Alabama home and mobile salon rules
Can you run a salon from your home in Alabama?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in a residence can be run as a shop in Alabama if it is separated from the living quarters by a permanent, finished, ceiling-high partition and has its own shop entrance and a toilet with a separate entrance. Below: what a home salon needs, mobile salons (allowed) and house calls (allowed), each answered from Alabama's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 31, 2026, with the state's own words.
- Salon in your home
- Allowed
- Mobile salon
- Allowed
- House calls
- Allowed
Licensed by the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering.The board's site Salon license feesThe state's own words
Home salons
Can you have a salon in your home in Alabama?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in a residence can be run as a shop in Alabama if it is separated from the living quarters by a permanent, finished, ceiling-high partition and has its own shop entrance and a toilet with a separate entrance.
- Salon in your home
- Allowed
- License it needs
- Shop license
- State fee
- $200
What a home salon needs
Its own shop entrance, separate from the living quarters entrance
“A separate shop entrance from living quarters entrance and a toilet/lavatory facility with a separate entrance” aboc.alabama.gov
Separated from the living quarters by a permanent, finished, ceiling-high partition
“permanent, finished, ceiling-high partition.” aboc.alabama.gov
A toilet or lavatory with a separate entrance from the living quarters, meeting the shop toilet standard
“Toilet/lavatory must comply with requirements of Section 250-X-3-.01(7).” admincode.legislature.state.al.us
Alabama is one of 47 states whose official pages allow a salon in your home.
Mobile salons
Do you need a mobile salon license in Alabama?
Yes: mobile salons are allowed, with a license. A mobile salon needs its own Board license, a permanent base address, a self-contained water supply and toilet, and must be legally parked and stationary while it serves customers.
- Mobile salon
- Allowed
- License it needs
- License to Operate a Mobile Salon
- State fee
- $200
What a mobile salon needs
Registered, inspected, and approved by the Board before it operates
“A mobile salon must be registered, inspected, and approved by the Board before it can be operated as a mobile salon.” aboc.alabama.gov
A permanent base address from which the salon operates
“A mobile salon must have a permanent base address from which the mobile salon shall operate.” aboc.alabama.gov
A self-contained potable water supply
“A mobile salon must have a self-contained, potable water supply.” aboc.alabama.gov
A self-contained, recirculating, flush chemical toilet with a holding tank
“A mobile salon must have a self-contained, recirculating, flush chemical toilet with holding tank.” aboc.alabama.gov
Legally parked in a fixed position and fully stationary when rendering services
“The mobile salon shall be legally parked in a fixed position and fully stationary (not in motion) when rendering services to customers;” aboc.alabama.gov
No services while the salon is in motion
“No services may be performed outside the mobile salon or while it is in motion.” aboc.alabama.gov
Alabama is one of 39 states whose official pages allow a mobile salon.
House calls
Can you do services at a client's home in Alabama?
Yes, on conditions. Licensed services may be done outside a licensed salon only when the client is ill or incapacitated, the licensee works for a licensed shop, and the appointment is made through that shop.
The rule and Alabama's own words, on the makeup artist page for Alabama.
Good to know
What else Alabama asks
- A mobile salon must obtain city or town permits for each place it provides services.
- A mobile salon may not be used as a residence or for any purpose other than cosmetology or barbering services.
- The application must be in the Board's office before the shop opens.
Sources
What Alabama's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of Alabama's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 31, 2026. Your city or county may add its own rules for a home business: confirm with the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering and your local zoning office before you open.
- Home salons
“A shop may be located in a residence where not prohibited by any governing authority.”
aboc.alabama.gov “APPLICATION FOR NEW SHOP”
aboc.alabama.gov “Include a business check, cashier's check, or money order (no personal checks) in the amount of $200.”
aboc.alabama.gov “A separate shop entrance from living quarters entrance and a toilet/lavatory facility with a separate entrance”
aboc.alabama.gov “permanent, finished, ceiling-high partition.”
aboc.alabama.gov “Toilet/lavatory must comply with requirements of Section 250-X-3-.01(7).”
admincode.legislature.state.al.us - Mobile salons
“the board may issue a license for the operation of a mobile salon”
aboc.alabama.gov “APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO OPERATE A MOBILE SALON”
aboc.alabama.gov “Montgomery, AL 36130-1750, for $200.00.”
aboc.alabama.gov “A mobile salon must be registered, inspected, and approved by the Board before it can be operated as a mobile salon.”
aboc.alabama.gov “A mobile salon must have a permanent base address from which the mobile salon shall operate.”
aboc.alabama.gov “A mobile salon must have a self-contained, potable water supply.”
aboc.alabama.gov “A mobile salon must have a self-contained, recirculating, flush chemical toilet with holding tank.”
aboc.alabama.gov “The mobile salon shall be legally parked in a fixed position and fully stationary (not in motion) when rendering services to customers;”
aboc.alabama.gov “No services may be performed outside the mobile salon or while it is in motion.”
aboc.alabama.gov - Also good to know
“A mobile salon shall obtain applicable local licenses or permits to provide mobile services in each city or town.”
aboc.alabama.gov - Also good to know
“A mobile salon may not be used as a residence or for any other purpose besides providing cosmetology or barbering services.”
aboc.alabama.gov - Also good to know
“This application must be in the office before the shop opens.”
aboc.alabama.gov
Questions
Alabama home and mobile salons, answered
Can you have a salon in your home in Alabama?
What are the home salon requirements in Alabama?
Do you need a mobile salon license in Alabama?
Can you do house calls in Alabama?
What else do you need to open a salon in Alabama?
Plan the rest
Ready to open your doors
- What Alabama requires to license a salon, with its fees
- What Alabama inspectors check in a salon
- Hours and fees for each Alabama cosmetology license
- Sales tax on salon services in Alabama
Home and mobile salon rules in other states
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