Dallas hair salon: the two permissions you need

A salon in Dallas runs on a state establishment licence plus a Dallas building and fire sign-off. They come from different governments, renew on different clocks, and neither one tells you about the other.

1. The Texas establishment licence

Issued by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The licence covers the premises; every stylist working in it also holds an individual licence.

TDLR establishment licenceFee
Barbering & cosmetology establishment renewal (full-service, mobile and specialty)$78
Renewal expired 90 days or less1½ × the normal renewal fee
Renewal expired more than 90 days but under 18 months2 × the normal renewal fee

2. The Dallas side

City of Dallas building inspection and fire-rescue sign-off. This is the half that depends on your building rather than your trade, and it is usually the half that delays an opening.

Certificate of Occupancy in Dallas

Dallas requires a new certificate of occupancy for the first use of land or a building, a change of use, a change of tenant on an existing certificate, or when an existing use increases or decreases floor area.

  1. Apply through DallasNOW — the application goes in with a Land Use Questionnaire and the fee.
  2. Pre-screen, then invoice — the application is pre-screened, an invoice is issued, and the application is approved or routed for review once it is paid.
  3. Review if the use changes — a proposed use different from the previous one is routed to the Building Code and Zoning teams, and may require a site plan, floor plan and parking analysis.
  4. Inspections, then release — the certificate is released once all inspections pass.
Certificate of OccupancyFee
Certificate of occupancy — validation inspection$113
Certificate of occupancy — temporary$500

From the City of Dallas Development Services permit fee schedule effective 1 July 2025.

You will also need a Dallas County Clerk assumed name certificate if you trade under a name that is not the entity’s.

Two governments again

As with food in Dallas, the paperwork is split — the establishment licence is the State's, the premises are the City's, the assumed name is the County's.

A change of tenant is a new certificate

Dallas requires a fresh certificate of occupancy when the tenant on an existing one changes — taking over a unit that was already a salon, from a salon, still needs its own certificate in your name.

The entity behind it

Register with Texas Secretary of State — the Texas LLC filing fee was $300 when we last checked, so confirm it with the office — and with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit if you sell retail product alongside services.

Sources

Check whether your opening date is legally possible — free. Put in the business type and the address and you get the target date against the earliest legal open, with every permit, fee and deadline cited to the official source.

The full stack — every permit in filing order, the calendar, and the certificate-of-occupancy packet — is $49, one-time, no subscription. It is a live link your landlord or lender can verify themselves, not a PDF.

Run the free check →

Checked at the official sources listed above on 2 September 2026. Fees and procedures change without notice and the agency’s own page is always the authority — this is a heads-up to go and look, not legal advice, and BondPermit does not file anything on anyone’s behalf.

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