Buying a salon in Montana: the re-licensing bill
What happens to salon licenses when I buy a Montana salon?
The establishment license does not survive a majority sale
The salon license you are looking at stops at the sale. Montana requires a new salon or shop license when ownership changes by more than 50 percent, and that application is yours, as the buyer.
The board states it without a softening word: move to a new location or change ownership above 50 percent and you must apply for a new salon or shop license. Buying the LLC instead of the assets does not route around it, because the ownership of the business changed either way.
The new license costs $125 plus a $150 inspection fee, and both are non-refundable. Renewal after that is $125 a year. The license transfer guide puts this rule in the frame it belongs to: a premises license restarts when the premises changes hands.
$125 plus $150A new Montana salon or shop license costs $125 plus a $150 inspection fee, and is required when ownership changes by more than 50 percent. — Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, retrieved 2026-09-29
$125The Montana salon or shop license renewal fee is $125. — Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, retrieved 2026-09-29
If you move to a new location and/or there is a change in ownership greater than 50% you must apply for a new salon or shop license.
What the individuals hold, and what they take with them
The chairs may be full of licensed professionals, and none of those licenses is part of the sale.
Barbering, cosmetology, electrology, esthetics and manicuring licenses in Montana belong to the people who hold them. A stylist who leaves after the sale takes her license with her, and it works at the next shop without your involvement. A stylist who stays needs nothing from the sale, because her license already covers her.
Booth renters are the same from the other direction. The booths they rent sit under the salon's establishment license, and the renters hold their own individual licenses. The sale changes the landlord of the booth, not the renter's standing.
Montana's Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists regulates barbering, cosmetology, electrology, esthetics and manicuring, separately from salon and shop licenses. — Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, retrieved 2026-09-29
What you keep without refiling anything
Not everything in a salon purchase restarts. The parts that keep running are the commercial parts, and knowing which is which prices the deal.
The trade name comes with an asset purchase if you write it in, and registers as an assumed business name at $20. An entity purchase keeps the registered name attached to the company you bought. The Secretary of State charges nothing for the interest transfer itself, and the annual report fee is waived when it is filed by April 15.
Equipment and fixtures move by bill of sale. The styling chairs, the washer, the front-desk system are assets on a schedule — and each one is worth a lien check, which the liens page covers at $7 per searched name.
$20Registering an assumed business name in Montana costs $20. — Montana Secretary of State business fee sheet, retrieved 2026-09-29
$0 by April 15A Montana LLC annual report filed by April 15 carries no fee; the $35 charge applies only after the due date. — Montana Secretary of State business fee sheet, retrieved 2026-09-29
Pricing the salon as a license restart
The re-licensing bill is part of the purchase price in every sense that matters, because the salon cannot lawfully operate under new ownership without it.
A buyer budgeting the state numbers should write them down as a set. The license application is $125. The inspection fee is $150. Both are required together and neither is refundable if the deal sours. Add the assumed business name at $20 if you are buying the assets and keeping the name.
| Filing | Fee | When |
|---|---|---|
| New salon or shop license | $125 | At the ownership change |
| Inspection fee | $150 | With the license application |
| Assumed business name | $20 | If buying assets and keeping the name |
| Articles of Organization | $35 | If you form your own LLC to buy |
| Annual report | $0 | By April 15 after closing |
$275 togetherMontana salon or shop license application fees are $125 for the license plus a $150 inspection fee, with both fees non-refundable. — Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, retrieved 2026-09-29
The walkthrough before you sign
Walk the salon with the license restart in mind, because the inspection you will face as the new owner judges the premises you are about to own.
Check the sinks, the ventilation and the booth layout against what an inspector would want to see, not against what the seller is used to. A premises that passed inspection years ago may still need work before a new license inspection passes it.
Then walk it as a buyer: the due diligence checklist covers the entity standing, the lien search and the license list in order. The cost breakdown adds the salon's numbers to the general filing fees.
May 3 to July 1Montana salon or shop licenses are renewed annually, with the regular renewal window for booths and salons running May 3 to July 1. — Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Can the seller just put the salon license in my name?
No. The board does not transfer salon licenses. Above a 50 percent ownership change the new owner applies for a new license, at $125 plus the $150 inspection fee.
Does buying the salon's LLC avoid the new license?
No. The trigger is a change in ownership of the business, and an interest purchase changes ownership as surely as an asset purchase does.
Do my stylists need new licenses after the sale?
No. Individual barbering, cosmetology, esthetics and manicuring licenses belong to the people who hold them, and they are unaffected by a change of salon owner.
When does the salon renewal fee apply?
After your new license is issued, the salon renews annually at $125. The regular renewal window for salons and booths runs from May 3 to July 1.