How to Start a Hair Salon or Barbershop in Nebraska: DHHS Salon License, a Separate Barber Board and the 2022 End of Booth Permits

If you want to open a hair salon or barbershop in Nebraska, start by understanding that the state does not issue a general business license. Instead, you register by activity and license by trade. A cosmetology salon is licensed by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), while a barbershop answers to the separate Board of Barber Examiners under the Barber Act. Your entity filing, tax registrations and city or village zoning sit on top of those two tracks. This guide puts the steps in the order that prevents the most rework.

This article is informational, not legal or tax advice. Fees, deadlines and rules change, so confirm every figure with the agency named before you file or pay. For complex situations, such as multiple owners, a lease with a personal guarantee, or how to classify the stylists who work in your shop, consult a qualified attorney and a CPA.

What You Will Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. A missing item usually means a rejected filing or a restart.

• A proposed business name, checked in the Secretary of State business search
• A choice of entity (LLC or corporation) and the $100 filing fee
• A registered agent with a Nebraska office
• Insurance certificates showing property damage, bodily injury and liability coverage
• The current DHHS fee schedule (fees are set in 172 NAC 2)
• A site address and floor plan for city or village zoning review
• License numbers for every cosmetologist or barber you plan to employ or contract with
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• A calendar for every recurring filing listed in Step 10

Step-by-Step: Opening a Salon or Barbershop in Nebraska

Step 1: Decide Which License Your Shop Needs

Your service menu decides which agency you contact first. Cosmetology services fall under DHHS. Barbering services fall under the Board of Barber Examiners. A shop that offers both should expect to deal with both agencies. Ask each one to confirm in writing how your menu maps to its license, and do not assume that a license from one agency covers services the other governs. The cosmetology practice statutes (NRS 38-1001 et seq.) provide that no one may practice outside a licensed establishment except as the Act allows, so a mismatch can leave you operating without the right authority.

Step 2: Form Your Entity and Check the Name

A Nebraska LLC starts with a Certificate of Organization, filed with the Secretary of State for $100 online or $110 on paper. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation for the same $100 filing fee. The state has no form for corporations, so you draft that document yourself. Both can be submitted through the Corporate & Business Document eDelivery portal or by mail to Business Services in Lincoln.

An LLC name must include “limited liability company” or “limited company,” or an accepted abbreviation such as LLC or L.L.C. The name cannot be the same as or deceptively similar to a name already on record unless the prior owner consents or a court judgment establishes the right to use it. Words such as bank and trust carry extra restrictions, and so does barber. If your shop name includes barber, check it with the Secretary of State before you pay for the filing.

If you need time to decide, you can reserve a name for 120 days for $30. The Secretary of State does not publish a standard processing time, so do not promise a client an opening date until your filing is accepted.

Step 3: Appoint a Registered Agent

Nebraska uses the term registered agent. Every LLC must keep a Nebraska office and an agent for service of process, and corporations must list both in their formation documents. The agent must be an individual who lives in Nebraska or another person or entity authorized to transact business in the state, and the agent's office must match the registered office. If the agent is lost or the office is not maintained, the company can be administratively dissolved. Changing the agent or office costs $25 online or $30 on paper.

Step 4: Publish Notice and File Proof

New LLCs and corporations must publish a notice in a legal newspaper for three successive weeks, then file proof of publication with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State does not list the newspaper's charge, so request a quote before you file. Build the publication window into your opening timeline, because the three-week run is a step you cannot shorten.

Step 5: Register a Trade Name if You Use a Different Name

If the shop will operate under a name other than the legal name of your entity, register a trade name with the Secretary of State. The Application for Registration of Trade Name costs $100 online through eDelivery or $110 in office or by mail. Registration is statewide, not county by county, and trade names last 10 years with a $110 renewal. A trade name also requires a separate newspaper publication, although the affidavit or proof of publication carries no fee.

Step 6: Apply for Your DHHS Cosmetology License

The DHHS Licensure Unit (402-471-2117) licenses cosmetology salons, mobile salons, apprentice salons, schools and salon home service permits. Call before you sign a lease, describe your exact setup, and confirm which category applies. A mobile or home service model is a different application from a storefront salon.

Your salon license must show property damage, bodily injury and liability insurance at renewal, so have the certificates ready before you apply. Fees are set in 172 NAC 2, so check the DHHS fee schedule for current salon and practitioner fees. DHHS application forms list $118 for the home services salon permit and $300 for an initial school license. Do not budget from older numbers you find online.

This guide does not give a DHHS processing time, so ask the Licensure Unit for its current timeline and whether any inspection applies to your location. Salon licenses renew September 30 of odd years with no continuing education requirement. Confirm your first expiration date when the license issues. A salon or school that lets its license expire cannot reinstate it and must apply anew, which means paying again and starting over.

Step 7: Get a Barber Shop License from the Board

Barbering is governed by the Barber Act (71-201), administered by the Board of Barber Examiners. A barber shop must operate under the direct supervision of a licensed barber. Shop licenses are issued by June 30 of even years, take effect July 1, and are valid for two years. Because the cycle runs in even years, the 2026 issuance date has already passed. Ask the Board how a shop that opens between cycles is handled, and check the Board for current fees, since this guide does not list them.

Booth rental permits are no longer required. The state stopped requiring them after April 19, 2022. That change does not settle how you classify stylists. Whether a chair renter is an independent contractor or an employee depends on the actual arrangement, so confirm your model with the Department of Labor and a CPA or attorney before you sign a booth rental agreement.

Step 8: Register for Taxes and Employer Accounts

The Nebraska Department of Revenue issues a sales and use tax permit if you make retail sales, such as selling shampoo, styling products or accessories, or if you provide taxable services. Confirm with Revenue which of your services are taxable before you set prices. The state sales tax rate is 5.5%, and cities may add their own sales taxes. If you have employees, you also need an income tax withholding certificate.

The Department of Labor handles unemployment tax and contractor registration, so check whether either applies to your staffing model. Your income tax treatment depends on entity type. An LLC taxed as a pass-through reports income on its members' Nebraska individual returns, at 2026 rates from 2.46% to 4.55%. An LLC taxed as a corporation, or a corporation itself, pays the 4.55% Nebraska corporate income tax for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Nebraska imposes no franchise tax and no occupation tax on LLCs.

Step 9: Clear Local Zoning and City Requirements

Nebraska has no state business license and no county business license, so the local layer is your city or village. Nebraska has 528 municipalities across its 93 counties, and each may run its own process. Before you sign a lease, confirm three things with the city clerk or zoning office: whether the address is zoned for personal services, whether the city charges an occupation tax, and whether it collects its own sales tax. Ask about local inspection requirements too.

Step 10: Calendar Every Recurring Deadline

Most state penalties come from missed recurring filings, not from the first application. Put these dates on your calendar when you open.

Filing	Due	Fee	Agency
LLC biennial report	January 1 to April 1 of odd years. Delinquent after June 16, then administratively dissolved	$25 online or $30 on paper	Secretary of State
Corporation biennial report and occupation tax	March 1 of even years. Delinquent after April 15	$26 minimum when paid-up capital stock is $10,000 or less. Higher capital raises the tax	Secretary of State
Trade name renewal	Every 10 years	$110	Secretary of State
Salon license renewal	September 30 of odd years. No continuing education	Check the DHHS fee schedule	DHHS Licensure Unit
Cosmetologist license renewal	December 31 of even years. 8 CE hours, 4 of them skills-based	Check the DHHS fee schedule	DHHS Licensure Unit
Barber shop license	Issued by June 30 of even years, effective July 1, valid two years	Check with the Board	Board of Barber Examiners

Expected Results

A complete, correctly filed setup gives you a compliant base from which to open and operate. It does not guarantee a timeline, revenue or client volume, and agencies generally cannot promise approval dates in advance. Build a buffer into your lease start date and your hiring plan.

If you sell retail products, FDA rules govern how you describe them. Use hedged language in your marketing, such as may help, can support or is designed to, and avoid promising changes to the structure of hair or scalp. Keep product claims consistent with the labeling you received from the manufacturer.

Tips for a Smoother Start

• Call the DHHS Licensure Unit at 402-471-2117 before you sign a lease, and ask for the current application and fee schedule.
• Ask the Board of Barber Examiners in writing how a shop that opens between license cycles is handled.
• If you already hold a cosmetologist license, note that the December 31, 2026 renewal is about two months away and requires 8 CE hours, 4 of them skills-based.
• Keep a copy of every staff license on file and verify it before each person starts work.
• Ask the Nebraska Business Development Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha which planning services it offers.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming one license covers both salon and barber services.
• Letting the DHHS salon license expire. It cannot be reinstated, so you must apply anew.
• Missing the LLC biennial report. It is due January 1 to April 1 of odd years, and the company can be administratively dissolved after June 16.
• Skipping the newspaper publication required for a new LLC or corporation, or for a trade name.
• Letting the registered agent or Nebraska office lapse.
• Using barber in an entity or trade name without checking the Secretary of State restrictions.
• Signing a lease before confirming zoning with the city.
• Allowing insurance to lapse. Property damage, bodily injury and liability coverage must be shown at renewal.
• Assuming booth rental permits still apply. They have not been required since April 19, 2022, but how you classify stylists still carries legal and tax risk.

Next Steps and Official Resources

Start with the Secretary of State business services page, then contact the DHHS Licensure Unit and the Board of Barber Examiners, and finish with the Department of Revenue. These official resources are a good place to begin:

• Nebraska Secretary of State, Business Services Division: https://sos.nebraska.gov/business-services/corporate-and-business
• Corporate & Business Document eDelivery: https://www.nebraska.gov/apps-sos-edocs/
• Secretary of State business search: https://www.nebraska.gov/sos/corp/corpsearch.cgi?nav=search
• Nebraska Department of Revenue: https://revenue.nebraska.gov/
• Sales tax permit registration: https://revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/register-your-new-business-online
• Nebraska Business Development Center: https://www.unomaha.edu/nebraska-business-development-center/business-start-and-growth/index.php
• SBA Nebraska district office: https://www.sba.gov/district/nebraska

This article is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Confirm fees, deadlines and licensing rules with the agency named, and speak with a qualified attorney or CPA before you commit to a lease, an entity structure or a stylist arrangement.