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How to Start a Hair Extensions Business in Michigan: Licenses, Costs & Requirements

Michigan writes this trade into its cosmetology statute and then declines to license it. The definition of natural hair cultivation in MCL 339.1201(p) names weaving and extending the hair by hand, and MCL 339.1210a(3) provides that an individual may do that work for compensation, and run a studio where only that work is practiced, with no license at all. An optional 400 hour natural hair culturist license exists for anyone who wants it. The boundaries are real: cutting, color, and chemical services sit outside the definition, and offering them takes the 1,500 hour cosmetologist license and its establishment framework.

Researched from Michigan 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: the Board of Cosmetology in LARA

Hair work in Michigan is regulated by the Board of Cosmetology in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, through the Bureau of Professional Licensing, under Article 12 of the Occupational Code, Act 299 of 1980. The Board was created by MCL 339.1202. Article 12 has no license category for hair extensions; the definitions in MCL 339.1201 decide the field instead. Section 1201(p) defines natural hair cultivation as techniques that result in tension on hair strands, such as twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding of the hair by hand. Section 1201(k) defines hair care services, the core of cosmetology, as arranging, cutting, dressing, curling, waving, cleansing, singeing, bleaching, coloring, tinting, trimming, styling, relaxing, perming, straightening, or similar work on the hair. Weaving and extending are named in the first definition and absent from the second; that placement drives everything in this guide.

The second text that matters sits in MCL 339.1210a, which creates the natural hair culturist license. Subsection (3) provides that an individual may engage in natural hair cultivation for compensation, and operate an establishment where only natural hair cultivation is practiced, without first obtaining an individual or establishment license under the article. Read together, they mean a Michigan extensions business built on hand techniques starts life unlicensed by the statute's own design, not by loophole. The rest of this guide covers the edge of the definition and the business filings that apply to every Michigan business, licensed or not.

Michigan hair extensions requirements at a glance

The license question: no license for hand installs, the optional culturist license, and the cosmetologist route

The first route is no license at all. MCL 339.1210a(3) allows an individual to engage in natural hair cultivation for compensation, and to operate an establishment where natural hair cultivation only is practiced, without first obtaining an individual or establishment license under Article 12. Because the definition expressly includes weaving and extending the hair by hand, a sew-in or hand tied weft install done with hand tension techniques and no chemicals is work a Michigan provider may sell today with no state credential. The statute removes the licensing step only: the entity, assumed name, tax, and employer filings later in this guide apply in full from the first paying client.

The second route is the optional credential: the natural hair culturist license. Section 1210a(1) licenses a natural hair culturist who is at least 17 years old, has good moral character and a ninth grade equivalent education, and completes at least 400 hours of training over at least 3 months in a department approved school of cosmetology where natural hair cultivation is rendered, or at least 6 months as an apprentice in a licensed cosmetology establishment where it is practiced. The statute calls for an examination if one is available, and one is: LARA's licensing guide sends applicants to PSI for the theory and practical examinations. LARA prices the application at $63 through MiPLUS, the application fee plus the 2 year license fee, and the license renews every 2 years at $48; the State License Fee Act stands behind those numbers at a $15 application processing fee plus $24 per year, the same pricing as the other Article 12 individual licenses.

Why buy a license the statute says you do not need? It gives a provider a state issued title and documented training to show clients, landlords, insurers, and salon owners who ask for one. Understand its limit before paying: under MCL 339.1203a(3), a licensed natural hair culturist may perform only natural hair cultivation and no other cosmetology service unless separately licensed. The license widens nothing: no cutting, no cleansing, which Michigan counts as a hair care service, and no color or chemical work, because none of those are natural hair cultivation.

The third route is the full cosmetologist license, the route for a full menu studio. A cosmetology applicant completes a 1,500 hour course of study in a licensed school of cosmetology, or serves as an apprentice for not less than 2 years in a licensed cosmetology establishment, then passes the board examination; the fee is the same $63 initial and $48 renewal on the 2 year cycle. What the wider license buys is scope: under MCL 339.1203a(2), a licensed cosmetologist may perform hair care services and natural hair cultivation alike, so installs, blending cuts, color, and chemical services sit under one credential. Section 1203a(1) draws the line from the other side: performing cosmetology services for anyone outside the provider's immediate family requires the license.

Where natural hair cultivation ends: chemicals, structure work, and cutting

The boundary is written into the definition itself: natural hair cultivation covers techniques that result in tension on hair strands, done by hand, and the braiding definition at MCL 339.1201(b) points the same way, covering intertwining, inversion and outversion flat against the scalp, twisting, and extension with natural or synthetic fibers. Fiber extensions and wefts attached with hand techniques sit inside these definitions, so installs sewn, braided, wrapped, or tied in by hand are natural hair cultivation as Michigan defines it, licensed or not.

Three kinds of work sit outside the definition, and clients routinely ask for all three. First, chemistry: the definition holds only if the work does not include dyes, reactive chemicals, or other preparations to alter the color of the hair or to straighten, curl, or alter its structure. Second, cutting: a finish or blending cut is a hair care service under section 1201(k), not natural hair cultivation. Third, cleansing: shampooing before an install is a hair care service on the same list. A provider on the unlicensed basis or the culturist license stops at each of those lines; putting them on the menu takes a licensed cosmetologist, which also pulls the premises into the establishment license framework covered next.

One caution belongs here. Article 12 speaks in techniques and chemistry, not in product or method brand names, and LARA publishes no list classifying install methods one by one. Whether a particular adhesive or bonding preparation counts as a reactive chemical or a structure altering preparation is not answered in the published sources, and this guide does not guess at it. A business whose installs depend on bonded or adhesive methods should put the question to the Board of Cosmetology before building its menu on them, because the no license provision and the culturist license stop at the same chemical line.

The establishment question: no license for an extensions only studio, the full framework past that line

For an extensions only studio, the premises follow the person. Because section 1210a(3) allows an individual to operate an establishment where natural hair cultivation only is practiced without an establishment license, a studio whose menu never leaves that definition needs no board license for its premises: no application, no board inspection, no renewal. The filings later in this guide and the local zoning layer still apply: the statute removes the licensing layer, not the business layer.

The moment the menu grows past the definition, the full framework arrives at once. Adding cutting, color, or chemical services makes the premises a cosmetology establishment under MCL 339.1204: the owners apply with the address and a drawing or diagram of the premises showing the required equipment and facilities and full partition and door separation from any adjacent dwelling or school, the premises must pass a department inspection, and the establishment license and each working cosmetologist's license must be displayed prominently. The license costs $25 application plus $25 per year, $75 initial and $50 renewal on the 2 year cycle. Section 1204 also authorizes a limited establishment license for premises providing only specified services, and it makes the license void on a sale or transfer of the establishment or ownership, or on a change in location, so a move or a sale takes a new application. The Michigan hair salon guide covers that wider structure in full.

Many extensions providers work inside someone else's salon, and Article 12 shapes that arrangement without adding a rental credential: a cosmetology suite, defined at MCL 339.1201(g), is a room or suite inside a licensed cosmetology establishment leased or rented from the owner for offering cosmetology services, and neither Article 12 nor the fee schedule in MCL 338.2225 contains a booth renter license, permit, or fee. Two cautions ride on the arrangement. Scope follows the provider into the suite: hand installs are fine on the no license basis, but cutting, cleansing, color, and chemical work in the room still need a cosmetologist behind the service. And renting a room does not settle classification: a provider whose prices, hours, and clients are controlled by the salon owner can still be an employee for the Unemployment Insurance Agency and the IRS, whatever the agreement calls the relationship. The Michigan salon suite guide covers suite structures in this state.

Forming your LLC and the February 15 annual statement

Most Michigan extensions owners form a limited liability company so the debts and legal problems of the business stay with the business. An LLC is formed by filing Articles of Organization, Form 700, with the Corporations Division of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs; the filing fee is $50 under MCL 450.5101. The company needs a resident agent and a registered office in Michigan, where the state and process servers reach it. A professional LLC files Form 701 instead, also $50; the standard Form 700 is the filing for an extensions business.

The recurring duty is the annual statement. Every LLC files an annual statement of resident agent and registered office with LARA not later than February 15 of each year, for a $25 fee; an LLC formed after September 30 skips the immediately following February 15, and there is no late fee for a standard LLC. The consequence arrives on a longer fuse: if an LLC fails to file annual statements for 2 consecutive years, the administrator sends a notice, and if the missing statements and fees are not filed within 60 days after that notice, the LLC is not in good standing. While it is not in good standing, no certificate of good standing will issue, its name becomes available for use by another entity, and the administrator accepts no filings from it except a certificate of restoration of good standing, which costs $50. The LLC is not dissolved and may continue to transact business while it restores itself. Adopt a written operating agreement even though it is never filed.

Registering your assumed name

Michigan calls a trade name an assumed name, and where you file yours depends on the kind of business. A sole proprietor or a general partnership files a certificate of assumed name with the county clerk of each county where the business is conducted, under Act 101 of 1907. The county filing costs $6, runs for a term of 5 years, and renews at $4 for another 5 years when filed before expiration. Letting the term lapse is treated as abandonment of the name, so the renewal date belongs on the calendar.

An LLC takes the state route: a certificate of assumed name filed with LARA for $25, expiring on December 31 of the fifth full calendar year following the filing year, renewable for additional 5 year periods at $25 when filed within 90 days before expiration. A corporation pays $10 on the same December 31 term. One point owners miss: the filing only bites when the business trades under a name different from its own legal name, so an extensions business that opens under the exact name on its Articles of Organization needs no assumed name filing at all.

Getting your federal Employer Identification Number

Your Employer Identification Number is the one free, fast step in a Michigan 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. Michigan paperwork keys off it: the EIN doubles as the Treasury account number for the state tax registrations below, and unemployment registration runs under it as well. Get it after the entity exists and before the first state application.

Sales tax: untaxed services and taxable retail hair

Michigan's sales tax is simpler than most states': one rate, one level of government collecting it. The state sales tax is 6 percent on retail sales of tangible personal property, and Michigan has no city, local, or county sales tax. The tax reaches retail transfers of tangible personal property, so the service charge sits outside it: the install appointment, the sew-in, and the wefts a client wears out the door as part of the service carry no sales tax. What a client takes home is different: hair sold over the counter, shampoo, and other take home products are taxable retail sales, and the business collects the 6 percent on them and holds it for the state, so the point of sale itemizes services and products separately from day one.

Before the first retail sale, register with the Department of Treasury, through Michigan Treasury Online's Start a New Business e-registration or on paper with Form 518, the Registration for Michigan Taxes. The online application is recognized within 15 minutes and processed within up to 48 hours, and an EIN doubles as the Treasury account number. Registration issues the sales tax license, valid January through December and renewed annually. The license is required even if retail is a small share of revenue, because the duty attaches to the retail sales.

Michigan income tax: registration and withholding

Michigan adds no franchise tax and no separate state business license tax. The income tax side runs through the same registrations: Form 518, or the Michigan Treasury Online e-registration, registers a business for sales tax, use tax, income tax withholding, corporate income tax, and unemployment insurance tax in one filing. The withholding duty itself is covered in the hiring section below, at 4.25 percent.

Hiring staff: withholding, unemployment, and wages

The first hire triggers the employer stack, and Michigan folds much of it into one registration. Form 518, or the Michigan Treasury Online e-registration that replaces it, registers the business for withholding and unemployment insurance tax along with the taxes covered above. An employer required to withhold federal tax must deduct and withhold Michigan income tax at 4.25 percent. Unemployment tax is paid entirely by the employer, and the Unemployment Insurance Agency issues the account number. A new non-construction employer pays 2.7 percent plus one third of its chargeable benefits component in year one, on the first $9,000 of each employee's wages for 2026 for employers in good standing, or on the first $9,500 otherwise. Quarterly Wage and Tax reports are due even with no wages to report, and account management now runs in MiUI, because MiWAM was permanently retired on November 2, 2026.

Two more rules complete the stack. The Michigan minimum wage effective January 1, 2026 is $13.73 an hour, and the tipped minimum wage is $5.49 an hour provided the employee receives at least $8.24 in tips. Both rates rise on January 1, 2027, the full rate to $15.00 and the tipped rate to $6.30, so a business opening late in 2026 should price for the higher floor from the start. Workers' compensation runs under the Worker's Disability Compensation Act, which reaches private employers who regularly employ 3 or more employees at one time, and employers with fewer than 3 employees if at least one employee has been regularly employed at 35 or more hours a week for 13 weeks or longer during the preceding 52 weeks. Coverage is secured through a policy from an insurer authorized to transact workers' compensation insurance in Michigan, or through authorized self-insurance.

The local layer: zoning and premises rules

The state removes the licensing layer for an extensions only business; it does not remove the local layer. Zoning approval, building permits, and occupancy sign off come from the city or township where the studio sits; municipalities add their own business and signage rules on top. Extensions businesses are often home based, and home occupation rules are local: whether clients may come to a house is a question for the local zoning office, not the Board. Confirm the use is allowed at the address before the lease is signed. One state rule does follow the business anywhere: the natural hair cultivation definition travels with the work, so a home based provider is held to the same chemical and cutting lines as a storefront.

Insurance and the costs that keep coming back

No license in this guide is conditioned on a bond or an insurance filing; the one coverage that is a legal duty rather than a choice is workers' compensation for employees under the act, covered in the hiring section. The Michigan hair salon insurance guide works through the state specifics, including the owner exclusion election and the assigned risk pool. Insurance also enters through the lease and through prudence: landlords require general liability coverage with the landlord named as an additional insured, and a working extensions business carries professional liability and property coverage for the buildout, equipment, and the hair inventory, often the most valuable stock in the building.

Recurring state costs are predictable once listed: the LLC annual statement at $25 each February, the assumed name renewal on its 5 year cycle, the sales tax license renewed annually, quarterly Wage and Tax reports whether or not wages were paid, and the license renewals on the cycles the calendar lays out. Michigan mixes fixed calendar deadlines, like February 15, with anniversary dates keyed to the day a license first issued.

Your Michigan renewal calendar

• Every 2 years, on the anniversary of the issue date: the optional natural hair culturist license renews through MiPLUS at $48, and a cosmetologist license renews on the same cycle at $48; a cosmetology establishment license renews at $50
• Every year, not later than February 15: the LLC annual statement is due to LARA at $25; an LLC formed after September 30 skips the immediately following February 15
• Every quarter: Wage and Tax reports are due to the Unemployment Insurance Agency in MiUI, even with no employees and no wages to report
• Every year, January through December term: the sales tax license renews with the Department of Treasury
• January 1, 2027: the minimum wage rises to $15.00 and the tipped wage to $6.30
• Every 5 years: a county assumed name certificate renews at $4 before expiration; an LLC certificate of assumed name renews at $25, filed within 90 days before its December 31 expiration
• No renewal at all: an extensions only business holds no individual or establishment license to renew, as long as the menu stays inside natural hair cultivation

Official Michigan sources for this guide

• Michigan Compiled Laws section 339.1201: the definitions of natural hair cultivation, braiding, hair care services, cosmetology establishment, and cosmetology suite
• Michigan Compiled Laws section 339.1210a: natural hair culturist qualifications, the 400 hour and apprenticeship routes, and the provision allowing natural hair cultivation and an extensions only establishment without a license
• Michigan Compiled Laws section 339.1203a: the license requirement for cosmetology services, the cosmetologist's scope including natural hair cultivation, and the rule that a natural hair culturist performs only natural hair cultivation
• Michigan Compiled Laws section 339.1204: the cosmetology establishment license, inspection, display, and the rule that the license is void on transfer
• Michigan Compiled Laws section 338.2225: cosmetology fee rates, including the $15 application fee, the $24 per year license fee, and the examination fees
• LARA Cosmetologist Licensing Guide: the 1,500 hour and apprenticeship routes, the examination, and the $63 application and 2 year license fee
• Michigan Professional Licensing User System (MiPLUS): the application and renewal portal for the natural hair culturist and cosmetologist licenses; LARA's Natural Hair Culturist Licensing Guide prices that application at $63 with theory and practical examinations through PSI
• Michigan Compiled Laws section 450.4207a: annual statements, the 2 year and 60 day good standing rule, and restoration of an LLC
• Department of Treasury, Who Needs a Sales Tax License: the 6 percent rate, the absence of any local sales tax, and registration for businesses that sell tangible personal property
• Department of Treasury, New Business registration: Michigan Treasury Online e-registration and Form 518 for sales tax, withholding, and unemployment insurance

This guide is general information researched from official Michigan 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 license to install hair extensions in Michigan?

Not for installs that stay inside natural hair cultivation. MCL 339.1201(p) defines natural hair cultivation to include weaving and extending the hair by hand, and MCL 339.1210a(3) allows an individual to engage in natural hair cultivation for compensation, and to operate an establishment where only natural hair cultivation is practiced, without an individual or establishment license. Cutting, coloring, cleansing, and chemical services are cosmetology, and those take a cosmetologist license.

Does Michigan have a hair extensions or weaving specialty license?

No. LARA issues no extensions or weaving specialty license. The narrow credential in this field is the optional natural hair culturist license under MCL 339.1210a, and the full credential is the cosmetologist license. A license is not required at all for work that stays inside natural hair cultivation.

What does the optional natural hair culturist license require?

At least 400 hours of training over at least 3 months in an approved school of cosmetology where natural hair cultivation is rendered, or at least 6 months as an apprentice in a licensed cosmetology establishment where it is practiced. The applicant is at least 17, has good moral character and a ninth grade equivalent education, and passes the theory and practical examinations given through PSI. The fee is $63 for the application and first 2 year license, and the license renews every 2 years at $48 through MiPLUS.

Can an extensions business offer cutting, color, or chemical services in Michigan?

Only with cosmetology licensing behind them. Dyes, reactive chemicals, and preparations that alter color or straighten, curl, or alter hair structure sit outside the definition of natural hair cultivation, and cutting and cleansing are hair care services inside cosmetology. Offering them takes a licensed cosmetologist for the service and a cosmetology establishment license for the premises.

Does an extensions only studio need an establishment license in Michigan?

No, if only natural hair cultivation is practiced there. MCL 339.1210a(3) allows operating an establishment where natural hair cultivation only is practiced without an establishment license. Once the menu adds cosmetology services, the premises needs the cosmetology establishment license under MCL 339.1204: $75 initial, $50 renewal every 2 years, with a premises diagram, separation from any dwelling or school, and a department inspection.

Are hair extension services subject to sales tax in Michigan?

The service charge is not taxed, because Michigan taxes retail sales of tangible personal property and services sit outside it. Retail products a client takes home are taxable at the 6 percent state rate, and Michigan has no local sales tax. Register through Michigan Treasury Online or Form 518 before the first retail sale; the sales tax license runs January through December and renews annually.