How to open a barbershop in Manitoba: rules, permits and costs

To open a barbershop in Manitoba you need no barber licence — the province repealed its Barbers Act in 1996 — but whoever cuts hair must hold the compulsory hairstylist trade certificate, whose scope includes basic barbering. The rules on the shop are provincial: every personal service premises registers with Manitoba Health, submits scaled plans before construction and books an inspection 14 days before opening, while Winnipeg issues no business licence for a barbershop. As of October 2026 the minimum wage is $16.40 and WCB is optional. Below: the trade rule, the registrations in order, what the inspector checks, the verified fees and the BarberFlow setup.

Do you need a barber licence in Manitoba?

No barber licence exists. The Barbers Repeal and Hairdressers Repeal Act of 1996 repealed The Barbers Act, and a trade rule took its place. The Trade of Hairstylist Regulation, M.R. 251/2014 designates hairstylist a compulsory certification trade (s. 3), and its definition of the trade includes "basic barbering, including colouring and shaping facial hair and side burns" (s. 1). A fade, a beard line-up and a hot-towel shave are hairstylist work in the regulation's eyes.

Compulsory means what it says. Section 26(1) of The Apprenticeship and Certification Act bars anyone from working in a compulsory trade without a certificate of qualification, an apprenticeship or a temporary permit, and s. 26(2) bars an employer from employing someone it knows, or ought to know, is not permitted. The certificate belongs to the person holding the clippers; an owner who never cuts hair needs none. The apprenticeship runs two levels of 1,800 hours each before a Red Seal theory exam and a practical exam; apprentices pay no exam fee, while a trades qualifier pays $200 to apply and $400 for the exam. The rest is in the Manitoba barber licence guide.

The nine steps to opening a Manitoba barbershop

1. Confirm certification for whoever cuts hair.
2. Reserve the name ($45), then register it ($60) or incorporate ($350).
3. Get a CRA business number with GST and payroll accounts.
4. Confirm zoning before signing the lease.
5. Submit scaled plans and the registration form to Health Protection before construction.
6. Call the public health inspector 14 days before opening.
7. Skip the Winnipeg business licence — there is none for a barbershop.
8. Hire under the Employment Standards Code, decide on optional WCB, budget EI on chair renters.
9. Set up booking, tax lines and payments before day one.

Registering the business and the CRA accounts

Manitoba's Business Names Registration Act requires registration when an individual carries on business under a name other than their own surname, and for every partnership (s. 2(1)); a registration expires three years after filing or renewal (s. 5(1)). Trade as "Parmar" and nothing is owed; call the shop "Osborne Village Barber Co." and you register. The Companies Office charges $45 to reserve a name and $60 to register it online, with 90 days to file once the name is reserved. Incorporating instead costs **$350**, plus a $65 annual return.

Next is the CRA business number, which the GST and payroll accounts hang off. GST registration is mandatory once taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, with 29 days to register; registering early during a build-out lets you claim input tax credits on the chairs and plumbing. Every province's rate is in the sales tax guide for barbershops.

RST is the Manitoba wrinkle. Haircuts, shaves and beard trims have been non-taxable since December 1, 2021, while retail product carries 7% RST. Under Information Notice RST 24-01, a small business with annual taxable sales under $30,000 need not register — unless it buys from out-of-province suppliers that do not collect Manitoba RST — and has one month to register after crossing. Both $30,000 tests are in the Manitoba RST guide for barbers.

Does a Manitoba barbershop need a health inspection?

Yes, and the inspector is provincial. Manitoba Health's guide to opening a personal service premises names "hair and barber salons" first in its definition, and the rule is unconditional: every personal service premises is required to register with the Health Protection Unit. A public health inspector assesses the risk from the registration form and a consultation with you, then decides whether a health permit is required. No regulation or provincial licence covers a barbershop; the authority is The Public Health Act and guidelines.

The timing is what new owners miss. Before construction or conversion starts, plans drawn to scale go to the inspector with the completed Personal Services Registration Form, sent to healthprotection@gov.mb.ca or 1-844-476-1425. Then the operator must contact the inspector 14 days before opening to arrange an inspection. Authorization, and a permit where one applies, is issued only after that inspection, with construction complete.

The design rules are modest for a hair-only shop: a hand sink in the public washroom with hot and cold water, liquid soap and single-use towels, 100 lux in service areas, and hot and cold potable water under pressure. A hand sink at every station is required only for high-risk services such as tattooing. The Personal Service Facility Guidelines of November 2013 fill in the routine, and call themselves a guideline only. Neither document lists a fee.

• Hand sinks: dedicated to handwashing, one per no more than three operators.
• Combs and head rests: cleaned and disinfected between clients.
• Scissors that break skin: cleaned and sterilized.
• Razors: single-use, or sterilized between each use.
• Records: kept for at least two years.

Does a Winnipeg barbershop need a business licence?

No. The City of Winnipeg licenses 11 business activities through its Community Safety Business Licensing By-law, and none is a barbershop or hair salon; Schedule A of the Doing Business in Winnipeg By-law 91/2008 has no hair category either. What applies is zoning. Winnipeg's Zoning By-law 200/2006 files a barbershop under "personal services", permitted in the commercial districts and conditional in a few others, with a 5,000 square foot cap in the RMU, C1 and M2 districts (s. 89(1)). A zoning verification letter is $66 on the 2026 fee schedule, and the final occupancy permit on a building permit is $260 under By-law 66/2016.

A home-based shop needs administrative conditional use approval on top of the home business permit. Outside Winnipeg, read the city's own by-law: Brandon licenses businesses generally, and its 2026 fee schedule lists a general business licence.

Hiring: employees, chair renters and WCB

Employees fall under the Employment Standards Code. Manitoba's minimum wage is $16.40 an hour since October 1, 2026, up from $16.00, and it moves every October 1 with inflation, rounded up to the nearest five cents. The quick guide covers the rest: two weeks' vacation at 4%, nine general holidays including Louis Riel Day and Orange Shirt Day, and overtime at 1.5 times past eight hours a day or 40 a week. Add a payroll account before the first paycheque.

Chair renters are separate businesses renting your space, and the BarberFlow employee tools run rent and commission side by side. The federal wrinkle survives the switch: the CRA's barbers and hairdressers page says you may be considered the employer of a self-employed barber for EI even when you pay them nothing, so the owner remits both shares. The detail is in the guide to paying EI for a chair renter; every rental belongs in a written chair rental agreement, and the choice between models is arithmetic — run the booth rent vs commission calculator.

What does it cost to open a Manitoba barbershop?

The honest answer: no Manitoba government source publishes a barbershop start-up budget, so this table lists only fees a government page states. Chairs, mirrors, plumbing and leasehold work belong in a contractor's quote, not a blog post.

How to set up a new shop in BarberFlow

Once the inspector has signed off, the software side takes about fifteen minutes. Tax lines before the first payment, pay model before the first payout.

The five mistakes new Manitoba shops make

1. Building before the inspector sees the plans. Scaled plans go to Health Protection before construction, not after.
2. Opening the week the inspection is booked. Fourteen days' notice, and authorization only comes after the inspection.
3. Hiring a barber on a school certificate alone. Hairstylist is compulsory, and s. 26(2) makes the employer liable for what it ought to have known.
4. Hunting for a Winnipeg business licence. There is none. That time belongs on the zoning letter.
5. Letting WCB default to no. Barbershops are excluded, so coverage is a decision, and it is all-or-nothing across your workers.

Quick checklist

• Confirm every barber holds a hairstylist certificate, is an apprentice or holds a temporary permit.
• Reserve the name ($45) and register it ($60), or incorporate ($350).
• Get a CRA business number; add GST and payroll accounts, and RST if product sales warrant it.
• Confirm the unit is zoned for personal services before signing.
• Send scaled plans and the registration form to Health Protection before building.
• Call the public health inspector 14 days before opening.
• Decide on optional WCB in writing; put every chair rental in a written agreement.
• Set the Manitoba tax template, pay models and no-show fee in BarberFlow.

Once the doors open, the tax question arrives with the first retail sale: our Manitoba RST guide for barbers covers why haircuts are exempt and how the out-of-province supplier rule catches small shops. Opening east of the border? The Ontario opening guide walks the same steps under a different health regime.