Home / Illinois / Barbershop

How to Start a Barbershop in Illinois: Licenses, Costs & Requirements

Illinois does not give barbering its own board or its own act. Barbers sit inside the same statute and the same department as cosmetologists, share the same $40 shop registration, and then diverge where it counts: a July renewal date instead of September, and no profession specific continuing education at all.

Researched from Illinois state sources. Our guides are free. We may earn a commission when you use a partner service, at no additional cost to you.

The regulator: one department for barbers and cosmetologists

An Illinois barbershop answers to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, through its Division of Professional Regulation, under the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 (225 ILCS 410) and the rules at Title 68, Part 1175 of the Illinois Administrative Code. Unlike states where a barber board and a cosmetology board guard separate turf, Illinois wrote barbering into the same act as cosmetology, esthetics, nail technology and hair braiding, and one department administers all of it. The Department licenses the people, barbers and barber teachers on the personal side, and registers the premises, because a barber shop holds the same certificate of registration as a cosmetology salon.

That shared structure cuts both ways for a shop owner. The paperwork is unified: one department, one rules part, one registration system for a shop that runs barbers and cosmetologists side by side. But the licenses are not interchangeable. A barber license and a cosmetology license cover overlapping but distinct scopes, and the Act polices the boundary in both directions. A shop that wants one chair doing color work and another doing straight razor shaves staffs each chair with the license that covers it, or uses the crossover programs the Act builds in, covered in the licenses section below.

Illinois barbershop requirements at a glance

Practitioner licenses: the barber license

The barber license takes the same investment as cosmetology on the clock and less on the calendar. Qualifying means 1,500 clock hours of instruction in a barber curriculum at a licensed barber school, or a cosmetology school approved to teach barbering, spread over not less than 9 months. An applicant must be at least 16 years old. The license fee is the standard $30 set by rule for every profession under the Act, and the state examination fee is $112, offered in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese since October 1, 2026. Barbers licensed in another state apply by endorsement for $45.

The crossover matters in a mixed shop. A licensed cosmetologist does not start over: the Act lets cosmetologists complete a 500 hour supplemental barber program to add the barber license, and barbers take the mirror image 500 hour route into cosmetology. Owners building a unisex floor use those programs to make chairs flexible instead of hiring around rigid scopes. Renewal is where barbering quietly wins. Barber licenses expire July 31 of odd numbered years, on their own date, separate from the September date cosmetologists and estheticians share. The renewal fee is the standard $50 for the two year cycle. And barbers owe no profession specific continuing education hours at all: the Department's continuing education framework asks barbers and barber teachers for only the 1 hour sexual harassment prevention course per cycle, where cosmetologists owe 14 hours and estheticians, nail technicians and braiders owe 10. A lapsed barber license restores for $50 plus lapsed renewal fees, capped at $200.

The establishment credential: the shop registration

The premises credential is the same certificate of registration a hair salon holds, issued under Subpart M of the Part 1175 rules. Illinois makes it unlawful to own or operate a barber shop without one, and the Act names barber shops in the same breath as cosmetology, esthetics, nail technology and hair braiding salons. The fee is $40 regardless of chair count, because the registration attaches to the location. A shop with barbers on one side and cosmetologists on the other still holds one registration for the address, not one per trade, which is one of the few genuine simplifications the unified Act produces.

The registration runs on a different clock from the barber license, and confusing the two is the classic Illinois paperwork error. Certificates of registration expire November 30 of even numbered years, and renewal is $40 for the two year cycle, calculated at $20 a year, with the renewal window opening in the two months before the date. Barber licenses expire in odd years; the shop registration expires in even years, so a barbershop always has one of its two credentials inside a renewal window. A change of name or address costs $20, a reprinted certificate $20, and a lapsed registration restores for $40 with the business's federal employer identification number and any assumed name certificate in the filing. The registration holder answers for the premises, including sanitation and the licenses of everyone cutting under the roof.

Forming your LLC: the $150 filing and the $75 annual report

Most Illinois barbershop owners form a limited liability company, and Illinois makes formation cheap and the yearly upkeep unforgiving. Articles of Organization, Form LLC-5.5, are filed with the Secretary of State's Department of Business Services for $150, with standard processing running about ten business days; 24 hour expedited service brings the total to $250. The LLC needs a registered agent with an Illinois street address, and Illinois requires no newspaper publication to form, so the $150 is the whole state formation bill.

The follow-on duty is the annual report. Every LLC files one with the Secretary of State for $75, due before the first day of the anniversary month of formation, not on the anniversary itself. File more than 60 days late and a $100 penalty attaches; leave it unfiled long enough and the Secretary of State administratively dissolves the LLC, a serious problem for an entity holding a lease, a shop registration and a merchant account. Adopt a written operating agreement even though it is never filed; in a two barber partnership splitting chairs and walk-ins, it is the document that decides what happens when one partner wants out.

Trading under a name: the assumed name split

A barbershop rarely trades under its legal entity name, and Illinois splits the assumed name filing by structure. Sole proprietors and general partnerships, and professional corporations, register an assumed business name with the county clerk in the county where the shop operates, under the Assumed Business Name Act (805 ILCS 405). Corporations and LLCs skip the county and register with the Secretary of State, an LLC by adopting an assumed name on Form LLC-1.20. Filing at the wrong office leaves the name unregistered.

The county route carries a step the state route does not: newspaper publication. In Cook County the registration fee is $50, the application is signed and notarized, and the owner must publish the legal notice in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks, starting within 15 calendar days of registration. Proof of publication, a notarized certificate with the original newspaper clipping, is due back to the Clerk within 50 days, and missing that deadline voids the registration. The Secretary of State route has no publication step, and its fee is prorated on a five year cycle, $150 in a year ending in 0 or 5 down to $30 in a year ending in 4 or 9, so an LLC adopting an assumed name in 2026 pays $120, with renewal at $150 when the cycle turns.

Getting your EIN

Your Employer Identification Number is the one free, fast step in an Illinois opening. Apply on the IRS website and the number issues immediately; every LLC and corporation needs one for banking and payroll, and a sole proprietor needs one once they have employees. Illinois paperwork keys off it: the MyTax Illinois business registration, the unemployment insurance account, and a shop registration restoration all run under the EIN. Get it after the entity exists and before the first state application.

Sales tax: services are not taxed, retail is, and the entity has its own tax

Illinois taxes the shelf, not the chair. The Retailers' Occupation Tax falls on retail sales of tangible personal property, and a haircut or a shave is not a retail sale of property, so the service ticket carries no sales tax anywhere in the state. What a client takes home is different: pomade, tonic and aftercare sold at retail are taxable, and inventory bought for resale is purchased without tax so the tax lands once, on the sale to the client. Products a service provider hands over as an inseparable part of a service can fall under the Service Occupation Tax, measured on the cost of the goods, and the Department of Revenue's ST-1 instructions work through which side of the line a transfer lands on.

The rate is built by address. The state base is 6.25 percent, and local taxes stack on top: county and municipal shares, home rule taxes, and transit taxes in the Chicago region, which together push the combined rate in Chicago above 10 percent. The Department's Tax Rate Finder in MyTax Illinois gives the rate for the shop's exact address, and that is the rate to program into the point of sale. Register before the first retail sale on Form REG-1 through MyTax Illinois, which covers both the sales tax account and employer withholding, and report on Form ST-1. The entity layer has its own trap: an LLC taxed as a partnership pays the Personal Property Replacement Tax, 1.5 percent of net income under the Illinois Income Tax Act, on top of the 4.95 percent flat income tax the members pay individually.

Chair rent in Illinois: the classification test decides

Chair rental is the traditional barbershop model, and Illinois law works against it from two directions. There is no renter license and no registration category for a rented chair. There is a classification test: Section 212 of the Unemployment Insurance Act (820 ILCS 405/212) treats a worker as an independent contractor only when the worker is free from the shop's control, the service is outside the usual course of the shop's business or outside all of its places of business, and the worker runs an independently established trade. A barber renting a chair inside your shop does your shop's usual work on your shop's premises, which fails the second condition however the rental agreement is written, and the Department of Employment Security applies that test in audits.

The registration layer points the same way. Every cut in the building happens under your shop's certificate of registration, and the registration holder answers to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for the premises. A barber who wants to run a genuinely independent book needs premises registered in their own right, which is the structure the Illinois salon suite guide works through. Inside a conventional barbershop, the defensible Illinois model is employment, with the split handled as a commission pay plan rather than a tenancy.

Hiring staff: withholding, unemployment, and wages

The first hire triggers the employer stack. Register with the Department of Employment Security within 30 days of starting business as an employer; liability for unemployment insurance generally begins once you pay $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter or employ someone during 20 weeks of a year. For 2026, contributions apply to the first $14,250 of each employee's wages, and a new employer pays 3.35 percent until it earns its own experience rate, which for 2026 ranges from 0.75 percent to 7.05 percent including the fund building rate. Reports and contributions run quarterly on Form UI-3/40 through MyTax Illinois, due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Employers withhold Illinois income tax at a flat 4.95 percent and report on Form IL-941, report every new hire to the Illinois New Hire Directory within 20 days, and carry workers' compensation coverage, which nearly every Illinois employer must hold.

The wage floor depends on the map. The Illinois minimum wage is $15.00 an hour for workers 18 and older, with a tipped cash wage of $9.00 where tips bring the total to the full rate, and overtime at one and one half times the regular rate after 40 hours in a week. The Paid Leave for All Workers Act gives every employee 40 hours of paid leave a year for any reason, earned at one hour for every 40 hours worked. Barbershops feel the tipped wage less than salons do, since chair staff are usually paid on commission or salary, but front desk and cleaning staff sit squarely under the wage and leave rules, and Chicago raises both bars, as the next section covers.

The local layer: Chicago, Cook County, and everywhere else

The state registers the shop; Chicago licenses it again. Every Chicago business takes a city license from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, and barbershops operate under a Limited Business License even though barbers hold state licenses; the city's general exemption for state licensed professionals does not cover these premises businesses. The Limited Business License currently costs $500 for a two year term. Check zoning before signing: the Department's licensing materials flag some beauty, nail and barber shops as special uses in some zoning districts, which can add an approval to the timeline.

Chicago labor law is the bigger local cost. The city minimum wage is $17.05 an hour for employers with four or more employees, with a tipped cash wage of $12.96, effective July 1, 2026 and adjusted every July 1 by inflation or 2.5 percent, whichever is lower. Chicago's own leave ordinance guarantees up to five days of paid leave and five days of paid sick and safe leave, accruing at one hour for every 35 hours worked, on top of the state act. Outside the city but inside Cook County, the county ordinance sets $15.40 an hour and a $9.25 tipped wage in municipalities that have not opted out. The rest of Illinois runs on the state floor of $15.00, with zoning, signage and any general municipal business license as the local layer.

Insurance and recurring costs

Neither the Act nor the Part 1175 rules conditions a shop registration on a bond or an insurance filing. Insurance enters through the lease and through prudence instead: landlords require general liability coverage with the landlord named as an additional insured, and a working barbershop carries professional liability for services, which in a shop offering straight razor work is not a theoretical exposure, plus property coverage for chairs, buildout and retail inventory. Employers must carry workers' compensation coverage as a legal duty.

Recurring state costs are light and biennial: barber renewals at $50 each with no coursework beyond the one hour prevention course, the shop registration at $40 every two years, the $75 LLC annual report, and quarterly unemployment and withholding filings. Watch the calendar quirk: the barber license renews in odd years and the shop registration in even years, so the shop files something with the Department every year.

Your Illinois renewal calendar

• Every 2 years, expiring July 31 of odd numbered years: barber licenses renew at $50 each, with the 1 hour sexual harassment prevention course per barber
• Every 2 years, expiring November 30 of even numbered years: the shop registration renews at $40; renewal opens in the two preceding months
• Every year, before the first day of the formation anniversary month: LLC annual report, $75
• Every quarter, due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31: unemployment contributions and wage reports on Form UI-3/40 through MyTax Illinois
• Every quarter: employer withholding reported on Form IL-941 at the flat 4.95 percent rate
• Within 20 days of each hire: new hire report to the Illinois New Hire Directory
• On the Department of Revenue's schedule in MyTax Illinois: sales tax returns on Form ST-1 covering retail product sales
• Every July 1: Chicago and Cook County minimum wage adjustments take effect; the state wage is reviewed each January
• On any move: update the shop registration for the new address, a $20 change fee, before operating there

Official Illinois sources for this guide

• Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Cosmetology: barber licensing, the $112 examination fee, exam languages, and shop registration
• Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, barber qualifications (006): the 1,500 hours over at least 9 months and the July 31 expiration
• Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, license renewal information: restoration fees and steps for lapsed licenses
• Cook County Clerk, assumed business name registration: the $50 fee, publication, and the 50 day proof deadline
• Department of Revenue, ST-1 instructions: the 6.25 percent state rate, local tax layers, and the Tax Rate Finder
• Department of Employment Security, 2026 contribution rates: the $14,250 wage base and the 3.35 percent new employer rate
• Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law: the $15.00 wage, the $9.00 tipped cash wage, and overtime
• City of Chicago, minimum wage: the $17.05 city wage and the $12.96 tipped wage
• Cook County, Minimum Wage Ordinance and regulations: the $15.40 county wage and the $9.25 tipped wage

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.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a barber license to own a barbershop in Illinois?

No. The shop holds a certificate of registration from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, $40 to open and $40 to renew every two years, and every barber who cuts hair in it holds a personal barber license. You need your own barber license only if you will cut hair yourself.

How many hours of school does an Illinois barber need?

A barber completes 1,500 clock hours of barber training over not less than 9 months, starting at age 16 or older, passes the state examination at $112, and pays a $30 license fee. A licensed cosmetologist can cross over with a 500 hour supplemental barber program instead of the full course.

Do Illinois barbers have to take continuing education?

Barbers are the exception in Illinois beauty licensing: there are no profession specific continuing education hours for barbers. The one recurring course is the 1 hour sexual harassment prevention training each renewal cycle. Renewal itself costs $50, and barber licenses expire July 31 of odd numbered years.

Can barbers rent chairs in my Illinois barbershop?

Chair rental is the classic barbershop model, but Illinois law works against it. Section 212 of the Unemployment Insurance Act treats a barber who works on your shop floor as an employee, because the work is your usual business at your place of business, and renters practice under your shop registration. Employment is the defensible default inside an Illinois shop.

Does a barbershop need the same registration as a hair salon?

Yes. Illinois registers barber shops and cosmetology salons under the same certificate of registration in the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act. It costs $40, renews at $40 every two years, and expires November 30 of even numbered years, a different date from the barber license itself.

Does Chicago require anything extra for a barbershop?

Yes. A Chicago barbershop operates under a Limited Business License from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, currently $500 for a two year term, on top of the state shop registration and barber licenses. Chicago also sets a $17.05 minimum wage and its own paid leave rules.