Indiana salon licensing

How to get a salon license in Indiana

To open a salon in Indiana you need a Beauty Culture Salon License for the business, issued by the Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners, on top of the license each stylist or technician holds. It costs $40 to the state and is renewed every 4 years for $40. Every fact below is quoted from the state's own pages, read on October 17, 2026.

Licensed by: Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners
Business license: Beauty Culture Salon License
New salon fee: $40
Renewal: Every 4 years, $40
Inspection before opening: Not stated
Owner must hold a license: Not stated
Booth renters need a license: No
Barbershops: Own license: Barber shop license

Licensed by the Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners.How to apply License lookup The state's own words

Step by step

Opening a salon in Indiana

1
Make sure everyone who will do services is licensed. The salon license covers the business; each stylist, barber, nail technician or esthetician needs an Indiana license of their own, which you can check in the state's license lookup. The Indiana cosmetology, barber, nail and esthetician licenses page lists each one's training hours, fees and renewal.
2
Put a licensed person in charge. The salon must be under the personal supervision of a licensed beauty culture professional.
3
Apply for the Beauty Culture Salon License with the Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (application), paying $40 to the state. Apply before you open: the business needs its own license to operate.
4
Put the renewal in your calendar. The salon license is renewed every 4 years for $40.
5
Then the local paperwork (general advice, not from the board). Register the business with the state, get a city or county business license where one is required, and check zoning and the building permits for your build-out with the city before you sign a lease.

These are the license steps. The full opening checklist for Indiana puts them in order with everything else a new salon needs: registering the business, taxes, insurance, hiring and getting booked before you open. For the inspection itself, the Indiana salon inspection checklist lists every sanitation rule an inspector checks.

Indiana's $40 for a new salon is below the middle of the 46 states with a published fee, $123.

Good to know

What else Indiana asks of a salon

Temporary permits are issued on receipt of a complete application and are valid for three months, so the salon must be ready to operate when it applies.
If the salon shares a building with a residence, the salon must be separated from the residence by a substantial floor-to-ceiling partition and have a separate entry.
The salon must display a sign at the main public entrance that complies with the board's standards and states that it is a licensed beauty culture salon.

Sources

What Indiana's official pages say

Each fact above, in the words of the Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners's own pages, rules or statutes, read on October 17, 2026. Fees and rules change: confirm with the board before you apply.

The salon license: “APPLICATION FOR BEAUTY CULTURE SALON LICENSE”
forms.in.gov
Fees for a new salon: “The fee for this application is $40.00, payable to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency”
forms.in.gov
“Beauty Culture Salon/Mobile Salon | $40.00”
in.gov
“(7) Cosmetology salon: $40”
secure.in.gov
Renewal: “expires four (4) years after the initial expiration date”
secure.in.gov
“The board shall charge and collect the following renewal fees every four (4) years for licenses: (1) Cosmetologist: $40 (2) Electrologist: $40 (3) Esthetician: $40 (4) Manicurist: $40 (5) Beauty culture instructor: $40 (6) Cosmetology school: $400 (7) Cosmetology salon: $40”
secure.in.gov
Person in charge: “The beauty culture salon must be under the personal supervision of a person who is licensed as a beauty culture professional.”
in.gov
Barbershops: “for a barber shop must state, in prominent type on the license”
secure.in.gov
“(3) Barber shop license: $40 (4) Barber school license: $300”
secure.in.gov
Booth renters: “The board may not require a beauty culture professional to obtain a license under this chapter if the beauty culture professional has leased or subleased a portion of a beauty culture salon from a person licensed under this chapter.”
in.gov
Who licenses salons: “issued by the Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners”
in.gov
Also good to know: “Temporary permits are issued upon receipt of a complete application and are valid for three (3) months.”
in.gov
Also good to know: “if the site is in the same building as a residence, it must be separated from the residence by a substantial floor to ceiling partition and have a separate entry”
in.gov
Also good to know: “shall display a sign complying with standards prescribed by the board at the main public entrance to the salon”
secure.in.gov

Questions

Indiana salon licenses, answered

How much is a salon license in Indiana?

A new Beauty Culture Salon License costs $40 to the state and is renewed every 4 years for $40. That is the state's fee only: build-out, equipment and opening stock are most of the cost of opening (see what it costs to open a salon).

Do you need a license to own a salon in Indiana?

Indiana's official pages we read do not say whether the owner personally needs a cosmetology license. What they do require: the business holds a Beauty Culture Salon License, and the salon must be under the personal supervision of a licensed beauty culture professional.. If you are not licensed yourself, ask the Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners before you sign a lease.

Do booth renters need their own license in Indiana?

No separate booth rental license: in Indiana a booth renter needs only their own practitioner license, and the salon its establishment license.

Does a barbershop need a different license in Indiana?

Yes. Barbershops have a license of their own in Indiana: the Barber shop license ($40 for a new shop).

Plan the rest

Before you sign a lease

Salon licenses in other states

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