Salon cancellation policy template to copy

A cancellation policy is not there to punish anyone. It is there so a client knows, before she books, what an empty chair costs you, and so you can point to it without an awkward conversation. This one covers six things: the notice period, the deposit, late arrivals, late cancellations and no-shows, what happens when the salon cancels, and the exception you keep for real emergencies.

One point of Irish law shapes the wording. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission tells consumers: “Generally, a business does not have to refund your deposit if you change your mind. However, some terms and conditions may allow cancellations and refunds.” (page read on 3 October 2026). So a deposit can be kept, but only on terms the client could read before she paid, and only if those terms are fair in both directions. The form below writes both directions for you.

If you take bookings through a marketplace, check what it already charges on deposits and no-shows first: our breakdown of Fresha's fees, with a worked example shows where those costs sit. Then use the texts below on your own site.

Six texts to fill in and copy

Cancellation policy, [salon name]

1. Changing or cancelling
You can change or cancel your appointment free of charge up to [24] hours before, online at [booking link] or by calling [phone]. For [colour, balayage and extensions], we ask for [48] hours.
Group bookings (a wedding party, a debs group): we ask for [72] hours to change or cancel any place in the group.
A colour that needs a patch test: the test is done at least [48 hours] before the appointment. Without it, we will move the appointment to a later date.

2. Deposits
For [colour, balayage and extensions], we take a deposit of [€20] when you book. It comes off your bill on the day. If you cancel within the notice in point 1, we refund it in full.

3. Late arrivals
If you arrive more than [15] minutes late, we may need to shorten your service or move you to another time, so the next client is not kept waiting.

4. Late cancellations and missed appointments
[Choose: If you cancel after the notice in point 1, or do not turn up, the deposit is kept. OR If you cancel after the notice in point 1, half of the deposit is kept and the other half is refunded. If you do not turn up, the whole deposit is kept.] Nothing else is charged. After [2] missed appointments, we will ask for a deposit on every booking.

5. If we have to cancel
We tell you as soon as we can and offer you the next free time first. If no time suits you, [Choose: we refund your deposit in full and take the same amount off your next visit OR we refund your deposit in full].

6. Emergencies
Illness, an accident, a sick child: tell us as soon as you can and we will take it into account.

[One more rule of your own, in your own words]

[Salon name], [address], [phone]. Policy in effect from [date].

Appointments at [salon name]

Your appointment is time we keep just for you.

Can't make it? Tell us at least [24] hours before, online at [booking link] or on [phone], so we can offer the time to someone else.

If you arrive more than [15] minutes late, we may need to shorten your service or move you to another time.

After [2] missed appointments without notice, we will ask for a deposit of [€20] on every new booking.

[Salon name], [phone]. In effect from [date].

A deposit of [€20] secures this appointment and comes off your bill on the day. Free to change or cancel up to [24] hours before. [Choose: After that, or if you do not turn up, the deposit is kept. OR After that, half of the deposit is kept; if you do not turn up, all of it is.] By booking, you agree to the cancellation policy of [salon name].

[Salon name]: free to change or cancel up to [24]h before on [booking link]. Later, or if you miss it, [Choose: the deposit is kept OR half or all the deposit is kept]. Thanks!

[Salon name]

Your appointment is time we keep just for you.

Can't make it? Let us know at least [24] hours before, online at [booking link] or on [phone].

For [colour, balayage and extensions], we take a deposit of [€20] when you book. It comes off your bill.

Thank you for helping us keep the waiting list moving.

Hi [first name], we missed you today at [salon name]. As our policy says, the deposit is kept. To rebook: [booking link] or [phone].

What Irish law lets you write

A booking with a deposit is a consumer contract, and its terms fall under Part 6 of the Consumer Rights Act 2022, in operation since 29 November 2022 (S.I. No. 596/2022). The table quotes the lines that matter for a salon, word for word, from the Act and from the two public bodies that explain it.

Every line was read at its source on 3 October 2026: the Act as enacted on the electronic Irish Statute Book, and the Citizens Information page, which speaks to the consumer (“you” is your client).

The sources: Citizens Information on deposits, Schedule 5 of the Act, section 132 and section 134. For the owner's side, the CCPC's guidance for businesses on unfair terms says a contract must “clearly explain cost implications of any term, such as cancellation fees”, and that “a consumer cannot be bound by an unfair term in a contract”. Three choices in the template follow from these lines.

1. Point 5 exists, and it mirrors point 4. The policy says what the client loses when she cancels late and, just below, what the salon owes when it cancels. The first option of the form (“refund, and the same amount off the next visit”) follows the words of Schedule 5, paragraph 3; the second gives the money back and stops there. Do not shorten either option into a clause that lets the salon cancel without compensating the client: a term like that may be presumed unfair under Schedule 5, paragraph 3.
2. “Nothing else is charged.” The template stops at the deposit. It never bills the price of a service that was not carried out, which is the kind of term section 132 lists.
3. The deposit comes back in full inside the notice. A deposit that is lost whatever the client does is the first example Citizens Information gives of a term that can be unfair.

How to set your cancellation policy

1. Notice: 24 hours, or 48 for long services. “Many salons operate with a 24-hour cancellation policy but extending this to 48 hours can make a huge difference. This extra day gives you more time to fill the white space and arrange for necessary preparations, such as patch tests”, writes Katie Godfrey in Irish Beauty (1 September 2024). The form has a field for each, and a patch-test line you can keep or remove.
2. The deposit: no text sets the amount, so say yours. Greg Koster, managing director of Hermans in Dublin, told EVOKE on 7 May 2021: “We are charging €25, €50, or €75 depending on the value of the service. If there is a cancellation with less than 24 hours notice or a no-show, then that deposit is non-refundable.” The deposit field takes an amount or a share of the price, whichever you type.
3. Which services: the long ones. A missed 30-minute cut can be filled the same day; a missed three-hour colour cannot. Name in the form the services you take the deposit for. A group booking, a wedding party or a debs group, holds several chairs at once: point 1 gives it a notice of its own, a line you can remove if you never take groups.
4. A late cancellation and a no-show need not cost the same. The form lets a late cancellation cost the whole deposit or half of it; a no-show costs the whole deposit in both cases, and one choice rewrites texts 1, 3 and 4 together.
5. Write the exception down. Point 6 lets you waive the rule for a loyal client without setting a precedent for everyone else. Koster again, in the same article: “We discourage anyone from coming into the salon with symptoms, so certainly aren't going to punish them if they are doing the right thing and postponing.”

Not every salon takes a deposit. In the same EVOKE article, Toni & Guy's Dublin salons were taking none and “allowing cancellations up to two days before an appointment”, and a Peter Mark spokesperson said: “We don’t require a deposit at the time of booking and we don’t have cancellation charges.” That is what text 2 is for. Opening soon? Writing the policy and showing it before booking is one line of the checklist for opening a hair salon.

What salon owners and clients say

The same article quotes Lisa Eccles, then vice president of the Irish Hair Federation: “Most salons now have a booking fee or are charging a deposit. Like how hotels operate where you have a 24-hour notice period to call and cancel.” She adds what a no-show costs beyond the salon: it “not only affects the business but also that stylist's wages as the majority work commission-based on how many services they do in a day”. The article reports one measure, from the booking software Phorest for July 2020: between 3% and 9% of clients neither came nor cancelled. It is a vendor's figure from one month of an unusual year; your own appointment book is the better guide.

On the client's side, the argument is rarely about the rule and nearly always about when she heard of it. On the UK forum Mumsnet, a client asked on 26 March 2024 whether her new hairdresser was unfair to ask for a deposit after she had moved the same appointment twice, each time with a week's notice. Most replies sided with the hairdresser: “Two chances to change with no charge is more than fair”, wrote one; “Lots of hairdressers in my area already charge a deposit at time of booking”, wrote another. A rule announced before it applies was accepted even by people with no stake in the salon. That is the logic of the count in point 4.

And when nothing is written? Katie Godfrey, in Irish Beauty: “You can't hold clients accountable for cancellations if there's no policy in place.” She goes on: “Be clear and precise in your wording, and ensure your team understands when to enforce the policy.”

Where to show it so it counts

Three places: on the booking page before payment, in the written confirmation, and in the salon. The confirmation is the one you will point to if you ever need to keep a deposit.

This is the consumer's own checklist turned round. The CCPC tells clients to confirm “whether the deposit is refundable in any situation” and “any non-refundable amount or cancellation charge”, then: “Get confirmation of these details in writing or by email, and always get a receipt for your deposit.” Text 3 answers the first before she pays, text 4 puts the rule in the confirmation, and text 5 is the copy in the salon. A fee you only mention after a no-show is hard to defend. The same policy, shown before payment and repeated in the confirmation, is not.

With Traxo, the deposit, or the full price, is set service by service and paid online at booking, with your terms shown before the payment; the fee is 3% per payment, all in. See how online payments work.

Frequently asked questions

Can a salon in Ireland keep a deposit when a client cancels?

Yes, on terms she could read before she paid. Citizens Information says that when a client cancels, “the seller is usually not required to give your money back”, and also that a term making deposits “non-refundable in all situations” can be unfair. The template refunds the deposit inside the notice period and keeps it after.

Can a salon charge the full price for a missed appointment?

The template does not, on purpose. Section 132 of the Consumer Rights Act 2022 lists as always unfair a term that requires a consumer to pay for “a service that has not been supplied”, and Schedule 5 presumes unfair “a disproportionately high sum in compensation”. Keeping a deposit that was announced and accepted is the route text 1 takes; anything beyond it is a question for a solicitor.

How much notice should clients give?

24 hours for most services and 48 hours for the long ones are the two periods the Irish trade press quotes, above. The form has a field for each, and whatever you type is written into all six texts.

What if the salon has to cancel?

Say it in the policy. Point 5 offers the next free time first, then refunds the deposit; the first option of the form also takes the same amount off the next visit, so that the client is compensated when the salon cancels in the way the salon is when she does.

Is the template free, and can I get it as a PDF?

It is free, with no account and no email asked. “Copy” takes the filled text; “Print” puts that text alone on a sheet, and “Save as PDF” in your browser's print window turns the sheet into a file. What you type stays in your browser: nothing is sent or stored.

What does the counter under the short messages count?

What the network counts: 160 characters in one SMS, 153 per part beyond that. The € sign and square brackets count for two. A single character outside the SMS alphabet, a curly quotation mark or an emoji for instance, drops the whole message to 70 characters per SMS. The limits are the ones Twilio documents; the alphabet is that of GSM 03.38 (both read on 3 October 2026). Texts 4 and 6 are written with plain characters only, and they are yours to send from your own phone.