershop in Florida. The requirement is that the shop is licensed and that every person providing barbering services holds their own barber or restricted barber license. If you plan to cut hair yourself, you need the personal license too.
Forming your LLC with the Division of Corporations
Most first time shop owners form a limited liability company so the business's debts and legal problems stay with the business instead of following them home. In Florida you form an LLC by filing Articles of Organization with the Department of State's Division of Corporations, online through its Sunbiz portal or by mail. The fee is $125: a $100 filing fee plus a $25 registered agent designation fee, set in section 605.0213 of the Florida Statutes. Your registered agent needs a Florida street address, and your LLC name must include a designator such as "Limited Liability Company" or "LLC".
Florida then asks one thing of you every year. Each LLC files an annual report with the Division between January 1 and May 1, for $138.75. The first report is due the year after formation. Miss May 1 and a $400 late fee applies; an LLC that stops filing altogether can be administratively dissolved. Two Florida features work in your favor: there is no general state business license to buy on top of your DBPR licenses, and Florida has no state personal income tax, so there is no state income tax withholding for your staff and no state return for your own draw.
Forming the LLC: file Articles of Organization on Sunbiz, the Division of Corporations' official filing portal, for the $125 state fee, or pay a formation service to file it for you. The state fee is the same either way, and a service is optional, never a requirement.
Registering your shop name as a fictitious name
If your shop will operate under a name different from your legal name or your LLC's exact registered name, Florida calls that a fictitious name, and section 865.09 of the Florida Statutes, the Fictitious Name Act, requires you to register it with the Division of Corporations. The registration fee is $50, and the registration runs through December 31 of the fifth year after you file, with a $50 renewal.
Florida adds a step most states dropped long ago: before you register, you must advertise your intention to register the name at least once in a newspaper in the county where your shop will be located. You certify on the application that the advertisement ran; the Division does not require you to submit proof. Do the advertisement before you print signage, because the name on your barbershop license application, your fictitious name registration and your lease should all match, and a mismatch on the license side can mean a new BAR 5 application.
Getting your federal Employer Identification Number
Your EIN is your business's federal tax ID, issued by the IRS. You need one to hire employees, open most business bank accounts, and file business taxes. It is free. Apply directly through the IRS and ignore any website that offers to obtain one for a fee; those sites charge you for a form the government gives away. Apply early, so the EIN never becomes a bottleneck when you sign a lease or set up payroll.
Florida sales tax: services are not taxed, retail products are
Register with the Florida Department of Revenue on the Florida Business Tax Application, Form DR-1, online or on paper, before you open. One application covers your sales tax registration and, when you hire, your reemployment tax account. The Department issues a Certificate of Registration and an annual resale certificate, which lets you buy retail inventory without paying tax on it, because the tax is collected when you sell it.
The register rule for a barbershop is simple. Barbering services are not taxed. Florida's sales tax under Chapter 212 falls on retail sales of tangible personal property and on a specific list of services written into the statute, and cutting, shaving and styling are not on that list. Retail product sales are taxable. The pomade, tonic and grooming products a client takes home are retail sales at the 6 percent state rate plus your county discretionary sales surtax, published county by county each year on Form DR-15DSS. Set your point of sale system to itemize services and products separately from day one, and file returns on the schedule the Department assigns. One recent change matters if you are comparing old landlord quotes: Florida's sales tax on commercial rent was repealed effective October 1, 2025, so rent for occupancy periods beginning on or after that date carries no state sales tax or surtax.
Hiring staff: reemployment tax, wages and workers' comp
When you hire employees, Florida's unemployment tax, called reemployment tax, is administered by the Department of Revenue. You become liable after paying $1,500 or more in wages in a calendar quarter, or employing at least one person for part of a day in 20 different weeks in a calendar year. New employers start at a 2.7 percent rate on the first $7,000 of wages per employee per year, and that rate holds until you have reported for 10 quarters; after that it is experience based, between a 0.1 percent minimum and a 5.4 percent maximum for 2026 wages. Reports and payments are quarterly on Form RT-6, filed even for a quarter with no wages due.
Florida's minimum wage is set by the state constitution: $15.00 an hour effective September 30, 2026, through December 31, 2027, with a minimum direct cash wage of $11.98 an hour for tipped employees, plus tips. Barbers are often tipped, so build the tip credit rules into your payroll setup carefully and post the official Florida minimum wage notice where employees can see it. There is no state income tax to withhold: federal withholding, Social Security and Medicare, and the state reemployment tax are the whole recurring picture.
Workers' compensation is not optional in Florida. A non-construction employer with four or more employees must carry workers' compensation insurance, and the headcount includes corporate officers and LLC members unless they have filed an exemption with the Division of Workers' Compensation. Razors, clippers, chemicals and standing work make a barbershop a poor candidate for skating close to that line; many owners buy coverage before the fourth hire.
The other employment decision is the chair model itself: W-2 barbers, or independent chair renters running their own businesses inside your shop? Florida issues no chair rental license; your barbershop license covers the premises and each renter works under their own barber license. But the rental has to be real. A renter who sets their own prices, books their own clients, collects their own money and files their own taxes is an independent business. If you set a barber's schedule, prices and product lineup, tax authorities are likely to see an employee no matter what your paperwork calls them. Put chair rental agreements in writing.
County business tax receipts, zoning and occupancy
State licenses do not guarantee your location is legal. Most Florida counties, and many cities, require a local business tax receipt under Chapter 205 of the Florida Statutes, issued by the county tax collector or the city; it replaced what used to be called an occupational license. Chair renters who run their own businesses commonly need their own receipt as well. Separately, your city controls zoning, and a barbershop has to be a permitted use at the address you choose. The BAR 5 form's commercial, residential and flea market shop types are a reminder that where the shop sits changes how it is handled. Before you sign a lease, confirm that a barbershop can operate in that space, and ask what the build out will require: plumbing for shampoo bowls, electrical inspections and sign permits are the usual local layer. Check zoning before the lease, not after.
Insurance and the costs that keep coming back
Beyond the workers' compensation duty above, barbershop owners typically shop for general liability coverage, professional liability coverage for the services performed, and property coverage for the build out, chairs, clippers and retail inventory. Premiums vary widely with your city, service menu and team size, so this guide does not quote benchmark prices that would be wrong for your shop. Get quotes before your lease starts, because many landlords require proof of liability coverage as a lease condition.
Your recurring state costs are small and predictable: barber renewals at $70 every two years, sales tax collected and remitted on retail products, and the Sunbiz annual report every spring. The expensive mistakes in a Florida barbershop launch are almost never the state fees. They are the lease signed before zoning was checked, the barber hired before their license type was verified, the shop renamed without a new BAR 5 application, and the color service sold by a restricted barber who was never licensed to perform it.
Dates to put on your calendar
- Every two years: barber and restricted barber licenses renew with the Barbers' Board at $70 each. Confirm the current renewal window on DBPR's site before your cycle comes due.
- January 1 to May 1, every year: LLC annual report to the Division of Corporations on Sunbiz, $138.75. After May 1 the $400 late fee applies.
- Every five years: fictitious name registration renews with the Division of Corporations, on or before December 31 of the expiration year.
- Quarterly: reemployment tax reports on Form RT-6 to the Department of Revenue, once you are a liable employer.
- On the Department of Revenue's schedule: sales tax returns and remittance for retail product sales, at your assigned filing frequency.
- Before any change of location, ownership or business name: a new barbershop license application (BAR 5, $130) and surrender of the old license. The shop license does not transfer.
This guide is general information researched from official Florida state sources, not legal or tax advice. Requirements, fees and forms change; verify the current rules with DBPR and the other agencies linked above before you file, sign or spend.
Frequently asked questions
Who licenses barbers in Florida?
The Florida Barbers' Board, inside the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, under Chapter 476 of the Florida Statutes. It is a separate board from the Board of Cosmetology, which licenses cosmetologists and salons under Chapter 477. The Barbers' Board regulates barbers, restricted barbers and barbershops.
How many hours of school does a Florida barber need?
A barber license requires a minimum of 900 hours of training at a Florida barbering school. Your school can certify you to sit for the written examination after 600 actual school hours, and if you fail you must complete the full requirement before retesting. The examination is written and is administered through Pearson VUE. The original license fee is $100 and the biennial renewal fee is $70.
What is a Florida restricted barber license?
A restricted barber license covers barbering without chemical services: cutting, styling, shampooing and shaving, but no coloring or other chemical work. Florida trained applicants complete a restricted barber course of at least 600 hours, with the course content set by Rule 61G3-16.006 of the Florida Administrative Code, and pass the required examination. The original license and renewal fees are the same as for an unrestricted barber.
How much does a Florida barbershop license cost?
The barbershop application, Form BAR 5, carries a $130 fee: a $75 application fee, a $50 original barbershop license fee and a $5 unlicensed activity fee under the Barbers' Board fee rules. You can open once the license is issued, and an inspector will visit unannounced within approximately 90 days. If the location, ownership or business name changes, you submit a new application, pay the fee again and surrender the old license.
Can a Florida barber offer nail services?
No. DBPR states that barbers are not allowed to perform manicure, pedicure or nail extension services. Nail services belong to the cosmetology side of the department, under a nail specialist registration, a full specialist registration or a cosmetologist license, performed in a licensed salon. A shop that wants both barbering and nails needs both licensing tracks in place.
Are barber services subject to sales tax in Florida?
No. Florida sales tax falls on retail sales of products and on a specific list of services in Chapter 212 of the Florida Statutes, and barbering services are not on that list. Retail products you sell, such as pomades and grooming products clients take home, are taxable at the 6 percent state rate plus your county discretionary sales surtax. Keep services and products itemized separately in your point of sale system.