How to Start a Beauty Business in Illinois
Illinois runs almost all of beauty through one department and one statute: the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation licenses cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians, nail technicians, hair braiders and massage therapists, and registers the salons and shops they work in. Body art sits somewhere else entirely, with the Department of Public Health, and Chicago adds a second, city level of licenses and wages on top of everything the state does. This hub covers how the state regulates each trade, then links to a full guide for each business type.
On this page
Who regulates beauty businesses in Illinois
One umbrella department does most of the work. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, through its Division of Professional Regulation, licenses five beauty trades under a single statute, the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 (225 ILCS 410), with rules at Title 68, Part 1175 of the Illinois Administrative Code. The same department licenses massage therapists under a separate statute, the Massage Therapy Practice Act (225 ILCS 57). The department also registers the premises: a salon or shop certificate of registration is the establishment credential for cosmetology, esthetics, nail technology and hair braiding salons and for barber shops.
One trade answers to a different agency altogether. Microblading and permanent makeup are body art, regulated by the Department of Public Health under the Tattoo and Body Piercing Establishment Registration Act (410 ILCS 54) and the Body Art Code at Title 77, Part 797. The Department of Public Health registers the location, not the artist, and says in terms that body art does not fall under a cosmetology or esthetics license. Business formation sits with the Secretary of State, sales tax with the Department of Revenue, unemployment insurance with the Department of Employment Security, and wages with the Department of Labor. Chicago then layers its own business licenses through the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection on top of the state system.
| Agency | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation | Cosmetologist, barber, esthetician, nail technician and hair braider licenses and teachers, salon and shop registrations, massage therapist licenses |
| Department of Public Health | Body art establishment registration under the Body Art Code, covering tattooing, piercing, permanent makeup and microblading |
| Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | LLC and corporation formation, the annual report, and assumed names for corporations and LLCs |
| County clerks | Assumed business name registration for sole proprietorships, general partnerships and professional corporations |
| Department of Revenue | Business registration on Form REG-1 through MyTax Illinois, sales tax, and employer withholding |
| Department of Employment Security | Unemployment insurance registration, quarterly contribution and wage reports, new hire reporting |
| Department of Labor | Minimum wage, overtime, and the Paid Leave for All Workers Act |
| Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection | City business licenses, including Limited Business Licenses for salons and Regulated Business Licenses for body art and massage establishments, plus city labor standards |
Illinois licensing at a glance
| License | Schooling | Initial fee | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetologist | 1,500 hours | $30 license fee, plus a $200 examination fee | $50 every 2 years, expiring September 30 of odd numbered years, with 14 hours of continuing education |
| Barber | 1,500 hours over at least 9 months | $30 license fee, plus a $112 examination fee | $50 every 2 years, expiring July 31 of odd numbered years |
| Esthetician | 750 hours | $30 license fee, plus a $175 examination fee | $50 every 2 years, expiring September 30 of odd numbered years, with 10 hours of continuing education |
| Nail technician | 350 hours | $30 license fee, plus a $190 examination fee | $50 every 2 years, expiring October 31 of even numbered years, with 10 hours of continuing education |
| Hair braider | 300 hours | $30 license fee | $50 every 2 years, expiring October 31 of even numbered years, with 10 hours of continuing education |
| Massage therapist | 600 hours minimum, MBLEx or NCBTMB examination, fingerprint background check | $175 application fee | $175 every 2 years, expiring December 31 of even numbered years, with 25 hours of continuing education |
| Eyelash services | No separate license; applying eyelashes is written into the esthetician scope, and cosmetologists cover it too | None | None |
| Microblading artist | No individual license; the establishment registers with Public Health and the artist shows bloodborne pathogen training | None for the artist | None for the artist |
| Salon or shop registration (cosmetology, esthetics, nails, braiding, barbering) | One registration per salon or shop location | $40 | $40 every 2 years, expiring November 30 of even numbered years |
| Body art establishment certificate of registration | One certificate per location and named operator, inspection by Public Health or its delegate agency | $500 a year for one work station, plus $50 per additional station | Renewed every year at the same rates |
What every Illinois beauty business files
| Filing | Agency | Cost or rule |
|---|---|---|
| LLC Articles of Organization, Form LLC-5.5 | Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | $150; $250 total with 24 hour expedited service; a series LLC costs $400 |
| LLC annual report | Secretary of State | $75 every year, due before the first day of the anniversary month; a $100 penalty applies after 60 days late |
| Assumed name, sole proprietors and general partnerships | County clerk under the Assumed Business Name Act | Fee set by the county; Cook County charges $50, with newspaper publication once a week for three weeks and proof due within 50 days |
| Assumed name, corporations and LLCs | Secretary of State | Prorated on a five year cycle: $150 in a year ending 0 or 5 down to $30 in a year ending 4 or 9, so $120 in 2026; no newspaper publication |
| EIN | IRS | Free |
| Business registration, Form REG-1 | Department of Revenue, through MyTax Illinois | Free; registers the business for sales tax and withholding; services are not taxed, retail sales are taxed at a 6.25 percent state base plus local taxes |
| Employer withholding | Department of Revenue | Withhold a flat 4.95 percent of compensation; an LLC taxed as a partnership also pays the 1.5 percent Personal Property Replacement Tax on net income |
| Unemployment insurance registration | Department of Employment Security | Register within 30 days of starting as an employer; 2026 new employer rate 3.35 percent on the first $14,250 of wages |
| Minimum wage | Department of Labor | $15.00 an hour statewide; $9.00 tipped cash wage; Chicago pays $17.05 and suburban Cook County $15.40 |
Illinois specific traps
Chicago is a second regulator, not a formality. Inside Chicago, a salon, barbershop or nail salon needs a city Limited Business License from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection on top of the state licenses, currently $500 for a two year term. Body art and massage establishments need the heavier Regulated Business License instead. Chicago also runs its own wage and leave law: a $17.05 minimum wage since July 1, 2026, and paid leave plus paid sick leave on top of the state paid leave act. Suburban Cook County has its own floor too, $15.40 an hour, for municipalities that have not opted out.
Microblading is body art, and your cosmetology license does not cover it. The Department of Public Health registers the location under the Body Art Code at $500 a year for the first work station, the artist holds no state license at all, and the work must be physically separate from cosmetology and esthetics services. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation lists microblading among the practices its licensees may not perform. A brow studio that treats microblading as an esthetics add-on is wrong on both sides of the line.
Every profession renews on its own fixed date, and they do not line up. Cosmetologists and estheticians expire September 30 of odd numbered years, barbers July 31 of odd numbered years, nail technicians and hair braiders October 31 of even numbered years, salon registrations November 30 of even numbered years, and massage therapists December 31 of even numbered years. Nothing is keyed to the issue date or a birthday. A multi-service business lives on five different clocks.
Booth rent fails the unemployment test on the salon's own floor. Illinois has no booth rental statute, but Section 212 of the Unemployment Insurance Act treats a worker as an employee unless the service is performed outside the usual course of the business or outside all of its places of business. A stylist cutting hair inside your salon, which is the salon's usual business on the salon's premises, fails that test however the contract is written, and the Department of Employment Security reads it that way in audits. The salon's own registration, held by the shop, also makes the shop answerable for everyone practicing under it.
The LLC is cheap to form and easy to dissolve by accident. Articles of Organization cost $150, but the $75 annual report is due before the first day of the formation anniversary month, every year, with a $100 penalty after 60 days and administrative dissolution for prolonged delinquency. The assumed name rules split by entity: sole proprietors and general partnerships file at the county clerk and must publish in a newspaper, while LLCs and corporations file with the Secretary of State at a prorated fee and never publish. Filing at the wrong office is a classic Illinois error.
Massage therapists cannot be licensed by your city, but your massage establishment can. Section 55 of the Massage Therapy Practice Act reserves therapist licensing to the state and forbids home rule units from regulating or licensing massage therapists. Establishment licensing is a different matter: Chicago licenses massage establishments under its Regulated Business License, with a fingerprint background check in the application, and other Illinois cities run their own establishment rules. Check the city, not just the state, before signing a lease.
Services are not taxed, but the shelf is, at one of the highest combined rates in the country. Illinois taxes retail sales of tangible personal property, not beauty services. The state base is 6.25 percent, and the local layers stacked on top, county, home rule, and transit taxes in the Chicago region, push Chicago's combined rate above 10 percent. The exact rate is set by the shop's address in the Department of Revenue's Tax Rate Finder, and products handed to a client as part of a service can pull the Service Occupation Tax into the transaction on the cost of the goods.
Illinois guides by business type
Hair Salon
Cosmetology at 1,500 hours, the $40 salon registration, a $200 exam fee that dwarfs the $30 license fee, and the Chicago city license on top.
Barbershop
Barbering inside the same Act: 1,500 hours over at least 9 months, a July 31 renewal clock, and no profession specific continuing education.
Nail Salon
Nail technology at 350 hours, the October 31 even year renewal, and a scope that stops at the living layers of the skin.
Lash Studio
There is no lash license. Applying eyelashes is written into the esthetician definition itself, and the esthetician or cosmetologist route is the way in.
Esthetics Studio
Esthetics at 750 hours, the prohibited practices list that fences out microneedling and microblading, and the salon registration for treatment rooms.
Salon Suite
Illinois registers the salon, not the building. Each independent operator in a suite building holds a registration for their own space.
Braiding Business
Braiding is licensed in Illinois: a 300 hour Hair Braider license with its own curriculum split, and a hard line where chemical services begin.
Microblading Studio
Body art under Public Health: a $500 a year establishment registration, no artist license, bloodborne pathogen training, and Chicago's regulated license and insurance rule.
Massage Practice
An individual license at 600 hours with the MBLEx and a fingerprint check, 25 hours of continuing education, and establishment licensing left to the cities.
Official Illinois resources
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Cosmetology | Cosmetologist, barber, esthetician and nail technician licensing, examination fees and languages, and salon and shop registration |
| Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, license renewal information | Reinstatement and restoration fees and steps for lapsed licenses |
| Department of Public Health, Body Art Establishments | Body art establishment registration, the microblading position, artist training proof, and facility standards |
| Cook County Clerk, assumed business name registration | The $50 county registration, the newspaper publication steps, and the 50 day proof deadline |
| Department of Revenue, ST-1 instructions | Who files the sales tax return, the 6.25 percent state rate, and the Tax Rate Finder |
| Department of Employment Security, 2026 contribution rates | The 2026 wage base of $14,250, the 3.35 percent new employer rate, and the experience rate range |
| Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law | The $15.00 state minimum wage, the $9.00 tipped cash wage, and overtime |
| City of Chicago, minimum wage | The $17.05 Chicago minimum wage, the $12.96 tipped wage, and the July 1 adjustment |
| Cook County, Minimum Wage Ordinance and regulations | The $15.40 county minimum wage, the $9.25 tipped wage, and where the ordinance does not apply |
State sources last reviewed: November 3, 2026
This guide is general information researched from official Illinois sources, not legal or tax advice. Requirements, fees and forms change; verify the current rules with the agencies linked above before you file, sign or spend.