How to open a barbershop in Saskatchewan: rules and costs

To open a barbershop in Saskatchewan, whoever cuts hair must hold a journeyperson hairstylist certificate or a learner's certificate from the SATCC, and a journeyperson must be on duty every hour the shop is open to the public. That staffing rule, section 28(11) of the apprenticeship regulations, sets your opening hours before the lease does. The shop needs a registered business name, a CRA business number, a PST number and written notice to the Saskatchewan Health Authority before it is built or opened — no permit, no pre-opening inspection — plus a $135 commercial licence in Saskatoon. As of October 2026 the minimum wage is $15.70 and WCB is mandatory from the first hire. Below: the trade rule, the registrations in order, the health rules, the verified fees and the BarberFlow setup.

Do you need a barber licence in Saskatchewan?

Yes in practice, though nothing is called a barber licence. Saskatchewan regulates barbering through the hairstylist trade, and section 28(4) of The Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Regulations, 2020 says no person shall work in the trade unless they are a journeyperson or hold a learner's certificate, and no employer shall employ anyone who does not. The certificate belongs to the person holding the clippers, employee or chair renter; an owner who never cuts hair needs none. Table 6 lists hairstylist at a 3:1 ratio, so one journeyperson cannot carry a whole bench of learners.

Section 28(11) is the rule that catches owners: no person shall operate a place of business where anyone works in the trade unless at least one journeyperson is on duty at all times it is open to the public. Two learners and an owner who does not cut cannot open for a single hour. Write the roster first and the opening hours second.

SATCC's Hairstylist guide to course content (2026) requires a recognized pre-employment program first, then 3,600 hours and at least two years in the trade, with a valid learner's certificate for anyone who is not yet a journeyperson. Apprentice registration is $250 and the written and practical exams $175 each on the July 2025 fee schedule; the Saskatchewan barber licence guide covers the learner's certificate and out-of-province transfers.

The eight steps to opening a Saskatchewan barbershop

1. Confirm certificates for everyone who will cut, and name a journeyperson for every open shift.
2. Reserve the name ($50), then register it ($65) or incorporate ($255) through ISC.
3. Get a CRA business number with payroll, a PST number through eTax, and GST when needed.
4. Confirm zoning before signing the lease, plus any change-of-use permit.
5. Send written notice to the SHA before you build, renovate or open.
6. Fit out to the SHA fact sheet: a separate hand-washing sink, disinfection set by tool.
7. Apply for the municipal licence — $135 in Saskatoon; Regina exempts commercial premises.
8. Register with WCB within 30 days of the first hire, then open with a journeyperson on duty.

Registering the business and the CRA accounts

Saskatchewan's Business Names Registration Act requires anyone carrying on business under a business name to register it (s. 4(1)), and the definition is wider than Ontario's: a sole proprietor's business name includes your own surname with the addition of some other word or phrase (s. 2(c)(i)). Trade as "Parmar" and nothing is owed; "Parmar Barbering" gets registered. A registration runs to the end of the month of its third anniversary (s. 9(2)(a)); a reservation holds the name for 90 days (s. 8.1(2)(b)).

ISC's Corporate Registry fee table effective April 15, 2026 prices it: $50 to reserve, $65 to register, $60 to renew, $255 to incorporate a for-profit corporation, and a $60 annual return ($110 late).

Next is the CRA business number, which the GST and payroll accounts hang off. GST registration becomes 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.

PST is the Saskatchewan wrinkle. Businesses operating in Saskatchewan must obtain a PST number — a vendor's licence number or a registered consumer number — even though haircuts are not PST-taxable; retail product carries 6% PST. Which number a shop gets, and what the 6% lands on, is in the Saskatchewan PST guide for barbers.

Does a Saskatchewan barbershop need a health inspection?

Not before opening, but written notice is mandatory. The Public Health Act, 1994 makes a barber's place of business a personal service facility (s. 2(aa)), and The Health Hazard Regulations govern it. Since September 15, 2023, s. 13(6) says no operator shall construct, extend, renovate, alter or operate a personal service facility without prior written notice to the local authority — the Saskatchewan Health Authority's public health inspector. The notice (s. 13(8)) names the operation and its location, the operator and contact details, the services offered, and anything else the authority reasonably requests.

That is the whole gate. The regulation creates no licence, permit or fee and requires no pre-opening inspection of a barbershop; the Saskatchewan Health Authority says hair salons and barber shops are inspected on a complaint basis only. Whether the local office acknowledges the notice or visits before you open is its call, so ask when you send it.

The standing duties apply from day one: s. 13(3) bans operating in an unsanitary manner or in a way that may spread a communicable disease or cause an injury, and s. 13(9) requires everyone providing services to be reasonably trained and equipped to recognize, prevent and respond to health hazards. The SHA's Hair and Barbering Services Information Sheet sets the disinfection level by tool, and its Opening a Personal Service Facility fact sheet sets the plumbing rule most build-outs miss: at least one hand-washing sink easily accessible from every workstation, separate from the washroom sinks and from the sink used to clean instruments.

• Disposable safety razors: single use only.
• Straight razor blades: high-level disinfectant, or single use.
• Clippers: intermediate-level disinfectant.
• Scissors, combs, brushes and razor handles: low-level disinfectant.
• Capes: a sanitary strip or clean towel keeps the cape off the client's neck; neck strips are discarded after each use.

Do Saskatoon and Regina shops need a licence?

Saskatoon's Business Licence Bylaw, 2021 (Bylaw 9746) says no person shall carry on any business in the City without a licence (s. 5); Schedule A prices new or changed premises at $135 and a renewal at $95. A shop on commercial-zoned property needs the Commercial Business Licence: check zoning with Planning and Development, pull a building permit for a change of use, and expect the licence by mail two to three weeks after approval. Zoning runs under Bylaw 9990, in effect since January 3, 2025, so confirm the use term for a barbershop with the City, not an older guide.

Regina is the opposite. A business at premises paying commercial or industrial property taxes is exempt from a business licence, bar second-hand dealers, pawn brokers and coin dealers; a residential business licence is $195 a year and a non-resident licence $450. Regina's Zoning Bylaw 2019-19 files a barbershop under "Service Trade, Personal", so the lease question is whether that use is permitted in the zone.

Hiring: employees, chair renters and WCB

Most shops mix employees on wage or commission with barbers renting a chair. Employees fall under provincial employment standards: the minimum wage is $15.70 an hour since October 1, 2026, up from $15.35, and it moves each October 1 on an index weighing the Consumer Price Index and the average hourly wage equally. Reporting for a shift earns at least three hours' pay, vacation is three weeks after each year at 3/52 of wages (5.77 per cent), and termination notice runs from one week after 13 weeks of service to eight weeks past ten years. 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, with a shift schedule showing which journeyperson covers each open hour. The federal wrinkle survives the switch: the CRA's barbers and hairdressers page says the shop owner may be the employer of a self-employed barber for EI, so the owner remits both shares — see the chair renter EI guide. Put every rental in a written barber chair rental agreement, and run the booth rent vs commission calculator before choosing.

What does a Saskatchewan barbershop cost to open?

The honest answer: no Saskatchewan government source publishes a barbershop start-up budget, so this table lists only fees a government page states. Chairs, mirrors, the hand-washing sink plumbing and leasehold work depend on the unit and the contractor, and that number belongs in a quote, not a blog post.

How to set up a new shop in BarberFlow

Once the notice is in, the software side takes about fifteen minutes. Tax lines before the first payment, pay model before the first payout, shift schedule before the first open hour.

The five mistakes new Saskatchewan shops make

1. Setting the hours before the roster. Section 28(11) wants a journeyperson on duty every open hour; two learners and an absent owner cannot open at all.
2. Starting the build before telling the SHA. Section 13(6) covers constructing, renovating and altering, not only operating. The notice goes in before the contractor does.
3. Reading "complaint-based" as "no rules." The first inspection arrives with a complaint, and the separate hand-washing sink and disinfection levels apply from day one.
4. Skipping the PST number because haircuts are exempt. A business operating in Saskatchewan must obtain one, and the 6% on retail product needs it.
5. Missing the 30-day WCB window. Barbering is a covered industry; the clock starts at the first hire, employee or contractor.

Quick checklist

• Confirm every barber holds a journeyperson or learner's certificate.
• Name the journeyperson on duty for every hour the shop is open.
• Reserve the name ($50), then register it ($65) or incorporate ($255).
• Get a CRA business number with payroll; apply for the PST number.
• Confirm zoning and the change-of-use permit before signing the lease.
• Send written notice to the SHA before building or opening.
• Apply for the Saskatoon licence, or confirm the Regina exemption.
• Register with WCB within 30 days of the first hire.

Once the doors open, the tax question arrives with the first retail sale: the Saskatchewan PST guide for barbers covers why haircuts are exempt and which PST number a shop gets. Opening a second location across the border? The Manitoba opening guide and the Ontario opening guide walk the same steps under a 14-day notice rule.