Minnesota home and mobile salon rules
Can you run a salon from your home in Minnesota?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in Minnesota if the salon space is never used for residential purposes, is closed off from the living areas by a permanent floor-to-ceiling partition, and all services are given inside that space. Below: what a home salon needs, mobile salons (allowed) and house calls (allowed), each answered from Minnesota'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 Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners.The board's site Salon license feesThe state's own words
Home salons
Can you have a salon in your home in Minnesota?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in Minnesota if the salon space is never used for residential purposes, is closed off from the living areas by a permanent floor-to-ceiling partition, and all services are given inside that space.
- Salon in your home
- Allowed
- License it needs
- Salon license
- State fee
- $350
What a home salon needs
The salon space must never be used for residential purposes
“The salon space must not be used for any residential purposes at any time.” revisor.mn.gov
A permanent, solid partition from floor to ceiling separates the salon from residential areas, and any door between them stays closed
“There must be a permanent, solid partition from floor to ceiling between the salon and the residential areas, and any door in between them must be kept closed at all times.” revisor.mn.gov
All cosmetology services must be given inside the salon space
“All cosmetology services must be provided in the salon space.” revisor.mn.gov
If the salon has no restroom, licensees and customers must have access to the residential bathroom, and medications and hazardous substances there must be kept in locked cupboards
“If the salon space does not include a restroom, licensees and customers must have access to the residential bathroom. All medications and hazardous substances in the residential bathroom must be kept in locked cupboards.” revisor.mn.gov
Laundry tubs may not be used as shampoo bowls
“Laundry tubs must not be used as shampoo bowls.” revisor.mn.gov
A board inspector must be allowed into the salon space when the owner is home during a visit, even if the salon is closed
“If the salon owner or DLSM is at the home when a board inspector visits, the board inspector must be allowed access to the salon space for the purposes of an inspection, even if the salon is not open for business at the time of the inspection visit.” revisor.mn.gov
Minnesota is one of 47 states whose official pages allow a salon in your home.
Mobile salons
Do you need a mobile salon license in Minnesota?
Yes: mobile salons are allowed, with a license. A mobile salon must be licensed as a mobile salon, the license covers one specific vehicle or structure and cannot be moved to another, and all services must be given inside it while it is parked with the engine off.
- Mobile salon
- Allowed
- License it needs
- Salon license for a mobile salon
- State fee
- $350
What a mobile salon needs
The license is tied to one specific vehicle or structure and cannot be transferred to another
“A salon license is valid for a specific vehicle or mobile structure and must not be transferred to a different vehicle or mobile structure.” revisor.mn.gov
All services must be given inside the vehicle or structure
“All services must be provided inside the interior of the vehicle or structure.” revisor.mn.gov
A self-contained potable water supply in gauged holding tanks
“The mobile salon must have a self-contained, potable water supply in holding tanks with gauges indicating the levels in the tanks and reserve capabilities.” revisor.mn.gov
Wastewater or gray water tank at least 15 percent larger than the water tank
“The mobile salon must have a wastewater tank or gray water tank capacity 15 percent larger than the water supply holding tank.” revisor.mn.gov
Services only while parked with the engine off, stable and leveled, with at least two wheel chocks in use
“Services must not be provided unless the mobile salon is parked with the engine off, stable, and leveled.” revisor.mn.gov
A working restroom inside the salon with a hand sink, potable water, and a flush chemical toilet or composting toilet
“A mobile salon must have a restroom in operating condition inside the mobile salon that includes an installed hand sink with potable water, soap, single-use towels, and a self-contained, recirculating, flush chemical toilet with a holding tank or properly maintained composting toilet.” revisor.mn.gov
Minnesota is one of 39 states whose official pages allow a mobile salon.
House calls
Can you do services at a client's home in Minnesota?
Yes, on conditions. Licensed makeup work outside a salon needs a special event permit for events or a homebound service permit for homebound clients.
The rule and Minnesota's own words, on the makeup artist page for Minnesota.
Good to know
What else Minnesota asks
- A mobile salon must follow city, township and county ordinances on wastewater disposal, and the owner must check the rules in each place the salon operates
- A mobile salon's license application must give the address where the salon is parked when not in service
Sources
What Minnesota's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of Minnesota'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 Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners and your local zoning office before you open.
- Home salons
“Salons may be established in private residences if the conditions in items A to G are met.”
revisor.mn.gov “(4) $350 initial salon license, divided as follows:”
revisor.mn.gov “The salon space must not be used for any residential purposes at any time.”
revisor.mn.gov “There must be a permanent, solid partition from floor to ceiling between the salon and the residential areas, and any door in between them must be kept closed at all times.”
revisor.mn.gov “All cosmetology services must be provided in the salon space.”
revisor.mn.gov “If the salon space does not include a restroom, licensees and customers must have access to the residential bathroom. All medications and hazardous substances in the residential bathroom must be kept in locked cupboards.”
revisor.mn.gov “Laundry tubs must not be used as shampoo bowls.”
revisor.mn.gov “If the salon owner or DLSM is at the home when a board inspector visits, the board inspector must be allowed access to the salon space for the purposes of an inspection, even if the salon is not open for business at the time of the inspection visit.”
revisor.mn.gov - Mobile salons
“A salon located in a mobile vehicle or mobile structure must be licensed as a mobile salon.”
revisor.mn.gov “(4) $350 initial salon license, divided as follows:”
revisor.mn.gov “A salon license is valid for a specific vehicle or mobile structure and must not be transferred to a different vehicle or mobile structure.”
revisor.mn.gov “All services must be provided inside the interior of the vehicle or structure.”
revisor.mn.gov “The mobile salon must have a self-contained, potable water supply in holding tanks with gauges indicating the levels in the tanks and reserve capabilities.”
revisor.mn.gov “The mobile salon must have a wastewater tank or gray water tank capacity 15 percent larger than the water supply holding tank.”
revisor.mn.gov “Services must not be provided unless the mobile salon is parked with the engine off, stable, and leveled.”
revisor.mn.gov “A mobile salon must have a restroom in operating condition inside the mobile salon that includes an installed hand sink with potable water, soap, single-use towels, and a self-contained, recirculating, flush chemical toilet with a holding tank or properly maintained composting toilet.”
revisor.mn.gov - Also good to know
“The mobile salon must comply with all city, township, and county ordinances regarding wastewater disposal”
revisor.mn.gov - Also good to know
“the address of the physical location where the mobile salon is parked when not in service”
revisor.mn.gov
Questions
Minnesota home and mobile salons, answered
Can you have a salon in your home in Minnesota?
What are the home salon requirements in Minnesota?
Do you need a mobile salon license in Minnesota?
Can you do house calls in Minnesota?
What else do you need to open a salon in Minnesota?
Plan the rest
Ready to open your doors
- What Minnesota requires to license a salon, with its fees
- What Minnesota inspectors check in a salon
- Hours and fees for each Minnesota cosmetology license
- Sales tax on salon services in Minnesota
Home and mobile salon rules in other states
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