Personal Services & Wellness · 6 min read · Last updated
If you run a salon, a barbershop, a nail bar, a tattoo studio or a piercing or electrolysis business in Hamilton, this is your licence. The by-law groups them all under one test: a service provided for any part of the human body where there is a risk of exposure to blood. That single idea explains both what is covered and what is left out.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “Personal Aesthetic Service Facility is a service provided for any part of the human body where there is a risk of exposure to blood and includes, but is not limited to, hairdressing, barbering, manicure, pedicure, tattooing, micro-pigmentation, body waxing, body-piercing and electrolysis services. Does not apply to lash extensions. Does not apply to medical or therapeutic treatment given by a person duly qualified, licensed or registered to do so under the laws of the Province of Ontario.”
Who needs this licence?
The test is risk of exposure to blood, and the by-law gives a non-exhaustive list of services that meet it: hairdressing, barbering, manicure, pedicure, tattooing, micro-pigmentation, body waxing, body-piercing and electrolysis. If you provide any of those, you need this licence for the facility.
Two exclusions matter. The by-law does not apply to lash extensions, and it does not apply to medical or therapeutic treatment given by a person duly qualified, licensed or registered under the laws of the Province of Ontario. Regulated health professionals practising within their profession are outside this licence.
Because the list is expressly not limited to the named services, do not assume a service is exempt just because it is not written down. If your service carries a risk of exposure to blood, ask Licensing and By-law Services how it is treated.
This is a facility licence: it attaches to the premises and the business, not to each stylist or technician. There is no criminal record check on this checklist and no in-person attendance requirement, which makes it one of the lighter applications in this group.
What documents do you need?
There are three items. The completed business licence application form comes first.
Second is a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of the application. The one-year limit is about currency: the City wants to see that the business is registered now.
Third is the Zoning Verification Certificate confirming the address is zoned for the use, or a Zoning Addendum where the same category of business was previously licensed at that address within one year.
Notice what is not here. No premise plan, no site plan, no police check and no qualification certificates appear on this checklist. The substance of the review for this licence happens at the health inspection rather than in the paperwork, which is a sensible fit for a licence built around infection control.
Zoning and premises requirements
The Zoning Verification Certificate is one of only three checklist items, and it confirms that the zoning at the address permits the use. It is issued against the property.
The addendum route is particularly useful for this class. Salon and barbershop units turn over often, and if the same category of business was licensed at your address within the past year, a Zoning Addendum may be completed instead of a full certificate.
There is no premise plan requirement here, so the layout of your stations, sinks and treatment rooms is not something you file in advance. The health inspection is where the physical set-up gets looked at.
Inspections and approvals
Two inspections are required and the request for both is circulated by the Licensing Team after your application has been received: a health inspection and a parking inspection.
The health inspection is the one that matters most for this class, because the licence exists to manage a risk of exposure to blood. Expect attention to cleaning and disinfection, the handling of instruments, and how single-use items are managed. Prepare your facility as though the inspector is checking your everyday routine rather than a one-off tidy-up, because that is the point.
The parking inspection checks the parking serving the premises against what the site requires.
The health inspection is not a one-time hurdle. It recurs at renewal, with its own fee, so the standard has to be maintained year-round.
How much does it cost?
A new application carries a processing fee, the licence fee, a health inspection fee and a parking inspection fee. HST applies to the processing fee and to both inspection fees; the licence fee itself is not subject to HST.
Zoning verification, or the addendum, is charged on top and carries no HST, which is why the fee schedule sets out a total with zoning and a total without it.
The licence fee for this class sits at the modest end of the by-law's range, which reflects the fact that this is a common, everyday business type rather than a restricted one.
At renewal you pay the licence fee and the health inspection fee. A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee with HST. The City sets all amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them when you apply.
How to apply
Work out first whether you are in or out. If you provide any service with a risk of exposure to blood, you are in, even if it is not one of the named examples. If you provide only lash extensions, or you are a regulated health professional providing medical or therapeutic treatment, this licence is not the one for you.
Request the Zoning Verification Certificate for the address, or check whether you qualify for the addendum route.
Complete the application form and obtain a business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within the past year.
Submit the application. The Licensing Team then circulates the requests for the health and parking inspections. Use the waiting time to get your infection-control practices and records in order rather than to start thinking about them.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal requires Declaration B to be completed. There is no in-person attendance requirement and no photo identification card for this licence.
The health inspection is charged again at renewal, so the licence carries an annual public-health touchpoint. That is the main ongoing obligation and the main ongoing cost after the licence fee.
If your services change during the year, for example if you add piercing or micro-pigmentation to a hairdressing business, tell the City rather than waiting for the next renewal.
Renew on time. A late licence has to be reinstated and reinstatement carries its own fee with HST added.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What is the test for needing a personal aesthetic service facility licence?
The by-law defines the class by the risk of exposure to blood, then lists examples such as barbering, tattooing, waxing and piercing.
2. Which of these is expressly outside the licence?
The definition states that the licence does not apply to lash extensions, while micro-pigmentation, waxing and electrolysis are named as covered services.
3. Which inspection recurs at renewal for this licence?
The renewal structure for this class lists the licence fee together with the health inspection, so the health inspection recurs.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.