Opening a hair salon checklist for Ireland

Most salon-opening checklists that rank in Ireland are written for the US: they send you to the IRS for an EIN and ask for a cosmetology licence. None of those are Irish forms. This list is written for an Irish salon: the CRO, Revenue, the HSA, the price notice that Irish law asks every hairdresser to put in the window, and the music licence for the radio in the salon.

The blocks are in the order you will need them. Give the day you start trading at the top and each deadline that runs from it shows as a date. The two questions under it hide what does not apply to you: the company steps if you trade as a sole trader, the employer steps if you work on your own. Your ticks stay in this browser; the list prints as a clean sheet, saves as a PDF from the print window, or copies as plain text.

A checklist is not advice: your accountant, your insurer and your local authority will tell you what else applies to your premises and your structure. We give a fee or a figure only where we read it on an official page on 3 October 2026, and we link that page.

The checklist, in six blocks

Registering the salon: CRO and Revenue

If the salon trades under a name like “Studio Ciara” rather than your surname, that name has to be registered. Under section 3 of the Registration of Business Names Act 1963, an individual or a firm trading under a name that is not made of their true surnames “shall be registered”, and section 6 gives one month after adopting the name to do it. Revenue's page on registering your business says a sole trader “may register” the name (form RBN1) and a partnership “must” (form RBN1A).

The tax registration itself is online. Revenue's step-by-step guide for sole traders gives three routes. If you are a PAYE employee, you register in myAccount: Manage My Record, Tax registrations, then Income Tax, where you confirm your NACE code, the date your business commenced and your expected turnover. If you are already registered for a business tax, you register through ROS, and if you are non-resident and cannot use the online services, with Form TR1 (FT). Your PPSN becomes your Tax Reference Number, and returns and payments then go through ROS. A company registers with Revenue too, and sends a Statement of Particulars (Form 11F CRO) within 30 days of trading.

The deadlines of the first weeks

Read on 3 October 2026 on irishstatutebook.ie, revenue.ie and citizensinformation.ie.

The checklist counts the first two from the day you start trading: one month ends on the same date of the next month, or on the last day of that month when it is shorter; 30 days are 30 calendar days. A deadline that falls on a weekend still shows that day, so you are never late by following it. The others run from a hire or a payday, so they are written out in words.

VAT: the thresholds and the rate for hairdressing

Read on revenue.ie on 3 October 2026.

A salon is mainly a service business, so the services threshold of €42,500 is the one most owners check first; turnover is counted over a calendar year, without VAT. If retail sales of hair products are a real part of your turnover, ask your accountant how your mix is treated before you decide you are under the line. Once registered, hairdressing is charged at the second reduced rate, 9% in Revenue's current rates table.

The price notice and the music licence

Irish law has a rule written for hairdressers alone. The Charges (Hairdressing) Display Order, 1976 says a hairdresser “shall display a notice setting out the charges for every service rendered”. If the salon is on the ground floor and opens onto the street, the notice goes outside or in the window, readable from the footpath; otherwise at or just inside each entrance. Letters and figures are at least 6 millimetres high. The CCPC, which enforces the Order, adds that the prices must be accurate, up to date and include VAT, and that charging a price that differs from the notice is a misleading price indication under the Consumer Protection Act 2007.

Music needs a licence too. IMRO's page for music users speaks to “a salon owner using a radio” in its opening paragraph. Since 2016 a single Dual Music Licence covers both the songwriters' rights (IMRO) and the recordings' rights (PPI). IMRO's share for a hair salon falls under its Waiting Rooms tariff SP: in 2026, €133.68 a year plus VAT for up to 50 m² of waiting area, then €66.84 for each further 25 m². The PPI share is charged on top under PPI tariff 11, whose rates we could not read on 3 October 2026. The IMRO tariff adds 60% when a business has not self-declared before an IMRO representative calls, so it costs less to apply before you open, and 8% when the licence is not bought through IMRO's online self-service portal with auto-renewal.

Staff, payroll and the safety statement

Taking on staff adds several duties from the first day. On payroll, Revenue asks you to register as an employer through MyEnquiries in ROS before paying anyone, then to report pay and deductions on or before each payday. The national minimum wage is €14.15 an hour since 1 January 2026. Each employee gets their core terms in writing within five days. And since the same date, pension auto-enrolment applies to employees aged 23 to 60 earning €20,000 or more with no pension through payroll: you and they each pay 1.5% of salary in the first year.

On safety, section 20 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires every employer to have a written safety statement, based on a risk assessment, shown to each new employee when they start and kept at the salon. The HSA's BeSMART.ie builds one for free in four steps, from your business type to a printed statement.

Hands, dyes and ventilation

The one health figure every salon owner should know comes from the HSA's information sheet Chemical Safety in Hairdressing (March 2019): “up to 70% of hairdressers suffer from work related skin damage at some point in their career”, from wet work, shampoo, dyes and cleaning products. It names PPD in permanent dyes and persulphates in bleaches as common causes of allergy, and says most of the damage is preventable.

Its advice turns into three steps of block 4: keep an inventory of every product, ventilate the mixing area, and stock powder-free non-latex gloves in several sizes. It also warns against hair dyes bought from outside Europe that may not meet EU safety standards. They cost little when you plan them before the fit-out, and much more once the salon is open.

Bookings before the doors open

Block 6 has no legal deadline, and it decides your first month: a salon that opens with appointments already in the book does not start from zero. Our salon cancellation policy template gives you the wording to show before clients book, and our comparison of salon booking software in Ireland sets the prices of six tools side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to register my salon's name in Ireland?

Yes, if the salon trades under a name that is not your own surname. The Registration of Business Names Act 1963 says such a business “shall be registered” with the CRO, within one month after adopting the name. Revenue’s page says a sole trader “may register” the name (form RBN1) and a partnership “must” (form RBN1A).

When does a new salon have to register for VAT?

When turnover over a calendar year goes above €42,500 for a business supplying services only, or €85,000 where 90% or more comes from goods, as Revenue publishes them. Registered salons charge hairdressing at the second reduced rate, 9% in Revenue's current table (read on 3 October 2026).

Does a hair salon have to display its prices?

Yes. The Charges (Hairdressing) Display Order, 1976 requires a notice of the charges for every service, outside or in the window for a ground-floor salon on the street, otherwise just inside the entrance, with letters at least 6 mm high. The CCPC enforces it and says prices must include VAT.

Do I need a music licence for my salon?

Yes, to play the radio or recorded music to clients. One Dual Music Licence from IMRO covers both IMRO and PPI rights. IMRO's share for a hair salon (tariff SP) is €133.68 a year plus VAT in 2026 for up to 50 m² of waiting area; the PPI share (PPI tariff 11) is charged on top.

Does a small salon need a safety statement?

Yes, if you employ anyone: section 20 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires every employer to have a written safety statement based on a risk assessment. The HSA's free BeSMART.ie tool builds one.

What should I set up first?

The structure and the name, then the tax registration, because your bank, your lease and your suppliers will ask for them. Check the planning use of the unit before you sign the lease; the fit-out, the price notice and the booking page come next.