How to Start a Nail Salon in Texas: Manicurist License, Costs & Requirements
Texas licenses nail work under its own manicurist license, and a nail salon needs that license on every technician, an establishment license on the premises, and the standard Texas company and tax setup around both. This guide works through the TDLR licenses first, then the Secretary of State, Comptroller and city pieces, using published Texas fees and forms.
State sources last reviewed: November 3, 2026Researched from Texas state sources. Our guides are free. We may earn a commission when you use a partner service, at no additional cost to you.
Who licenses nail salons in Texas
Nail services in Texas are licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), in the same Barbering and Cosmetology program that covers hair and barbering. The consolidation that created that structure was House Bill 1560 in the 87th Legislature, signed June 15, 2021, which placed barbering and cosmetology together under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1603. There is no separate Texas nail board. Your technicians, your salon establishment license and your inspections all come from TDLR, starting at TDLR Barbering and Cosmetology.
That one fact simplifies your research more than it might seem. The license table, the establishment types and the renewal system in this guide all come from a single agency, and the same agency site is where you verify any fee or rule before you act on it. Guides written for other states, where nails sit under a cosmetology board with different license names, will mislead you on Texas specifics even when their general business advice is sound.
Texas nail salon requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Agency | Cost | Key facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manicurist license, one for each nail technician | TDLR | See the current TDLR fee schedule | 600 hours of training; license term is 2 years |
| Manicurist and Esthetician combined license | TDLR | See the current TDLR fee schedule | 800 hours; covers both nail and skincare scopes |
| Salon establishment license, specialty | TDLR | $78 specialty; $78 full-service; $70 mini-establishment | Tied to the owner and the address; inspections apply |
| LLC Certificate of Formation, Form 205 | Secretary of State | $300 | No annual report to the Secretary of State |
| Assumed name certificate, Form 503 | Secretary of State or county clerk | $25 with the state; about $15 to $25 per county | Filing location depends on your structure |
| Employer Identification Number | IRS | Free | Apply with the IRS directly |
| Sales tax permit | Texas Comptroller | Free | Nail services are generally not taxable; retail product sales are |
| Franchise tax information report | Texas Comptroller | No tax due below $2,650,000 in total revenue (2026) | Report still due May 15 |
The manicurist license, and the combined license worth knowing about
The dedicated Texas nail license is the Manicurist license, at 600 hours of training in a licensed school, followed by TDLR examinations administered through PSI, on a two year license term. Every technician performing nail services in your salon needs their own license in force. That includes booth renters and part time technicians, not only full time employees. Your salon establishment license never substitutes for a missing personal license.
| Practitioner license | Training hours | Role in a nail salon |
|---|---|---|
| Manicurist | 600 hours | The core license for manicures, pedicures and nail services |
| Manicurist and Esthetician | 800 hours | The combined license, covering nail services and skincare services under one credential |
| Esthetician | 750 hours | Skincare only. Relevant if your salon adds facial services delivered by an esthetician |
| Cosmetology Operator | 1,000 hours | The broad cosmetology license, held by some salon owners and multi service practitioners |
The combined Manicurist and Esthetician license at 800 hours deserves attention when you plan your service menu. A nail salon that wants to add facials and skincare has two lawful routes: hire a licensed esthetician, or staff technicians who hold the combined license or an operator license with the right scope. What you cannot do is let a manicurist license carry skincare services it does not cover. Menus expand one Instagram trend at a time, and each addition needs a scope check against the licenses your team actually holds before it goes on the booking page.
Sanitation is the operational heart of a nail salon license. TDLR sets health and safety requirements for licensed establishments and inspects premises, and nail work involves shared tools, water and skin contact all day. Build your cleaning routines, your tool handling and your station setup around the current TDLR requirements for your establishment type from the start, and train every new hire into them. The salons that struggle with inspections are usually the ones that treated sanitation as a poster on the wall rather than a system every technician follows between every client.
The establishment license for a nail salon
Your premises need their own TDLR establishment license, separate from every personal license. A nail focused business typically fits the specialty establishment type, at $78, with full-service also at $78 and the mini-establishment, for small single operator style spaces, at $70. Renewal fees match the initial fees. Confirm which establishment type fits your premises on TDLR before you apply, because the type should match the services actually offered in the space.
The license belongs to the named owner at the named address. It does not transfer when a salon is sold and it does not move when you relocate. Factor new establishment paperwork into any plan to buy an existing nail salon or to move yours, and expect inspections as a normal part of holding the license. The owner, it is worth repeating, does not need a practitioner license to own the salon. Every person performing services does.
Forming your LLC with the Texas Secretary of State
Most new nail salon owners in Texas operate through a limited liability company, and the filing that creates one is the Certificate of Formation, Form 205, filed with the Texas Secretary of State for a $300 filing fee. Your company name has to include a limited liability company designator and has to be distinguishable from names already on file. The company needs a registered agent with a Texas street address, and a post office box does not qualify. You can reserve a name first for $40, which holds it for 120 days, if you want the name locked while you finish your lease and licensing paperwork.
Two Texas facts surprise owners moving here from other states. Texas has no general state business license, so your TDLR licenses are the state level permission that matters for a nail salon. And Texas LLCs file no annual report with the Secretary of State, which removes a yearly chore that catches owners out in other states.
Forming the company yourself on the Secretary of State site is the free route apart from the state fee itself. Formation services will do the filing for you for their own fee on top of the state fee. Either route ends at the same place, so choose based on how much paperwork you want to handle, and keep your filed certificate and your company agreement somewhere you can find them, because landlords, banks and suite operators will ask for them.
Registering your nail salon name with a DBA
If your nail salon will trade under any name other than the exact legal name of your company or yourself, Texas wants an assumed name certificate, the filing most people call a DBA. Where you file depends on your structure, and getting this wrong is a classic Texas trap. Filing entities such as LLCs and corporations file the Assumed Name Certificate, Form 503, for $25, with the Secretary of State. Sole proprietors and general partnerships file instead at the county clerk in each county where the business operates, at roughly $15 to $25 per county.
Practical version: a nail salon organized as an LLC with a different shop name files once with the state. A solo practitioner working as a sole proprietor files in their county, and files again in any second county they work in. File the DBA before you print signage, open a business bank account or sign merchant accounts under the shop name, because banks will ask to see it.
Getting your federal Employer Identification Number
Your EIN is the federal tax number for your nail salon, issued by the IRS. It is free, always, when you apply with the IRS directly. Any site charging you to obtain one is selling you a form you can complete yourself.
Texas sales tax, and the services and retail split that matters in beauty
A Texas sales tax permit from the Comptroller is free, and a nail salon that sells any retail product needs one before the first sale. The combined rate is the 6.25 percent state rate plus up to 2 percent local tax, for a maximum of 8.25 percent. The rule that shapes daily life in a Texas beauty business is the split: beauty services themselves are generally not taxable in Texas, but retail product sales are. The manicure or pedicure your client books is a service. The take-home product she buys at the desk is a retail sale.
Build that split into your booking and point of sale setup from day one. Itemize services and products separately on every ticket so tax is collected only on the products, keep your product inventory records clean, and file at the frequency the Comptroller assigns you.
The Texas franchise tax and the report small businesses still file
Texas has no personal income tax, and its business level tax is the franchise tax, run by the Comptroller. For 2026 the no tax due threshold is $2,650,000 in total revenue, and the same threshold applies for 2027, so the large majority of independent nail salons owe no franchise tax. Above the threshold, the rate is 0.375 percent for retail and wholesale businesses and 0.75 percent for other businesses, with an EZ Computation option at 0.331 percent for qualifying entities with revenue up to $20 million.
The trap is the filing, not the tax. The old No Tax Due Report was discontinued for reports due on or after January 1, 2024. A business under the threshold still has to file, using a Public Information Report on Form 05-102 or an Ownership Information Report on Form 05-167, and the due date is May 15.
Hiring, booth rent, and the Texas employment rules
If you hire employees, register with the Texas Workforce Commission for unemployment tax. Texas charges that tax on a $9,000 wage base, and the new employer rate is 2.7 percent. Report every new hire within 20 days. The Texas minimum wage is $7.25, and Texas cities are preempted from setting a higher local minimum, so the state figure is the one that governs your payroll planning wherever in Texas you open.
Workers compensation is the Texas decision that differs from every other state. Texas is the one state where private employers may choose not to carry workers compensation coverage. Choosing not to subscribe is a real legal decision, not a default. Non-subscribers must file Form DWC-005 with the Division of Workers Compensation, post the required notices, and they give up common law defenses if an injured worker sues. For a nail salon with employees on their feet all day around water, chemicals and sharp tools, get advice on this choice rather than drifting into it.
The other classification decision is booth rent against employment. A genuine booth renter runs their own business inside your space: their own clients, their own prices, their own schedule, their own tax filings. An employee works under your direction, on your schedule, at your prices. Texas and federal tests look at how the relationship actually runs, not at what the agreement calls it. If you direct the work like an employer, paper that says contractor will not protect you.
City zoning, occupancy and the local layer
State licenses do not give you the right to operate in a particular building. Your city controls zoning and occupancy, so confirm that the address allows your type of business before you sign the lease, and expect a certificate of occupancy process, signage rules, and building and fire inspections that sit entirely outside TDLR. Your county handles the sole proprietor DBA filing described above. Confirm the local layer before you sign the lease, not after.
Renewal dates and filings to put on your calendar
| Item | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TDLR practitioner licenses | Every 2 years | Each practitioner renews their own license. Track expiry dates for everyone working in the business, not just yourself. |
| TDLR establishment license | Renewal fee matches the initial fee | Full-Service and Specialty establishments are $78, Mini-Establishment is $70. The license is tied to the owner and the address, so a move means new paperwork. |
| Franchise tax information report, Form 05-102 or 05-167 | May 15, every year | Due even when no franchise tax is owed under the $2,650,000 threshold. |
| Sales tax filings | At the frequency the Comptroller assigns | Covers retail product sales only. Services are generally not taxable in Texas. |
| New hire reports | Within 20 days of each hire | Filed with the state for every employee you bring on. |
Requirements change, and TDLR adjusted continuing education rules for renewals from September 1, 2025, so confirm the current renewal requirements for your license type on TDLR before you rely on any summary, including this one.
What the state charges, in one table
| State charge | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment license, specialty or full-service | $78 | TDLR |
| Establishment license, mini-establishment | $70 | TDLR |
| LLC Certificate of Formation, Form 205 | $300 | Secretary of State |
| Optional name reservation | $40 for 120 days | Secretary of State |
| Assumed name certificate, Form 503 | $25 | Secretary of State |
| Assumed name filing, sole proprietor | About $15 to $25 per county | County clerk |
| Employer Identification Number | Free | IRS |
| Sales tax permit | Free | Texas Comptroller |
State charges are the predictable part of your budget. The costs that decide whether a nail salon works are your lease, your pedicure stations and plumbing, ventilation and fit out, product and consumables, insurance, and staffing. Get quotes for those in your own city and build your price list from your real chair costs, not from a competitor menu screenshot. What you can hold fixed is the licensing picture above: 600 hours per manicurist, an establishment license on the premises, and the published state fees in this table.
Nail salon opening mistakes Texas owners repeat
Adding services beyond your team license scopes is the most common one, and facials added to a nail menu without an esthetician, a combined license or an operator license behind them are the usual example. The second is opening on a seller establishment paperwork after buying an existing salon, when the license was never transferable. The third is ringing retail products and services through as one total, which breaks the Texas sales tax split. The fourth is the May 15 information report, missed because no franchise tax was due. Each of these is cheap to avoid at setup and expensive to unwind later.
Official Texas sources used for this guide
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Barbering and Cosmetology program, practitioner and establishment licensing, Occupations Code Chapter 1603.
- Texas Secretary of State, Form 205 Certificate of Formation instructions, LLC filing fee and registered agent rules.
- Texas Comptroller, franchise tax, including the no tax due threshold and the information reports that replaced the No Tax Due Report.
- Texas Comptroller, taxpayer resources, sales tax permits and rates.
- Texas Workforce Commission, employer registration, unemployment tax and new hire reporting.
State sources last reviewed: November 3, 2026. Fees, forms and rules change. Confirm the current version with the agency before you file.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours does a Texas manicurist license take?
The Texas Manicurist license takes 600 hours of training at a licensed school, followed by TDLR examinations administered through PSI. The license runs on a two year term.
What is the combined manicurist and esthetician license in Texas?
It is a single TDLR license covering both nail and skincare scopes, and it takes 800 hours of training. It is one route for a nail salon that also wants to offer facial and skincare services without hiring a separate esthetician.
How much does it cost to license a nail salon premises in Texas?
TDLR charges $78 for a specialty establishment license and $78 for a full-service establishment license, and $70 for a mini-establishment license. A nail focused salon typically fits the specialty type. Renewal fees match the initial fees.
Can a manicurist offer facials in my Texas salon?
A manicurist license covers nail services. Skincare services need a license that covers them, such as an Esthetician license at 750 hours, the combined Manicurist and Esthetician license at 800 hours, or another license whose TDLR scope includes the service. Check the scope on TDLR before adding any service to your menu.
Are manicures and pedicures taxed in Texas?
Generally, no. Nail services are generally not taxable in Texas. Retail products you sell, such as take-home nail and hand care products, are taxable at 6.25 percent state plus up to 2 percent local, a maximum of 8.25 percent. Itemize services and products separately.
Do I need a cosmetology license to own a nail salon in Texas?
No. A salon owner does not need a practitioner license. The premises need a TDLR establishment license, and every technician performing nail services needs their own manicurist or otherwise covering license.