Delaware home and mobile salon rules
Can you run a salon from your home in Delaware?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in Delaware if it is separate from the living quarters, has its own entrance, and fully complies with the health regulations and the cosmetology law. Below: what a home salon needs, mobile salons (allowed) and house calls (allowed), each answered from Delaware'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
- Home salon rules
- 1 listed
Licensed by the Delaware 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 Delaware?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in Delaware if it is separate from the living quarters, has its own entrance, and fully complies with the health regulations and the cosmetology law.
- Salon in your home
- Allowed
- License it needs
- Cosmetology/Barbering Establishment or Shop
What a home salon needs
Separate from the living quarters, with its own entrance
“Residential licensed facilities shall be separate from living quarters and have their own entrance.” archive.regulations.delaware.gov
Delaware is one of 47 states whose official pages allow a salon in your home.
Mobile salons
Do you need a mobile salon license in Delaware?
Yes: mobile salons are allowed, with a license. A mobile salon needs its own professional license, a self-contained water supply and wastewater disposal, and a written agreement with a fixed salon if it uses one as its servicing base; services must be done while the unit is parked.
- Mobile salon
- Allowed
- License it needs
- Mobile Salon/Shop
What a mobile salon needs
A self-contained potable water supply, with portable water tanks of at least 100 gallons
“Shall possess a self-contained, potable water supply. The portable water tanks shall be not less than 100 gallons and the holding tanks shall be of adequate capacity.” archive.regulations.delaware.gov
Grey and black water disposed of at a DNREC-approved discharge station
“The grey and black water discharge shall be disposed of at a Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control approved Discharge Station.” archive.regulations.delaware.gov
A permanent physical address the unit is dispatched from and returned to, if it is not based at the business address
“In the event that the mobile unit are not located at the permanent business address, a permanent physical address from which the mobile unit is dispatched and to which the mobile unit is returned when not in use. A post office box is not acceptable.” regulations.delaware.gov
Salon name and license number lettered at least 5 inches high on at least 2 exterior sides
“The salon name and license number shall be in lettering at least 5 inches in height and shall be visibly displayed and clearly legible on at least 2 exterior sides of each mobile salon.” regulations.delaware.gov
No services in a moving vehicle; services only while parked in a safe, accessible, legal spot
“No service may be performed on a client in a moving vehicle. Services shall be performed in a mobile salon that is parked in a safe, accessible, and legal parking spot.” regulations.delaware.gov
A written letter agreement with a fixed salon used as the servicing area, unless the Board approves otherwise
“Unless otherwise approved by the Board of Cosmetology the operator of the mobile unit shall have a written letter agreement with the license holder of the salon to use such premises as a servicing area.” archive.regulations.delaware.gov
Delaware is one of 39 states whose official pages allow a mobile salon.
House calls
Can you do services at a client's home in Delaware?
Yes, on conditions. Licensed work may be done away from a salon only for listed groups, such as a person with a disability at home, and a licensed shop must sponsor it and keep records; weddings and events are not on the list.
The rule and Delaware's own words, on the makeup artist page for Delaware.
Good to know
What else Delaware asks
- A business license from the Division of Revenue is required for each salon or shop, in addition to the professional license.
- No inspection takes place before a mobile salon opens.
- The mobile salon's professional license must be displayed prominently inside the salon.
Sources
What Delaware's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of Delaware'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 Delaware Board of Cosmetology and Barbering and your local zoning office before you open.
- Home salons
“Nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent a person from operating a licensed cosmetology shop in the person’s home, provided there is full compliance with all applicable health regulations and this chapter.”
delcode.delaware.gov “Residential licensed facilities shall be separate from living quarters and have their own entrance.”
archive.regulations.delaware.gov “operating a licensed cosmetology shop in the person’s home”
delcode.delaware.gov “Cosmetology/Barbering Establishment”
dpr.delaware.gov - Mobile salons
““Mobile salon” means a cosmetology shop in a self-contained facility that may be moved, towed or transported from one location to another and in which cosmetology, barbering, electrology, nail technology or aesthetics is practiced.”
regulations.delaware.gov “for each mobile salon or shop you operate in Delaware.”
dpr.delaware.gov “Mobile Salon/Shop”
dpr.delaware.gov “Shall possess a self-contained, potable water supply. The portable water tanks shall be not less than 100 gallons and the holding tanks shall be of adequate capacity.”
archive.regulations.delaware.gov “The grey and black water discharge shall be disposed of at a Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control approved Discharge Station.”
archive.regulations.delaware.gov “In the event that the mobile unit are not located at the permanent business address, a permanent physical address from which the mobile unit is dispatched and to which the mobile unit is returned when not in use. A post office box is not acceptable.”
regulations.delaware.gov “The salon name and license number shall be in lettering at least 5 inches in height and shall be visibly displayed and clearly legible on at least 2 exterior sides of each mobile salon.”
regulations.delaware.gov “No service may be performed on a client in a moving vehicle. Services shall be performed in a mobile salon that is parked in a safe, accessible, and legal parking spot.”
regulations.delaware.gov “Unless otherwise approved by the Board of Cosmetology the operator of the mobile unit shall have a written letter agreement with the license holder of the salon to use such premises as a servicing area.”
archive.regulations.delaware.gov - Also good to know
“In addition to the professional license, you must obtain a business license from the Division of Revenue for each salon or shop you operate.”
dpr.delaware.gov - Also good to know
“No inspection takes place before the mobile salon/shop opens.”
dpr.delaware.gov - Also good to know
“The mobile salon’s professional license shall be prominently displayed in the interior of the salon.”
regulations.delaware.gov
Questions
Delaware home and mobile salons, answered
Can you have a salon in your home in Delaware?
What are the home salon requirements in Delaware?
Do you need a mobile salon license in Delaware?
Can you do house calls in Delaware?
What else do you need to open a salon in Delaware?
Plan the rest
Ready to open your doors
- What Delaware requires to license a salon, with its fees
- What Delaware inspectors check in a salon
- Hours and fees for each Delaware cosmetology license
- Sales tax on salon services in Delaware
Home and mobile salon rules in other states
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