Minnesota salon licensing

How to get a salon license in Minnesota

To open a salon in Minnesota you need a Salon License for the business, issued by the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners, on top of the license each stylist or technician holds. It costs $350 to the state (license fee $250 plus application fee $100) and is renewed every 3 years for $225. Every fact below is quoted from the state's own pages, read on October 17, 2026.

Licensed by: Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners
Business license: Salon License
New salon fee: $350
Renewal: Every 3 years, $225
Inspection before opening: Not stated
Owner must hold a license: Not stated
Booth renters need a license: No
Barbershops: Own license: Barber shop registration (shop registration card)

Licensed by the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners.License lookup The state's own words

Step by step

Opening a salon in Minnesota

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 Minnesota license of their own, which you can check in the state's license lookup. The Minnesota cosmetology, barber, nail and esthetician licenses page lists each one's training hours, fees and renewal.
2
Put a licensed person in charge. Every salon must appoint and register a designated licensed salon manager, who need not be present at all times.
3
Apply for the Salon License with the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners, paying $350 to the state (license fee $250 plus application fee $100). 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 3 years for $225.
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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota salon inspection checklist lists every sanitation rule an inspector checks.

Minnesota's $350 for a new salon is above the middle of the 46 states with a published fee, $123.

Good to know

What else Minnesota asks of a salon

Each physical location needs its own salon license, and a licensed salon may not share space with another licensed salon except for restrooms.
A salon must carry professional liability insurance of at least $25,000 per claim and $50,000 total per policy year for each operator; this is a condition for a license.
A mobile salon license holder must keep a permanent business address and notify the board of the locations and schedule of the mobile salon.

Sources

What Minnesota's official pages say

Each fact above, in the words of the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist 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: “(4) $350 initial salon license, divided as follows:”
revisor.mn.gov
Fees for a new salon: “(4) $350 initial salon license, divided as follows:”
revisor.mn.gov
“(i) $250 for each initial license; and”
revisor.mn.gov
“(ii) $100 for each initial license application fee;”
revisor.mn.gov
Other license types: “(8) expedited initial salon license, $300;”
revisor.mn.gov
Renewal: “Licenses shall be renewed every three years by a process established by rule.”
revisor.mn.gov
“(5) $225 renewal of salon license, divided as follows:”
revisor.mn.gov
Person in charge: “The salon owner must appoint a designated licensed salon manager (DLSM) and register the DLSM with the board using forms supplied by the board.”
revisor.mn.gov
“The DLSM is not required to be present at all times during the salon's operation”
revisor.mn.gov
Barbershops: “the owner or operator of the barber shop possesses a current shop registration card”
revisor.mn.gov
“(13) initial shop registration, $85;”
revisor.mn.gov
“by the Board of Barber Examiners.”
revisor.mn.gov
Booth renters: “A practitioner who does not hold a salon license, and is renting salon space in a licensed salon”
revisor.mn.gov
“each practitioner in the salon is currently licensed in Minnesota for the services provided by that practitioner to customers.”
revisor.mn.gov
Who licenses salons: “BOARD OF COSMETOLOGIST EXAMINERS”
revisor.mn.gov
Also good to know: “A salon license is required for each physical location.”
revisor.mn.gov
Also good to know: “evidence of continued professional liability insurance coverage of at least $25,000 for each claim and $50,000 total coverage for each policy year for each operator.”
revisor.mn.gov
Also good to know: “In addition to complying with the requirements for a salon in subdivision 2, the holder of a salon license for a mobile salon must:”
revisor.mn.gov

Questions

Minnesota salon licenses, answered

How much is a salon license in Minnesota?

A new Salon License costs $350 to the state (license fee $250 plus application fee $100) and is renewed every 3 years for $225. That is the $250 license fee plus the $100 application fee. 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 Minnesota?

Minnesota's official pages we read do not say whether the owner personally needs a cosmetology license. What they do require: the business holds a Salon License, and every salon must appoint and register a designated licensed salon manager, who need not be present at all times.. If you are not licensed yourself, ask the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners before you sign a lease.

Do booth renters need their own license in Minnesota?

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

Does a barbershop need a different license in Minnesota?

Yes. Barbershops have a license of their own in Minnesota: the Barber shop registration (shop registration card), issued by the Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners ($85 for a new shop).

Plan the rest

Before you sign a lease

Salon licenses in other states

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