LICENSES & PERMITS WITHIN THE HAIR & BEAUTY INDUSTRY

Written by Melissa Eales

It is the start of a fully booked day: six colour appointments, two keratin treatments, and a bridal trial at noon. At 09:15, a municipal Environmental Health Practitioner walks in with a clipboard. She does not only ask for the certificate on the wall. She asks for the full compliance file: the business licence, municipal health certificate, fire clearance certificate, and sterilisation records for the pedicure basins.

The framed business licence is there, but the rest of the file is thin. The health certificate expired four months ago. There is no fire clearance certificate on file because the salon moved premises two years ago and no one realised that a new certificate was needed for the new address. The zoning certificate also relates to a smaller floor plan than the one now in use after last year’s renovation.

The inspector is not hostile, but she is thorough. It is clear that she has seen this pattern before: a salon that is compliant with the one certificate everyone remembers, but exposed in other important areas. She walks through the salon while colour is being mixed and the bridal trial is underway. She photographs the pedicure station, the cupboard where peroxide and acrylic monomers are stored next to a box of tea, and the fire extinguisher with an inspection tag that is two years out of date.

By 10:00, you are no longer only managing six clients. You are managing an inspection, a compliance notice with a 14-day deadline for the health certificate, a separate notice relating to fire clearance, a zoning issue that will need its own municipal follow-up, and a stylist quietly asking whether they should explain to the bridal party why someone is photographing the storeroom.

Nothing is shut down that day. However, the 14-day deadline is tight. The fire clearance process alone can take longer than that, depending on the municipality. For the next two weeks, you spend your time chasing an Environmental Health appointment, a fire department inspection, and a zoning amendment — all because the certificates in the file had not been checked against one another for more than two years.

But what now?

This article explains, in plain language, which requirements may apply so that you can check your own salon, spa or clinic against them. A modern hair, beauty or skincare business falls under several overlapping rules: national, provincial and municipal. It is entirely possible to be compliant with your main trade requirement while still being exposed in two or three other areas. Most owners can quickly point to their trading licence and health certificate. Far fewer can say, with confidence, whether they also need a music licence, a food-handling approval for a coffee bar, or an Employment Equity plan.

A helpful way to understand the requirements is to group them into five layers: national business and tax registration; municipal premises licensing; health and product-safety compliance; industry-specific labour compliance; and a few extra requirements that depend on what you offer, such as music, food and drink, and consumer protection obligations.

The usual process is notice first, closure second. For many single issues — for example, an expired health certificate or a lapsed fire extinguisher inspection tag — the usual route is a compliance notice with a deadline to fix the problem. This does not always lead to an immediate shutdown. A failed fire inspection, for example, may result in a notice to comply within a set period. Fines, closure orders or refusal of occupancy certificates generally follow if the business does not correct the problem.

Immediate closure can happen where there is a risk to lives. Municipalities may close a non-compliant business until fire safety requirements are met. A Department of Employment and Labour inspector can also issue a prohibition notice that stops work in an affected area immediately. Health certificates can work in a similar way under some municipal by-laws: operating without a valid certificate may be an offence, and failure to renew before expiry can place the business in a serious compliance position.

Several problems at once make matters more serious. There is no simple rule that says “three violations automatically equal closure”. In practice, each issue is assessed according to the risk it creates, such as health risk, fire risk or structural risk. However, when an inspector finds several gaps at the same time, it becomes easier to view the situation as a pattern of neglect rather than one missed renewal. A missing fire clearance certificate, poor hazardous-product storage and an unresolved zoning issue together can push an inspector towards faster or stronger enforcement.

Registering the Business Itself

Before clients walk through the door, most salons need to have the basics in place. This may include company registration through CIPC, tax registration with SARS, and employer registration for UIF and the Compensation Fund once staff is employed. If your payroll exceeds R500 000 a year, the Skills Development Levy may also apply. If you keep client information, such as names, contact numbers, allergy notes or payment details, POPIA requires you to appoint and register an Information Officer with the Information Regulator. These requirements are not unique to the hair and beauty industry, but they are often the first documents requested by a bank, landlord, funder or inspector.

The Municipal Licences That Let You Open the Door

This is where the requirements become more specific to the industry. The Business Act 71 of 1991 is national legislation, but municipalities apply it through their own by-laws, forms, fees and certificate names. In practice, a compliant premises may need a business or trading licence, a municipal health certificate confirming hygiene, sterilisation and ventilation standards, a zoning certificate confirming that the address may be used for business purposes, an occupancy certificate, approved building plans where renovations were done, and a fire clearance certificate. Depending on your municipality, you may also need a signage permit or, where several basins discharge treatment wastewater, a trade effluent permit.

If you offer treatments that pierce or penetrate the skin — such as tattooing, piercing, electrolysis, micro-needling or semi-permanent make-up — check directly with your municipality’s Environmental Health department. These services may be regulated separately from ordinary hairdressing and beauty services and may require stricter sterilisation and record-keeping. It is risky to assume that a standard salon health certificate automatically covers these treatments. In many municipalities, especially in parts of the Western Cape, additional requirements may apply.

Health, Safety and What's in the Bottle

Beyond the certificate on the wall, the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires a safe working environment. This includes proper ventilation where bleach, tint or relaxer are used, suitable personal protective equipment, and a Health and Safety Representative once you have 20 or more employees. Products are regulated separately. The Hazardous Substances Act deals with the safe storage and handling of products such as peroxide and acrylic monomers. The Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act deals with the safety and labelling of products used on, or sold to, clients. These laws may not each require a separate licence, but they can still be inspected and enforced, and they may affect whether your municipal health certificate is renewed.

The Industry-Specific — National Bargaining Council for Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare (HCSBC)

As EOHCB members will know, a business that falls within the scope of the Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare Bargaining Council must register with the Council separately from its municipal licensing. The business must also comply with the Main Collective Agreement, including requirements relating to wages, leave, working hours and short-time. This is easy to overlook because it is not a premises permit. It is a labour registration, but it carries real compliance consequences and is one of the areas where members often need assistance.

The Requirements Owners Genuinely Don't Expect

Three areas regularly surprise business owners because they do not feel like permits.

Music:

If you play the radio, a streaming playlist or any background music that clients can hear, you may need both a SAMRO licence and a SAMPRA licence. These are not the same licence, and a home TV, radio or streaming subscription does not usually cover music played in business premises.

Selling coffee or cold drinks:

Offering a complimentary cup of coffee while a client waits will usually be different from selling food or drinks. Once there is a sale, such as coffee, cold drinks or snacks through the till, a Certificate of Acceptability under Regulation R638 may be required. This is separate from a general salon health certificate, and the person in charge may need recognised food-safety training.

The Consumer Protection Act:

There is no certificate to apply for, but the Act still applies. It affects how you advertise prices, deal with booking cancellations and gift vouchers, and draft treatment consent forms or waivers. The risk is often reputational and legal, especially where a client complaint is escalated to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud.

A Word on Provincial and Municipal Variation

Most municipal requirements differ from one council to the next. Certificate names, application steps, fees and by-law wording can all vary. Some requirements, such as liquor licences, are provincial rather than municipal. There is no shortcut: the safest approach is to confirm the current requirements directly with your local Environmental Health Practitioner and Business Licensing department before you open, relocate, change ownership, renovate, or add a new service such as piercing or a coffee bar.

Where to Start

If you are unsure where your business stands, start with the certificates that must be available on your premises: your business licence and your municipal health certificate. Then work outwards from there. EOHCB has compiled a Toolkit with a reference table covering each layer discussed above, including the relevant Act or by-law, whether the requirement is national, provincial or municipal, whether it may be compulsory under your local by-laws, and who to contact for assistance.

Members are welcome to request a copy from the Labour Relations and Compliance desk, or to contact us directly if they would like their current documents reviewed against what their municipality requires.

Compliance in this industry is not a single licence on a wall. It is a set of national, provincial and municipal requirements that change depending on the services you offer, whether you sell food or drinks, whether you play music, and where your premises are located. Getting it right helps protect your business from fines and possible closure. It also protects your clients, your staff, and the professional reputation of the industry as a whole.