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How to Start a Hair Salon in New Jersey: Licenses, Costs & Requirements

New Jersey licenses a hair salon in two layers, the people and the premises, and adds a rule most states do not have: every shop runs under an experienced practicing licensee with three years behind the chair. The cosmetologist hairstylist license takes 1,200 hours, the full service shop license costs $350 or $250 to file, and since a 2023 law your stylists can rent a chair or booth under a rental license of their own.

New Jersey sources last reviewed: November 3, 2026

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

Who regulates hair salons in New Jersey

A New Jersey hair salon answers to the State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The Board works under the Cosmetology and Hairstyling Act and its rules at N.J.A.C. 13:28. It licenses the individual practitioners (cosmetologist hairstylists, beauticians, barbers, manicurists, skin care specialists and teachers) and the premises, through shop, school and chair and booth rental licenses. No person may render services inside the definitions of cosmetology and hairstyling, beauty culture, barbering, manicuring, hair braiding or skin care specialty without a Board license that permits that service.

The practitioner license and the shop license are separate duties: a licensed salon staffed by unlicensed stylists is unlawful, and so is a licensed team in an unlicensed shop. Every shop must also employ an experienced practicing licensee, called the EPL, with three years of licensed experience to generally oversee management, even though the owner needs no license. Unlicensed or unlawful practice can draw a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for a first violation and up to $20,000 for each additional violation. The New Jersey state hub maps the rest.

New Jersey hair salon licenses and costs at a glance

The table below pulls the state level costs into one place, from the Board fee rule at N.J.A.C. 13:28-5.1, the Board shop packet and DORES fee pages. Tuition, rent and local fees sit on top.

The cosmetologist hairstylist license, step by step

The cosmetologist hairstylist license is the broadest practicing license the Board issues. Its scope under N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1 covers shaving or trimming facial hair; shampooing, cutting, arranging, dressing, relaxing, curling, permanent waving and styling of the hair; all services included in hair braiding, making this the only practicing license whose scope expressly reaches every braiding service, including weaving; coloring and bleaching; applying cosmetic preparations and makeup to the hair, scalp, face or neck; massaging and cleansing the face, neck, upper chest and upper back; removing superfluous hair by depilatories, waxing or tweezers, but not electrolysis; manicuring, nail sculpturing and pedicuring; and fitting, coloring or styling wigs while worn.

The route has four steps. First, eligibility: every applicant must be at least 17 years of age and show proof of high school completion or an equivalent. Second, training: a 1,200 hour course of instruction in cosmetology and hairstyling at a Board licensed school. A student permit is available at half of the training completed, and a one time temporary permit, valid for 120 days, can cover the wait for the examination. Third, the examination: the written examinations are administered by Prometric, and the examination fee is $50, including the application fee. Fourth, the license: the initial fee is $90 in the first year of a renewal cycle or $45 in the second, and renewal is biennial at $90, with no continuing education hours attached.

Shampoo technicians are excepted from licensure. The prohibited practices list at N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.15(b) binds every licensee in the salon: no credo blades, skin scrapers or lancets, no eyebrow or eyelash tinting, no fish pedicures, no ear candling, no skin tag removal, no teeth whitening, no permanent cosmetic applications, no body piercing, and no service counted as medical, including laser hair removal and injections. Verify every license before the first shift.

The shop license: the full service cosmetology and hairstyling shop

The premises need their own license. Of the Board's six shop types, a full service hair salon takes the cosmetology and hairstyling shop license. Under N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.7A, a shop of this type may offer only its licensed services, the sale of merchandise, and ancillary beautification services governed by N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.10. That permission lets one premises sell hair services, nail services within the practitioners' scopes, waxing, makeup and a retail shelf under one roof. Pick the shop type that matches the full menu you intend to sell.

The Board's shop application packet (revised 11/25) prices a new shop at $350 in the first year of the licensing cycle or $250 in the second: the $150 application fee, including inspection, plus the initial license fee of $200 or $100. Biennial shop renewal is $200. The packet asks for: the lease or deed; LLC or corporation papers naming every owner and ownership percentage; the Tax ID form and Registration of Alternate Name (Form C-150G) for entities; the county clerk trade or shop name registration for sole proprietorships and partnerships; the final Certificate of Occupancy, zoning certificate and fire permit, or a municipal letter of compliance; the EPL's signed wall license and photo ID; and a floor plan drawn to scale, with services, proposed hours and a statement of approval from the municipal zoning or construction official, or a statement that approval is not required. The Board inspects, and no shop may operate until the Board reviews the inspection and issues the license. The same form covers relocation and transfer of ownership; on a transfer the new owner applies for a new license and, with the previous owner's permission, may use the former license for a maximum of two months. Alterations need advance Board approval.

The physical plant rules at N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.5 set the buildout floor. Premises must contain at least 350 square feet for one or two licensed operators working at two stations, plus 50 square feet for every additional operator or station. The minimum equipment is one lavatory with a toilet, hand washing facilities and a door; one shampoo basin with hot and cold running water and a reclining chair; a designated cleaning and disinfecting area; one ultrasonic unit; a clean, closed receptacle for sanitized implements at each station; closed containers for clean linens and for soiled linens; hair drying facilities; a dispensary; a permanent outside sign showing the trade name; and such other equipment as is necessary to provide the services offered in a safe and sanitary manner.

Under N.J.S.A. 45:5B-11, every shop shall employ at least one experienced practicing licensee to generally oversee management. For a full service shop, the EPL must be a cosmetologist hairstylist with three years of experience as a cosmetologist hairstylist. The Board FAQ adds that the owner need not hold a practicing license; the owner's duty is to hire that manager and apply for the shop license. Budget the EPL hire into the opening plan. A shop in a home is permitted with municipal zoning permission and a shop license.

Registering the business: forming your LLC

Most New Jersey salon owners form a limited liability company so business debts stay with the business instead of following them home. Formation runs through the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, known as DORES, in the Department of the Treasury. You file a Certificate of Formation, the Public Records Filing for New Business Entity, for $100 for all for profit entities. That figure is current: the fee was $125 before July 1, 2026, and older state PDFs still print the old number. DORES sequences the filings this way: obtain an EIN from the IRS, file the certificate of formation, then file the tax and employer registration on Form NJ-REG.

Every LLC files an annual report with DORES at $75, due on the last day of the month in which the LLC was formed, each year. Missing two consecutive annual reports can move a domestic LLC's certificate to the inactive list, which complicates banking, leasing and licensing until cured. The shop packet asks for the LLC papers naming every owner and percentage of ownership, so keep the formation documents and report receipts with the shop license file.

Business name rules: alternate names and trade names

New Jersey splits name registration by entity type, and the shop packet asks for the matching proof. A corporation, LLC or limited partnership that transacts business under a name other than its legal name registers an alternate name with DORES on Form C-150G, the Registration of Alternate Name. The fee is $50, the registration is effective for five years, and it renews for successive five year periods on Form C-150R, also $50. A copy of the registration belongs inside the shop license packet.

Sole proprietors and general partnerships take the county route. Under N.J.S.A. 56:1-2, no person may conduct business under an assumed name unless a sworn Trade Name Certificate is filed with the clerk of each county of operation, with a duplicate for the Secretary of State. The certificate sets out the business name and the true names and post office addresses of the persons conducting the business. Under N.J.S.A. 56:1-3, the county clerk and the Secretary of State each receive $5.00 for filing and indexing; the clerk collects both fees and forwards the duplicate. Counties add recording charges on top of the statutory $10, so totals vary by county; the Morris County Clerk's trade name page lists $52 as one county example.

EIN and tax registration on Form NJ-REG

Your EIN is the business's federal tax ID, issued free by the IRS. You need one to hire employees, open most business bank accounts and file business taxes. Apply directly through the IRS; ignore any site that charges for one. DORES places the EIN step at the front of its registration sequence, because the filings that follow reference it.

The state registration is Form NJ-REG, the tax and employer registration form filed with DORES after formation. One filing registers the business for tax purposes and opens the employer accounts the hiring section depends on, including unemployment insurance and withholding. Retail sellers also hold, through this registration, their authority to collect sales tax. The entity exists once the certificate is filed, but it can collect tax and run payroll only once NJ-REG is in.

Sales tax: retail products are taxed, hair services are not

New Jersey's sales tax rate is 6.625 percent. Under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3(a), the tax applies to receipts from every retail sale of tangible personal property, so the products your clients take home are taxable. Services are different: under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3(b), tax applies only to an enumerated list of services. The beauty adjacent entries are tanning services; massage, bodywork or somatic services, except when provided pursuant to a doctor's prescription; and tattooing, including permanent cosmetic makeup applications, again with an exception for services provided pursuant to a doctor's prescription in conjunction with reconstructive breast surgery.

Hairdressing, skin care, manicuring and the other cosmetology services are not on that list, so the service charge carries no sales tax in a New Jersey hair salon: services rung up clean, retail rung up with tax. One caution: a true massage service sold in New Jersey is taxable unless a doctor prescribed it, and massage belongs to a separate licensing board, as the New Jersey massage guide explains. Configure the point of sale system to itemize services and products separately before the first client.

Booth rent and working for yourself: the chair and booth rental license

Booth rental changed in 2023, and older references still get it wrong. The older rule text at N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.8, as published through June 2025, still prints the former prohibition, but the 2023 amendments to the Cosmetology and Hairstyling Act created a chair and booth rental license. The Board's current FAQ, applications page and the statute at N.J.S.A. 45:5B-6(d) govern today, and the Board lists the rental application online.

The Board FAQ requirements form a clean checklist. The applicant must hold a practicing license in good standing as a cosmetologist, beautician, barber, skin care specialist or manicurist. A copy of the written contract between the licensee and the licensed shop owner must be submitted to the Board. The applicant applies online and pays the application fee, and the chair or booth must pass inspection before the renter can practice in it; Board staff call within about a week to schedule the inspection, typically within 2 to 5 weeks. The license renews biennially, and moving salons requires a new application, inspection and license number.

A chair or booth renter is an independent contractor and cannot be classified as an employee of the salon; the shop has no right to control the methodology the renter uses. The renter does not need to be an EPL, and may not offer services beyond the scope of services the shop owner is licensed to provide, so the menu is capped by both the renter's license and the shop type. A building of small individual shops is a different model, covered in the New Jersey salon suite guide as mini-suite shops.

Hiring employees: wages, unemployment and quarterly reports

The first hire turns on the employer stack that Form NJ-REG started. From January 1, 2026, the minimum wage is $15.92 per hour for most employees, set by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Employees of seasonal and small employers sit on a phase in schedule at $15.23 on January 1, 2026, rising through 2028. The tipped rule belongs in the handbook: the minimum cash wage for tipped workers is $6.05 per hour with a maximum tip credit of $9.87, and if cash wage plus tips does not reach the full minimum wage, the employer pays the difference.

Unemployment insurance runs on a fiscal year, July 1 to June 30. New employers are assigned new employer rates for the first three calendar years, after which an experience rate applies. The new employer rate is 2.8 percent combined (2.6825 unemployment insurance plus 0.1175 workforce funds) plus 0.5 percent employer disability insurance, on the first $44,800 of wages per worker in 2026. Quarterly reports on Forms NJ-927 and WR-30 must be received no later than the 30th day of the month after the quarter closes: April 30, July 30, October 30 and January 30, with no extensions for weekends or holidays.

City and county rules: zoning, occupancy and permits

State licenses do not guarantee that your address is legal for salon use, and New Jersey builds the municipal layer into the state filing. The shop packet requires the final Certificate of Occupancy, the zoning certificate and the fire permit, or a municipal letter of compliance, together with a statement of approval from the municipal planning, zoning or construction official, or a statement that approval is not required. A lease signed before zoning is confirmed can strand a buildout the Board will never license at that address.

The county layer is the trade name filing covered earlier, filed with the county clerk of each county of operation. The home based route runs through this layer: a shop in a home is permitted with municipal zoning permission and a shop license, so the zoning conversation decides whether a residential salon can exist at all. Municipalities also control signage, parking and occupancy under their own ordinances. Sequence it: zoning first, lease second, buildout third, then the shop packet.

Insurance and startup costs

The Board's shop rules do not set an insurance schedule for cosmetology shops, so coverage is a business and landlord decision. Salon owners typically shop for general liability coverage, professional liability coverage for the services performed, and property coverage for the buildout, stations, dryers and retail inventory. Premiums vary widely with town, menu and team size, so this guide does not quote benchmark prices. Get quotes before signing, because many landlords require proof of coverage.

The predictable state costs are small next to the lease and buildout: $350 or $250 to file the shop, $100 to form the LLC, $75 a year for the annual report, $50 for an alternate name if you trade under one, $90 biennial renewals per stylist and $200 for the shop. The expensive mistakes are almost never the state fees. They are the lease signed before zoning was checked, the opening delayed because the EPL hire came last, and the stylist put behind a chair before their license was verified.

The New Jersey renewal calendar

Individual licenses and shop licenses run on a biennial cycle, and the renewal mechanics at N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1 matter most. The Board sends a renewal notice at least 60 days before expiration, and the application and fee must be remitted before expiration. No continuing education hours attach to cosmetology renewal.

• Every two years: each cosmetologist hairstylist license renews at $90, and the shop license renews at $200. The Board sends renewal notices at least 60 days before expiration; file before the expiration date
• Within 30 days after expiration: a late renewal is still possible with the $30 late fee added
• After 30 days past expiration: the license is suspended without a hearing, and working on a suspended license is unauthorized practice. Reinstatement requires the renewal application, all past delinquent renewal fees, the $50 reinstatement fee, and an affidavit of employment listing each job held during the suspension
• Chair and booth rental licenses renew biennially; a renter who moves salons files a new application, passes a new inspection and receives a new license number
• Every year: the LLC annual report is due to DORES on the last day of the formation month, at $75. Two consecutive missed reports can move the LLC to the inactive list
• Every 5 years: an alternate name registration on Form C-150G renews on Form C-150R at $50
• Every quarter: employer reports on Forms NJ-927 and WR-30 are due April 30, July 30, October 30 and January 30, with no extensions for weekends or holidays
• As needed: a duplicate license costs $50, and a change of name or corporate status costs $50

Official New Jersey sources

Every fee, hour count and rule in this guide traces to an official source below. Unverified figures are left out, not estimated.

• Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, licensing requirements: eligibility, training hours and the examination route for each practicing license
• N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1: the scopes of practice and the renewal, late fee and reinstatement mechanics
• N.J.A.C. 13:28-5.1: the Board fee schedule, from the $50 examination fee to the $200 shop renewal
• Board shop application packet: the $350 or $250 new shop filing, the document checklist and the physical plant requirements
• Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, FAQ: shop ownership, the experienced practicing licensee, home shops, penalties and the rental license
• N.J.S.A. 45:5B-11: the statute requiring every shop to employ an experienced practicing licensee
• DORES, Getting Registered: the formation sequence, the $100 Certificate of Formation and Form NJ-REG
• DORES, Registry Fee Schedules: state filing fees for certificates, annual reports and name registrations
• N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3: the 6.625 percent sales tax and the enumerated list of taxable services
• Department of Labor and Workforce Development, minimum wage release: the January 1, 2026 wage rates and the tipped cash wage
• Department of Labor and Workforce Development, employer rate information: new employer rates and the quarterly report dates

This guide is general information researched from official New Jersey 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

How many hours of training does a New Jersey cosmetologist hairstylist need?

A cosmetologist hairstylist completes a 1,200 hour course of instruction in cosmetology and hairstyling. Every practicing license applicant must be at least 17 years old, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and pass the Board examination, with written examinations administered by Prometric. The examination fee is $50 including the application fee, the initial license is $90 in the first year of the cycle or $45 in the second, and biennial renewal is $90.

How much does it cost to license a hair salon in New Jersey?

A new shop filing costs $350 in the first year of the licensing cycle or $250 in the second year. That total is the $150 application fee, which includes the shop inspection, plus the initial license fee of $200 in the first year or $100 in the second. Biennial shop renewal is $200. The Board inspects the premises before operating, and no shop may operate until the Board reviews the inspection and issues the license.

Do I need a cosmetology license to own a hair salon in New Jersey?

No. The shop owner is not required to hold a practicing license. The owner's duties are to apply for the shop license and to employ at least one experienced practicing licensee, a cosmetologist hairstylist with three years of licensed experience, to generally oversee the management of the shop. Every person who provides services in the salon still needs their own practicing license for the services they perform.

Can stylists rent a booth in my New Jersey salon?

Yes, under the chair and booth rental license created by a 2023 law. The renter must hold a practicing license in good standing, submit the written contract with the shop owner to the Board, apply online, and have the chair or booth inspected before working in it. The license renews biennially, and moving to a different salon requires a new application, a new inspection and a new license number. The renter works as an independent contractor, and the shop may not control the methods the renter uses.

Are haircuts subject to sales tax in New Jersey?

No. New Jersey taxes services only when the sales tax statute lists them, and hair services are not on that list. Retail products you sell for clients to take home are taxable at the 6.625 percent state rate. The listed beauty adjacent services that are taxed are tanning, massage unless a doctor prescribes it, and tattooing including permanent cosmetics, again with a doctor prescription exception tied to reconstructive breast surgery.