West Virginia home and mobile salon rules

Can you run a salon from your home in West Virginia?

Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in West Virginia if it has a separate entrance and accessible restrooms, and its shop and living corridors are kept separate. Below: what a home salon needs, mobile salons (allowed) and house calls (allowed), each answered from West Virginia'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
2 listed

Licensed by the West Virginia State Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists.The board's site Salon license feesThe state's own words

Home salons

Can you have a salon in your home in West Virginia?

Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in West Virginia if it has a separate entrance and accessible restrooms, and its shop and living corridors are kept separate.

Salon in your home
Allowed
License it needs
Shop license
State fee
$90

What a home salon needs

  • Separate entrance for the in-home salon

    “IN-HOME SALONS must have separate entrance,” agencies.wvsto.com

  • Accessible restrooms, with the shop and living corridors kept separate

    “accessible restrooms, the shop and living corridors must be separate by a solid” agencies.wvsto.com

West Virginia is one of 47 states whose official pages allow a salon in your home.

Mobile salons

Do you need a mobile salon license in West Virginia?

Yes: mobile salons are allowed, with a license. A mobile salon in West Virginia needs its own mobile shop license, and the board must be notified at least 20 days before it opens so it can be inspected.

Mobile salon
Allowed
License it needs
Mobile shop license

What a mobile salon needs

  • Written notice to the board at least 20 days before opening, so the mobile shop can be inspected

    “Notify the board, in writing, at least 20 days before the proposed opening date, so there can be an inspection of the mobile shop” code.wvlegislature.gov

  • A board-approved electronic device that transmits the shop's location and call sign at all times it is open

    “Every mobile shop shall be equipped with an electronic device, approved by the board, capable of transmitting its location” code.wvlegislature.gov

  • A copy of any regular visiting schedule given to the board, with changes reported within five days

    “If the mobile shop visits identified locations on a regular schedule, the managing licensee shall provide a copy of the schedule to the board” code.wvlegislature.gov

  • A self-contained potable water supply of at least 100 gallons, with adequate wastewater tanks

    “A self-contained, potable water supply of not less than 100 gallons, and waste water collection tanks shall be of adequate capacity” code.wvlegislature.gov

  • On-demand hot water tank of at least six gallons

    “Continuous, on-demand hot water tanks which shall have not less than a six-gallon capacity” code.wvlegislature.gov

West Virginia is one of 39 states whose official pages allow a mobile salon.

House calls

Can you do services at a client's home in West Virginia?

Yes, on conditions. Licensed makeup artists may work at temporary on-site events such as weddings if they meet all other board requirements.

The rule and West Virginia's own words, on the makeup artist page for West Virginia.

Good to know

What else West Virginia asks

  • The shop opening application requires an electrical certification that the wiring is adequate for the facility, from a licensed electrician.
  • Mobile shop licenses must be renewed every year on or before July 1, with a renewal fee.
  • The mobile shop license must be permanently displayed inside the mobile shop.

Sources

What West Virginia's official pages say

Each answer above, in the words of West Virginia'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 West Virginia State Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists and your local zoning office before you open.

Home salons
“IN-HOME SALONS must have separate entrance,”
agencies.wvsto.com
“SHOP OPENING AND LICENSE APPLICATION”
agencies.wvsto.com
“APPLICATION FEE $90.00”
agencies.wvsto.com
“accessible restrooms, the shop and living corridors must be separate by a solid”
agencies.wvsto.com
Mobile salons
“to acquire a mobile shop license to do business”
code.wvlegislature.gov
“Notify the board, in writing, at least 20 days before the proposed opening date, so there can be an inspection of the mobile shop”
code.wvlegislature.gov
“Every mobile shop shall be equipped with an electronic device, approved by the board, capable of transmitting its location”
code.wvlegislature.gov
“If the mobile shop visits identified locations on a regular schedule, the managing licensee shall provide a copy of the schedule to the board”
code.wvlegislature.gov
“A self-contained, potable water supply of not less than 100 gallons, and waste water collection tanks shall be of adequate capacity”
code.wvlegislature.gov
“Continuous, on-demand hot water tanks which shall have not less than a six-gallon capacity”
code.wvlegislature.gov
Also good to know
“Please enter the information of the licensed electrician that certified the electrical wiring within the salon/shop named above is adequate to the proposed usage of the facility.”
agencies.wvsto.com
Also good to know
“All mobile shop licenses must be renewed annually on or before July 1 and pay a renewal fee.”
code.wvlegislature.gov
Also good to know
“The mobile shop license shall be permanently displayed in the mobile shop”
code.wvlegislature.gov

Questions

West Virginia home and mobile salons, answered

Can you have a salon in your home in West Virginia?
Yes, with conditions. A salon in your home can be licensed in West Virginia if it has a separate entrance and accessible restrooms, and its shop and living corridors are kept separate.
What are the home salon requirements in West Virginia?
West Virginia's official pages set these: separate entrance for the in-home salon; accessible restrooms, with the shop and living corridors kept separate.
Do you need a mobile salon license in West Virginia?
Yes: mobile salons are allowed, with a license. A mobile salon in West Virginia needs its own mobile shop license, and the board must be notified at least 20 days before it opens so it can be inspected.
Can you do house calls in West Virginia?
Yes, on conditions. Licensed makeup artists may work at temporary on-site events such as weddings if they meet all other board requirements.
What else do you need to open a salon in West Virginia?
A license for your own work and, in most states, a license for the salon as a business. See what West Virginia requires to open a salon, with its fees and inspection rules.

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