Maine salon licensing
How to get a salon license in Maine
To open a salon in Maine you need a Level 1 Establishment License for the business, issued by the Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR), on top of the license each stylist or technician holds. renewed every year for $20. Every fact below is quoted from the state's own pages, read on October 17, 2026.
- Licensed by
- OPOR
- Business license
- Level 1 Establishment License
- New salon fee
- Not stated
- Renewal
- Every year, $20
- Inspection before opening
- Not stated
- Owner must hold a license
- Not stated
- Booth renters need a license
- Level 2 Establishment License
- Barbershops
- Same license
Licensed by the Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR).Apply with OPOR The state's own words
Step by step
Opening a salon in Maine
- 1
Make sure everyone who will do services is licensed. The salon license covers the business; each stylist, barber, nail technician or esthetician needs a Maine license of their own. The Maine cosmetology, barber, nail and esthetician licenses page lists each one's training hours, fees and renewal.
- 2
Apply for the Level 1 Establishment License with OPOR (application). Apply before you open: the business needs its own license to operate.
- 3
If you rent out chairs, check your renters' licenses. In Maine a booth renter needs a Level 2 Establishment License. Put the terms in a booth rental agreement.
- 4
Put the renewal in your calendar. The salon license is renewed every year for $20.
- 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 Maine 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 Maine salon inspection checklist lists every sanitation rule an inspector checks.
Good to know
What else Maine asks of a salon
- A new owner of an establishment must apply to the director for a license for that establishment; a change of ownership requires notice within 10 calendar days.
- A license covers only the location it names. Moving the salon requires notifying the director within 10 calendar days of the change in location.
- A mobile salon needs a separate special mobile establishment license for each municipality where it operates.
Sources
What Maine's official pages say
Each fact above, in the words of OPOR'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
“A level 1 establishment license or a level 2 establishment license issued pursuant to this subsection authorizes the operation of an establishment only at the location for which the license is issued.”
legislature.maine.gov - Barbershops
“"Establishment" means a beauty shop or salon, cosmetology shop or salon, barber hair styling shop or salon”
legislature.maine.gov “may not provide services in, operate or cause to be operated a level 1 establishment or a level 2 establishment where cosmetology, barber hair styling, hair design, nail technology or aesthetics is practiced unless that establishment has been licensed by the director.”
legislature.maine.gov - Booth renters
“A level 2 establishment licensee is a person who holds a license to practice under this chapter and who leases space or a chair or station”
legislature.maine.gov “is subject to licensure, fees and compliance with laws and rules in the same manner as the level 1 establishment licensee”
legislature.maine.gov - Who licenses salons
“The State Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing was established to protect the public through the regulation of the practice of barbering and cosmetology in the State of Maine.”
maine.gov - Also good to know
“The owner of a new establishment is required to apply to the director for licensure of that establishment.”
legislature.maine.gov - Also good to know
“The owner of a licensed establishment that undergoes a change in location shall notify the director, in a format as prescribed by the director, within 10 calendar days of the change in location.”
legislature.maine.gov - Also good to know
“A separate license must be obtained for each municipality in which a mobile establishment operates.”
legislature.maine.gov
Questions
Maine salon licenses, answered
How much is a salon license in Maine?
Do you need a license to own a salon in Maine?
Do booth renters need their own license in Maine?
Does a barbershop need a different license in Maine?
Plan the rest
Before you sign a lease
- Every step to opening a salon in Maine, as a checklist
- What Maine inspectors check, as a printable checklist
- Are haircuts taxable in Maine? Sales tax on services, products and the permit
- Hours and fees for each Maine cosmetology, barber, nail and esthetician license
- See what it costs to open a salon, line by line
- Write it up with the salon business plan template
- Find a name and a free domain
- Renting out chairs? Start from a booth rental agreement
Salon licenses in other states
Ready when you are
Open with the website and the bookings ready
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