Salon Booth Rental Laws in Alabama (2026)

Booth and suite rental in Alabama — the whole program

Who may rent a booth or a suite in Alabama

Before you can rent a chair, a station or a room in Alabama you must hold your own personal licence from the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. Code of Ala. 1975, Section 34-7B-7(a) is blunt: 'Before a person may engage in the practices regulated by this chapter, the person shall be licensed by the board pursuant to this chapter', and the same subsection makes practising, or maintaining a school or shop, without the required licence a misdemeanour punishable by a $500 fine or up to 30 days in jail, or both. There is no informal way to test the water. The baseline entry requirements are the same across almost every discipline: at least 16 years old and at least 10 grades of secondary school or the equivalent (Sections 34-7B-17(a), 34-7B-18(a), 34-7B-19(a), 34-7B-20(a), 34-7B-21(a)). Alabama does not require a high school diploma, one of the lower entry bars in the country, but the clock hours are high: 1,500 school hours for a cosmetologist (Section 34-7B-18(a)(3)a). You must also be a United States citizen or a person legally present in the United States with appropriate federal documentation (Section 34-7B-7(a)). Alabama still runs a genuine apprenticeship route in every major discipline at roughly double the hours, served under a licensee who has held the licence at least five years in a Board-licensed shop. Examination is written and practical under Rule 250-X-6-.01, with a hard clock: you must pass all required examinations within twenty-four months of your original examination application date or you reapply and forfeit any previously passed component (250-X-6-.01(3)). While waiting, 250-X-6-.01(2) lets an eligible candidate receive a temporary work permit before performing services for the public - the only lawful way to work on clients pre-licence. Coming from another state you do not start over: Section 34-7B-7(c)(1)b allows licensure on proof of a current licence in good standing elsewhere plus documentation of having passed a board-approved examination, and 34-7B-7(c)(1)c offers an alternative route on proof of five years of practice as a licensee. The reciprocity fee is $100 (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(l)).

The individual licences that qualify you

• Cosmetologist: at least 16 years old, 10 grades of secondary school or equivalent, and 1,500 clock hours in a licensed or registered school of cosmetology, or 3,000 apprenticeship hours over three years under a cosmetologist continuously licensed for at least five years (Code of Ala. 1975, Section 34-7B-18(a)). Written exam $75, practical exam $130, original licence $50, renewal $100 (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(a)-(d)).
• Class 2 Barber: at least 16, 10 grades of school, and 1,000 clock hours in a licensed school of barbering, or 2,000 clock hours under a Class 2 barber licensed at least five years plus two years working in a licensed shop (Section 34-7B-17(a)(3)). 'Barber' standing alone in the chapter means a Class 2 barber (Section 34-7B-1(5)).
• Class 1 Barber: NOT a Board licence. A Class 1 barber, defined at Section 34-7B-1(4) as a person whose ordinary course of business is limited to arranging, cleaning, cutting or singeing hair, scalp/face/neck work, and shaving or trimming the beard or trimming the hair, is excluded from the chapter by Section 34-7B-13(8): the chapter 'does not apply to ... Any person who practices as a Class 1 barber.' Section 34-7B-13(7) separately excludes licensees of any county or municipal barber board in existence on 1 August 2013 unless it elects by resolution to come under the chapter.
• Esthetician: 1,000 clock hours of skin care instruction in a licensed school of esthetics or cosmetology, or 2,000 apprenticeship hours over three years (Section 34-7B-19(a)(3)).
• Manicurist: 750 clock hours of manicure instruction, or 1,200 apprenticeship hours over two years not exceeding eight hours a day or 48 hours a week (Section 34-7B-21(a)(3)).
• Esthetician/Manicurist: hold an esthetician licence plus at least 650 additional hours in nail technology (Section 34-7B-22(a)). Manicurist/Waxer: hold a manicurist licence plus at least 160 hours in waxing (Section 34-7B-23(a)); the waxing scope is limited to treatment above the neck (Rule 250-X-3-.02(15)).
• Natural Hair Stylist: only 210 clock hours in a licensed school, or 420 clock hours over six months in a licensed shop under a cosmetologist or natural hair stylist licensed at least five years (Section 34-7B-20(a)(3)). The practice is limited by Rule 250-X-3-.02(14) to cleansing, extending, locking, braiding or arranging without cutting, relaxing, removing or applying permanent waving or chemical treatments.
• Threader (eyebrow removal with a loop of cotton or other material, Sections 34-7B-1(25)-(26), 34-7B-25) and Shampoo Assistant (shampooing, cleansing or temporary weekly colour rinses only, Section 34-7B-1(22)); shampoo assistant original or renewal $75 (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(o)).
• Apprentice permit $75, plus $25 to change master, salon or both (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(m)-(n)). An apprentice must apply and pay before beginning work, must train in a Board-licensed shop under a licensed sponsor holding the same type of licence, no sponsor may train more than one apprentice at a time, and sponsor changes are capped at three (Rule 250-X-4-.01).
• Renewal: personal licences expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month in odd-numbered years, except Class 2 barbers (even-numbered years) (Section 34-7B-7(c)(3)-(4)); no Board licence is valid more than two years (Section 34-7B-14(a)). Renewal $100, late charge $54. Alabama imposes NO continuing education requirement for renewal: the CE-provider rule 250-X-2-.08 was repealed effective 29 November 2013 and no CE hours appear anywhere in Chapter 250-X or Chapter 34-7B for ordinary licensees.

Do you need your own establishment licence?

Alabama licenses the place, and the definition of the place is unusually wide. Section 34-7B-1(23) defines a shop as 'Any place where barbering or cosmetology is practiced. Only a properly licensed person, who is not an apprentice or student, may operate a shop.' There is no square-footage test, no walls test, no separate-entrance test, no small-operation exemption, and no separate booth-renter licence category anywhere in the statute or in Chapter 250-X. That produces the practical rule for Alabama renters: the premises must hold a shop licence, and the only question is whether YOUR space is a separate place or part of the host's place. Rent a chair or station on the open floor of a salon that already holds a shop licence and you register nothing with the Board beyond your own personal licence, posted near your work station under Rule 250-X-3-.01(10)(b) and Section 34-7B-7(c)(5). Rent an enclosed suite that you run as your own business and that space is on its face 'any place where barbering or cosmetology is practiced'; the Board's inspection rule points the same way, since Rule 250-X-3-.08(2) states that 'Any portion of a multi-purpose facility licensed by the Board must comply with the same regulations and inspection requirements as any other shop licensed by the Board.' Rule 250-X-3-.01(13) closes the door from the practitioner's side, barring any licensee from performing a Board-regulated service 'in a facility not licensed by the Board', with only three narrow exceptions: illness or physical or mental incapacitation of the recipient, performance by a licensee in the employment of a licensed shop, and appointments made through a licensed shop. Because Alabama has never written a booth-rental or suite rule, the boundary between 'station inside a licensed shop' and 'separate shop' is an administrative judgement made by Board staff at inspection rather than a line in the code. That is not a reason to guess: call the Board at 1-800-815-7453, describe the room, the signage, the money flow and who holds the lease, and get the answer before you sign. A mobile salon is treated as a shop outright: Rule 250-X-7-.01 states that a mobile salon is a shop as defined in Section 34-7B-1(23), so a van or trailer needs its own licence, its own Board inspection, a floor-plan drawing and proof of ALEA registration and insurance with the application (Rule 250-X-7-.02(1)).

The licence is issued by Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering (ABOCB), Montgomery; 1-800-815-7453; cosmetology@aboc.alabama.gov.

1. Get your own personal licence first, or a temporary work permit under Rule 250-X-6-.01(2) if you are an eligible examination candidate.
2. Settle the shop-licence question with the Board before signing a lease. Open-floor chair inside an existing licensed shop: you ride on the host's licence. Enclosed suite run as your own business, or a mobile unit: expect to need your own shop licence and inspection (Section 34-7B-1(23); Rules 250-X-3-.08(2), 250-X-7-.01).
3. Prove zoning: Rule 250-X-3-.01(2) requires proof the shop will operate in a location properly zoned by the appropriate governing authority, and 250-X-3-.01(3) requires entrance and exit to comply with federal, state and local building codes.
4. Bring the space to standard before asking for inspection: ventilation, adequate and safe lighting, clean premises, and toilet facilities on the premises or within 300 feet of the entrance with a water closet and a sink with hot and cold water (Rule 250-X-3-.01(4)-(7)).
5. File the shop application with the $200 New Shop fee (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(e)) through the Board's online establishment portal; Section 34-7B-7(d)(1) requires an applicant for a business licence to satisfy all legal requirements and submit applicable fees.
6. Pass the pre-opening physical inspection: Rule 250-X-3-.01(1) makes 'physical inspection and approval of premises by an authorized member of the Board staff' a condition of issuance, not a formality.
7. Buy the county/state privilege licence at the probate office before opening: Section 40-12-61 for the shop operator, Section 40-12-124 for a self-employed operator working inside such a shop. Check the city separately (Section 11-51-90).
8. Post everything and keep the rules book on site (Rule 250-X-3-.01(10) and (11)), then diary the renewals: Board business licences expire the last day of September in odd-numbered years with the late fee triggered after 31 October (Section 34-7B-7(d)(2)); the privilege licence renews annually by 31 October.

Fee: New Shop licence $200 (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(e), as revised 15 May 2026). Shop relocation $50; name change $25; owner change $25, and if both are done at the same time only one $25 fee applies (250-X-2-.01(3)(g)-(h)). Duplicate licence $25; late charge $54; returned check charge the maximum provided by the Code, currently $30. New School $300 and School Renewal $200 if you are opening a training operation. The Board's fee page still carries the header 'Fees current as of 8/1/2023', but the fee rule itself was amended published 31 March 2026, effective 15 May 2026, and the amounts match.

Renewal: Shop Renewal $150 (Rule 250-X-2-.01(3)(f)). The cycle is fixed by statute, not by issue date: 'All business licenses regulated by the board shall expire on the last day of September in odd-numbered years' (Section 34-7B-7(d)(2)), and a renewal postmarked later than 31 October in the year of expiration triggers the $54 late fee. Section 34-7B-14(a) caps any Board licence at two years. Expiry is not fatal for four years: Section 34-7B-14(b) allows reinstatement within four years by paying the lapsed renewal fees, a current renewal fee and a late fee; after four years, Section 34-7B-14(c) requires proof of prior licensure, the examination fee, passing the examination again, and renewal fees of not more than $300 plus the current renewal fee and a late fee. Section 34-7B-14(d) lets the Board purge the record of anyone who does not renew within four years.

What the booth and suite rules actually say

Booth rental is lawful in Alabama but completely unregulated as such: the Board licenses shops and people and has deliberately left the chair alone. The old Rule 250-X-2-.07, 'Booth Rental (Independent Contractor) License', was repealed effective 5 August 2002 and removed from the chapter listing effective 29 November 2013, and the earlier rules 250-X-3-.03 'Application To Open A Beauty Shop Or Booth Rental' and 250-X-3-.04 'Change Of Name Or Ownership Of Beauty Shop Or Booth Rental' were repealed on 5 August 2002 as recorded in the editorial notes to Chapter 250-X-3. Nothing replaced them. There is no booth permit to buy, no renter registration, no Board-mandated lease content, no requirement that the salon keep a roster of renters, and no rule making the owner responsible for a renter's conduct or the renter for the salon's. What Alabama does instead is apply the same standards to whoever is standing at the chair. Rule 250-X-3-.02(1) says no licensee shall conduct services at any location which does not meet proper health, safety and sanitation requirements, and the operative duties in that rule are written as duties of the 'licensee': no methyl methacrylate or other product considered poisonous or unsafe, no styptic pencils, no callous razors, no drills other than those marked 'For Human Nails', no craft or hobby tools, no service on skin or scalp that is broken, inflamed, cut, abraded, eroded or infected, no aniline-derivative eyebrow tint (250-X-3-.02(4)-(11)). A booth renter who breaches those is personally exposed regardless of the lease. Other duties are written as duties of the 'shop' and land on the premises holder: wet sanitizers with EPA-registered hospital grade disinfectant, non-contaminating product containers, adequate linens, an insect, rodent and animal free space and a first aid kit (250-X-3-.02(19), (20), (32), (33), (34)). Two consequences follow. A renter in an open salon is inspected as part of somebody else's shop, so a score below 80 is somebody else's problem to correct, but a personal licence violation found there is yours alone and scores the shop zero under 250-X-3-.08(3) and (4). And if you take an enclosed suite, expect the Board to treat that room as its own shop with its own $200 licence, its own pre-opening physical inspection under 250-X-3-.01(1), and its own toilet, sink, ventilation and lighting compliance. Alabama offers no middle category between 'part of a licensed shop' and 'a shop', so comparing a booth to a suite is not just a rent comparison: it is $200 plus an inspection plus your own facilities. One point is not left to the parties: Section 34-7B-1(23) reserves the operation of a shop to a properly licensed person who is not an apprentice or student, so an unlicensed investor cannot lawfully be the operator of the shop you rent from, whatever the entity structure.

What your own space must have

• Ventilation, lighting and cleanliness: adequately ventilated to allow proper air circulation, adequately and safely lighted, and premises including walls, floors, workstations, furniture and equipment kept clean and free from dust with trash not accumulating between clients (Rule 250-X-3-.01(4)-(6)).
• Toilet: adequate facilities on the premises or within 300 feet of the entrance, with at least one water closet and one sink with hot and cold water, tissue, soap dispenser with soap or other hand cleanser, waste receptacle and sanitary towels or an electric wall-mounted hand dryer, lighted, ventilated and clean at all times; exceptions to the 300-foot rule may be granted to shops in shopping malls (Rule 250-X-3-.01(7)).
• Home-based shops: allowed where not prohibited by the governing authority, but separated from living quarters by a permanent, finished, ceiling-high partition, with a separate shop entrance and a toilet/lavatory with its own entrance from the living quarters (Rule 250-X-3-.01(8)). Use of a shop as living, dining or sleeping quarters is prohibited (250-X-3-.01(9)).
• Equipment is service-specific and minimal, and shops need equipment only for services they actually provide (Rule 250-X-3-.03(1)). Cosmetology: one shampoo bowl, one sink near work stations, one shampoo or all-purpose chair, sufficient hair drying facilities, one covered trash container, plus a manicure table with light and chair if manicure is offered and a facial chair and magnifying glass if esthetics is offered (250-X-3-.03(3)). Barbering: shampoo bowl if that service is provided, sink near work stations, barber or all-purpose chair, work station and mirror, proper containers for clean and soiled towels, covered trash container (250-X-3-.03(2)).
• Esthetics: facial or all-purpose chair, magnifying glass, one sink in the work area or within 5 feet of its entrance/exit, covered trash container (250-X-3-.03(4)). Nails: manicure table with proper light, manicure chair, sink near work stations, covered trash container (250-X-3-.03(5)). Natural hair: shampoo bowl, all-purpose chair, hair dryer, sink near work stations, covered trash container (250-X-3-.03(6)). Threading: one all-purpose chair and one sink near work stations (250-X-3-.03(7)).
• Disinfection: wet sanitizers with hospital grade or EPA approved disinfectant, defined as a covered receptacle large enough to completely immerse the items, using an EPA-registered hospital grade bactericide, virucide and fungicide for ordinary implements and a tuberculocidal for anything that has contacted blood or body fluids (Rule 250-X-3-.02(20)). All combs, brushes and implements must be sanitized before use on any patron (subsection (28)); any implement that cannot be cleaned and sanitized is prohibited after initial use (subsection (26)).
• Storage and separation: pre-sanitized tools, linens and equipment in an enclosed sanitary cabinet or covered container, used implements and soiled linens deposited after each patron in a closed receptacle separate from the clean ones (250-X-3-.02(21)); sanitized instruments and disposables in clean closed containers free of other supplies (subsection (17)); nothing carried in a licensee's pockets (subsection (29)).
• Chemicals: all products for patron use properly labelled (250-X-3-.02(22)); flammables in a flame-retardant cabinet or well-ventilated area away from combustibles, with oxidizers, catalysts and solvents segregated (subsection (23)); mixing in a well-ventilated area at least twenty-five feet from an open flame or electrical device, chemical-saturated towels and waste in covered containers (subsection (24)); MSDS available on request for products dangerous to public health (subsection (25)).
• Banned products and practices: methyl methacrylate or any other product considered poisonous or unsafe, styptic pencils, callous razors, drills not marked by the manufacturer 'For Human Nails', craft or hobby tools, aniline-derivative eyebrow tint, and anything banned by the FDA or another agency (250-X-3-.02(3)-(11)). Roll-on wax applicators are single-use (subsection (16)); pedicure vats must be cleansed and sanitized after each service (subsection (30)). Possession or storage of such an item is prima facie evidence of its use (subsection (2)).
• Blood, disease and scope: disposable material contacting blood or body fluids goes in a plastic bag (250-X-3-.02(27)); no person with an infectious or communicable disease may work in a licensed salon (subsection (13)); a first aid kit must be kept on the premises and replenished (subsection (34)). The Board's scope is confined to non-invasive services on the epidermis, specifically the stratum corneum, and must not alter, cut or damage living cells (subsection (8)); photo rejuvenation, permanent makeup, electrolysis and tattooing are outside the Board's authority (subsection (12)).

What you must display

• The shop (business) licence displayed at the reception area near the entrance (Rule 250-X-3-.01(10)(a)); the statute puts it as 'a conspicuous place near the main entrance of the business' (Section 34-7B-7(d)(4)).
• Your own personal licence posted near your individual work station (Rule 250-X-3-.01(10)(b)). Section 34-7B-7(c)(5) is the statutory hook: 'Active personal licenses shall be displayed in a conspicuous place near the work station of the licensee.' For a booth renter in an open salon this is usually the only Board document with your name on it that is visible in the building.
• The most recent inspection report posted near the shop licence (Rule 250-X-3-.01(10)(c)).
• Apprentice permits, examination permits and student permits posted near the appropriate work station (Rule 250-X-3-.01(10)(d)). A temporary work permit issued to an examination candidate under 250-X-6-.01(2) falls in this group.
• A copy of the most recent laws and rules of the Board kept readily available for employees and patrons (Rule 250-X-3-.01(11)). This is an availability requirement, not a wall posting, but inspectors ask for it.
• If the Board has closed the shop for violations, a Board-furnished sign posted in a conspicuous location outside the facility giving the reason for the closure (Rule 250-X-3-.08(7)).

Inspection

Alabama is a pre-opening inspection state, which is the most under-appreciated timing item for anyone opening a suite or a mobile unit. Rule 250-X-3-.01(1) makes inspection a condition of issuance: 'Proper application, payment of applicable fee and physical inspection and approval of premises by an authorized member of the Board staff are required to receive a license for a shop.' You cannot pay the $200, open, and be inspected later. For a mobile salon, Rule 250-X-7-.02 says that on receipt of the application 'an inspection of the mobile salon by an inspector or authorized representative from the Board will be scheduled'. After opening, Rule 250-X-3-.08(1) subjects all licensed shops and schools to periodic inspections by Board staff, with no published interval and no advance-notice requirement, and 250-X-3-.08(2) applies the same regulations and inspection requirements to any portion of a multi-purpose facility licensed by the Board. Scoring drives the consequences: a shop operating with no licence when one is required is issued a score of zero (250-X-3-.08(3)), as is one with unlicensed personnel (subsection (4)); a score below 80 for anything other than a licence violation requires re-inspection, and a second score below 80 is itself a violation exposing the shop to discipline (subsection (5)). Deficiencies compound: 'Any deficiency noted on shop or school inspection reports must be corrected or the points for that deficiency may be increased on future inspections' (subsection (6)). If the Board closes a shop for violations it must post a Board-furnished sign outside the facility giving the reason (subsection (7)). The most recent inspection report is a posted document under 250-X-3-.01(10)(c), so any client can read your last score, and the Board publicly offers free compliance consultations on request. Discipline itself runs through Chapter 250-X-1: the Board may investigate by inspection or otherwise, must investigate written public complaints, may require a sworn written statement from a licensee, and routes findings to an Investigative Committee of one Board member, the Board's attorney and the Executive Director or designee, which decides probable cause (250-X-1-.01).

Tax — on your rent and on your services

Three separate layers, and the one people miss is the county probate office, not the Department of Revenue. On the rent you pay: Alabama's rental or leasing tax is described by the Department of Revenue as 'a privilege tax levied on the lessor for renting or leasing of tangible personal property', so a charge for the use of floor space, a station or a suite as real property falls outside it. Watch the mixed deal: separately itemised equipment rental is a rental of tangible personal property and can be taxable to the lessor, and ALDOR distinguishes true leases (rental tax) from conditional sales leases (sales tax). On what you sell: Alabama sales tax is a tax on retail sales of tangible personal property, and hair, nail, skin and barbering services are not enumerated as taxable services, so service revenue is not subject to sales tax. The moment you resell shampoo, styling product, polish, lash serum or tools you are making retail sales and you need a sales tax account with ALDOR and must charge the state general rate of 4.000 percent plus applicable county and municipal rates, which vary by address. On the privilege licence, which is a licence rather than an income tax: Section 40-12-61 taxes 'Each person operating what is generally known as a beauty parlor or other place where hairdressing, facial treatments, manicuring, or hair waving is done', set out in ALDOR's Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses as $15 plus a $1 issuance fee for the shop owner, plus $9 for each additional operator employed in a city over 60,000 population and $6 in smaller places, issued as one combined licence (the Handbook's worked example: 'Birmingham Beauty Shop. Shop with four operators $51.'). ALDOR's notes add that the section 'is needed even if one is operating from home'. Section 40-12-124 then covers the self-employed renter: 'Each person engaging in the business of manicuring, hairdressing, or administering facial treatments shall pay a license tax' of $7.50 plus a $1 fee, 'provided, that this section shall not apply to such persons employed in beauty shops and beauty shop colleges, paying the license tax as provided under Section 40-12-61', and ALDOR's interpretation is explicit that 'This section only applies to self-employed persons operating within a shop licensed under Section 61.' That is the booth renter. County licence is 50 percent of the state levy (Section 40-12-2(e)), you buy both at the county probate office, and ALDOR's quick reference guide states licences must be renewed each year by 31 October. On income: Alabama has a personal income tax, so unlike Texas your net profit is reported on an Alabama return as well as a federal one, plus federal self-employment tax. On entity-level tax, under Act 2022-252 there is a full exemption from the business privilege tax for taxable years beginning after 31 December 2023 where the calculated tax is $100 or less, and such taxpayers need not file the return, so an ordinary single-chair LLC will normally owe and file nothing there.

Renter or employee: the classification test

Alabama is one of the friendlier states for a genuine booth rental, because since 2021 the classification test is the federal one rather than a home-grown ABC test. Act 2021-226 (HB 408, signed 19 April 2021, effective 1 July 2021) added Code of Ala. 1975, Section 25-1-3, which requires employers and state agencies determining employment status to apply the test enumerated by the IRS in Revenue Ruling 87-41, the twenty common-law factors, for purposes of eligibility for employee benefits and protections and for tax liability, and to apply the safe harbour provided by Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978. Two boundaries matter. The section expressly has no application to and no impact upon any determination of whether a worker is an employee for purposes of the workers' compensation laws of this state, which continue to run on the right-of-control test, so you can be a contractor for unemployment tax and still be argued into employee status in a comp dispute. And Revenue Ruling 87-41 is about the right to control the manner and means of the work, not the label on the paper: a lease that calls you an independent contractor while the owner sets your hours, prices, products and dress code will not survive it. The Section 530 safe harbour is the practical shield for an owner who has consistently treated renters as contractors, filed Forms 1099, and had a reasonable basis for doing so, which in an industry with long-standing booth rental practice is a real argument. Build the file the ruling looks for: a written lease at a fixed rent that does not vary with your takings, your own hours and access, your own client list and price list, your own products and tools bought in your name, your own booking and payment processing, your own business name and advertising, no required meetings, no assigned shop duties such as reception or cleaning rotations, and separate insurance in your name. On the Board side nothing changes: Rule 250-X-3-.02(1) forbids any licensee from working at a location that does not meet health, safety and sanitation requirements, and Rule 250-X-3-.07 puts liability for unlicensed labour on the business - 'Any person, shop or corporation employing any unlicensed person to practice when a license is required by this chapter shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter' - so an owner who rents to an unlicensed 'contractor' is exposed under Board rules whatever the tax characterisation. Getting it wrong costs the usual stack: back state unemployment contributions with interest and penalties, IRS back withholding and the employer share of FICA, and on the worker's side the loss of unemployment eligibility and workers' compensation cover you assumed you had.

What your city or county may add

The Board licence, the county/state privilege licence and the city licence are three different pieces of paper and none substitutes for another. Section 11-51-90 authorises Alabama municipalities to levy their own business licence on any business, trade or profession carried on within the city or its police jurisdiction, usually rate-based on gross receipts. Zoning is checked by the Board itself before it will licence you: Rule 250-X-3-.01(2) requires proof that the shop will operate in a location properly zoned by the appropriate governing authority and 250-X-3-.01(3) requires entrance and exit to comply with federal, state and local building codes, so a city zoning refusal blocks the state licence rather than merely following it. Building out a suite, adding a shampoo bowl or moving plumbing will normally need building and plumbing permits and, in most jurisdictions, a certificate of occupancy for the change of use. Home-based shops are lawful under Rule 250-X-3-.01(8) only 'where not prohibited by any governing authority', which makes the local ordinance decisive before the Board's partition and separate-entrance rules even apply. One Alabama-specific trap: Section 34-7B-13(7) exempts from the whole chapter the licensees of any county or municipal barber board or commission in existence on 1 August 2013 unless that body has elected by resolution to come under the chapter, so in some localities barbering is regulated locally and the paperwork described here is not the paperwork you need. The city and county items here are stated from the cited statutes and general practice rather than from a city ordinance read this session; verify with your city clerk and county probate office.

What operating unlicensed costs

Alabama's headline sanction is criminal, which is unusual. Section 34-7B-7(a) provides that 'Any person who practices, maintains a school or shop, or acts in any capacity without a license when one is required pursuant to this chapter, or who otherwise violates this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both', and that 'Any corporation which violates this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).' That one sentence covers both working without a personal licence and maintaining a shop without a shop licence, which is exactly the exposure a suite renter takes on by opening an enclosed room before the Board issues the licence. Administratively, Section 34-7B-10(c) lets the Board 'levy and collect an administrative fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) per violation for serious violations of this chapter or the rules or regulations of the board' - note the per-violation wording, so one inspection finding several serious breaches can be assessed several times. Section 34-7B-10(b)(1) lists the grounds for suspension or revocation: fraud in taking an examination, conviction of a felony or gross immorality, grossly unprofessional or dishonest conduct, addiction rendering the person unfit to practise, knowingly false or deceptive advertising, fraud or deceit in obtaining or renewing a licence, permitting a licence to be used by another person, and discipline in another jurisdiction. Process protections are real: no revocation or suspension without a hearing, at least 20 days' written notice specifying the reasons, service by registered or certified mail, and venue in Montgomery County - but attorney fees, administrative law judge fees and recording fees 'shall be borne by defendants who are judged guilty' (Section 34-7B-10(b)(3)). Appeals go to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County (Section 34-7B-11(b)). Section 34-7B-10(b)(2) adds a commercial consequence when you buy a shop: the Board may deny the sale or transfer of a school or shop if the owner or operator is the subject of outstanding violations. On the inspection side, operating without a required licence or with unlicensed personnel scores an automatic zero (Rule 250-X-3-.08(3)-(4)), and Rule 250-X-3-.07 makes employing an unlicensed person a violation by the person, shop or corporation doing the employing.

Program sources: https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/250-X-3 · https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/250-X-2 · https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/250-X-1 · https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/250-X-4 · https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/250-X-6 · https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/250-X-7 · https://www.aboc.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/2021-07/New%20Law%20and%20Rules%206.14.2021_1.pdf · https://www.aboc.alabama.gov/licensing/fees · https://www.aboc.alabama.gov/shops · https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/sales-use/rental-or-leasing-tax/ · https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/sales-use/tax-rates/ · https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Handbook-of-Privilege-Store-Licenses.pdf · https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/License_Taxes_Quick_Code_Section_Reference.pdf · https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/notice-important-changes-to-the-2024-business-privilege-tax-filing-requirements/ · https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-25/chapter-1/article-1/section-25-1-3/ · https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/business-license/