How to open a barbershop in Ontario: rules and costs

Ontario does not issue a barber licence. There is no "Barber" trade in provincial law at all — cutting hair for money sits inside the Hairstylist trade, one of Ontario's 23 compulsory trades. The person holding the clippers needs certification; the shop never gets a "barber" permit. The business needs a registered name, a CRA business number, written notice to your public health unit at least 14 days before you open, and in most cities a municipal licence. Below: the trade rule, the registrations in order, what an inspector checks, and real costs.

Do you need a barber licence in Ontario?

No, because it does not exist. O. Reg. 875/21 — Scopes of Practice lists every trade prescribed in Ontario, and the word "barber" appears nowhere in it. The trade covering the work is Hairstylist, scoped as "performing, for remuneration, any of the hairstyling services of cutting, designing, permanent waving, relaxing and straightening and colouring."

That matters because Hairstylist is compulsory. Skilled Trades Ontario lists it as code 332A and requires a Registered Training Agreement, Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or Certificate of Qualification to practise legally. It is one of only 23 compulsory trades, alongside plumber and electrician.

The certificate belongs to the person, not the shop. An owner who never picks up clippers does not need 332A; every barber working a chair does, employee or renter. Confirm your situation with Skilled Trades Ontario before hiring.

The eight steps to opening an Ontario barbershop

1. Confirm certification for whoever cuts hair.
2. Register the name through the Ontario Business Registry, or incorporate.
3. Get a CRA business number, adding HST and payroll accounts as needed.
4. Confirm zoning before signing the lease.
5. Notify your public health unit in writing, 14 days minimum.
6. Apply for the municipal licence, which usually triggers a zoning review.
7. Settle hiring — employees under the ESA, chair renters on a written agreement.
8. Set up booking, payments, and tax before day one.

Registering the business and the CRA accounts

Ontario's Business Names Act is blunt: no individual may carry on business under a name other than their own unless it is registered. Call the shop "Kingsway Barber Co." and you register; operate as "Bikram Parmar" and you do not. Registration runs through the Ontario Business Registry at $60, immediate online, and is effective for five years. Incorporating instead costs $300.

Next is the CRA business number, the identifier every program account hangs off. Add an HST account once revenue crosses the threshold, and a payroll account if you hire.

On HST: register within 29 days of passing $30,000 in gross taxable revenue over four consecutive calendar quarters, per the CRA rule. Ontario's rate is 13%. Registering voluntarily below the threshold often pays during a build-out, when input tax credits on leaseholds and equipment are large. Detail sits in our Ontario HST guide for barbers.

What does an Ontario health inspection cover?

Barbershops are personal service settings under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, governed by O. Reg. 136/18. Section 3 (1) is the one to write on the wall: anyone intending to operate must notify the medical officer of health in writing at least 14 days before commencing operation, naming the setting, its location, your contact details, and the services offered. Ontario has 36 public health units.

What the inspector checks comes straight from the regulation. Surfaces must be smooth, impermeable, easily cleanable and in good repair. You need potable hot and cold running water under pressure, and at least one sink used only for hand washing, with soap in a dispenser and single-service drying. The setting cannot be a room used as a dwelling.

• Sterilization records (s. 14): sterilizer name and type, date and time used, equipment sterilized, and test results.
• Disinfection records: disinfectant name, concentration, date prepared, and discard date.
• Equipment (s. 10): every tool kept in good repair and a sanitary condition, maintained to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Posting (s. 4): inspection results posted as the inspector requests.
• One break in your favour: the rule requiring a client's name and contact details does not apply where the only service is hairdressing or barbering.

Municipal licensing, zoning, and your lease

Licensing is municipal, so the answer changes with the city. In Toronto a barbershop needs a Personal Service Settings licence under Chapter 545, covering "cutting, shaving, styling or hair colouring, including facial hair." The City of Toronto charges $211.73 to apply plus $239.18 on approval — $450.91 to open — and $296.45 a year to renew.

Zoning approval is required for most new Toronto applications, waived only when you take over a business holding a valid licence or one that expired less than three years ago. That exception is the strongest argument for buying an existing shop over converting a raw unit. Check the plumbing too: retrofitting the dedicated hand-wash sink is the budget overrun we see most.

Hiring: employees, chair renters, and WSIB

Two models dominate Ontario shops: employees on commission, and barbers renting a chair. The line between them is not what the contract calls it. Ontario's Employment Standards Act guidance says employers may not treat employees covered by the Act as if they are not employees. An officer can issue a notice of contravention leading to a penalty, a prosecution, or both.

Hire employees and three obligations follow. The general minimum wage is $17.60 an hour through September 30, 2026, rising to $17.95 on October 1, 2026. You must register a CRA payroll account before your first remittance due date, the 15th of the month after you begin withholding. WSIB gives you 10 calendar days from your first hire.

Chair renters are separate businesses renting your space, and the BarberFlow employee tools handle both models. One CRA wrinkle survives the switch: under the EI regulations the owner is deemed the employer of a self-employed barber and pays both shares of EI premiums, while the barber remits their own CPP and income tax. Choosing between models is arithmetic — run the booth rent vs commission calculator, or read up on booth rent.

How much does it cost to open a barbershop?

Government fees are small and knowable. Everything else turns on whether you take over a working shop or build out a bare unit. Rows marked estimate are our own ranges from working with Canadian shops, not official figures.

How to set up a new shop in BarberFlow

With the licence in hand, setup takes about fifteen minutes. Work in this order — tax before payments, pay model before payouts — and nothing needs redoing.

The five mistakes new Ontario shops make

1. Booking the opening party before notifying public health. Fourteen days is a hard minimum, counted from when the written notice arrives.
2. Signing a lease before confirming zoning. A raw unit gets the full review while rent runs.
3. Assuming the shop needs the trade certificate. It does not — the individual cutting hair does.
4. Buying WSIB coverage nobody checked. Barber shops are on the optional list. Make it a decision, not a default.
5. Calling a commission barber a contractor. Set their hours and prices and the ESA treats them as an employee regardless of the agreement.

Quick checklist

• Confirm every barber holds a valid Hairstylist 332A certificate.
• Register the business name ($60) or incorporate ($300).
• Get a CRA business number; add HST and payroll accounts.
• Confirm zoning permits a personal service use before signing.
• Notify public health in writing, 14 days minimum.
• Apply for the municipal licence and budget for the zoning review.
• Decide employee or chair renter deliberately, in writing.
• Configure HST, cancellation policy, and pay models before day one.

Once the doors open, the tax question arrives fast. Our Ontario HST guide for barbers covers the $30,000 threshold and what counts toward it, including chair rent you collect. Renting a chair rather than opening a shop? The self-employed barber tax write-offs guide covers what you can deduct.