Opening a salon in Cyprus.
Licences, hours and the paperwork, in order.

Hair salons and barbershops: two licences

Under law 28(I)/2003, both the person and the place need a licence from the Council for the Registration of Hairdressers and Barbers in Dali. Nobody may work as a hairdresser or barber, use those words in a shop name, or keep a salon without registration.

The person: registration plus a yearly licence

• Qualification: a recognised two-year vocational diploma plus experience (one year for a barber, two for a hairdresser), or without the diploma, four years' experience as a barber or five as a hairdresser.
• Registration is not enough: you also need a yearly practising licence. It expires on 31 December every year.
• Fees: the 2011 regulations list €50 for registration and €50 for the yearly licence, and the government portal adds €17 a year to the Federation. Whether the first year costs €50 or €100 to the Council is unclear; ask.
• Decision: within three months of a complete application, extendable by one month. If the Council does not answer in time, the application counts as approved.

The salon: a premises licence

• Planning permit first: the salon must be its own self-contained space with a town planning permit that fits use as a salon. Inside a home or an apartment block, that means a change-of-use permit.
• Managed by a registered hairdresser or barber. A company needs a director who qualifies.
• Fee: €80, paid on approval. Decision within three months.
• Valid for life, as long as the location stays the same, with a Council inspection every five years and a hygiene inspection every two years.
• Not transferable. If you buy an existing salon, you need a new licence in your name.
• Where it cannot be: inside a department store, or above the second floor of an apartment building unless the planning authority designated that space for a salon, with its own entrance and the building manager's written consent. A basement only with mechanical ventilation and lighting.

What the inspector looks for

From the 2011 regulations: floors, walls and ceilings that do not absorb and are easy to clean; drinking water; a toilet of permanent construction (two above six staff, three above twelve); tools cleaned and disinfected after every client; single-use towels and razor blades; a first-aid box; a hand fire extinguisher; the hygiene rules and a no-smoking sign on display.

Thursday and Sunday: closed

The shop hours law (155(I)/2006, article 21) says hair salons and barbershops are closed on Thursday and Sunday. On other days they may open from 05:00 until 19:30 in winter (1 November to 31 March) and 20:00 in summer.

• If a Thursday falls on the day before a shop holiday, the salon may open that Thursday.
• Over Christmas (all of December) and in the ten days before Easter, the longer general shop hours apply.
• Tourist areas covered by a ministerial decree have their own hours.
• A 2019 bill to let salons choose Monday or Thursday as their second closed day was not passed.
• A salon that also does nails or beauty keeps the hair salon hours.

Home visits are not allowed for hairdressers and barbers, except for weddings and similar ceremonies.

Beauty salons

• The beautician: registration with the Beauticians Registration Council at the Ministry of Health, under law 40(I)/1999. New entrants need a three-year accredited degree in aesthetics plus a six-month traineeship, and good Greek. A yearly licence is needed, renewed with ten training points every two years.
• No automatic approval: unlike hairdressers, silence from the Council does not mean you are registered.
• The beauty institute: needs its own licence and a licensed beautician as manager. It may be part of a home or flat, specially adapted. The law does not mention a planning permit the way the hairdressers law does. We could not find the institute licence fee.
• Yearly fee: sources disagree, €10 on the Ministry form and the association's site, €17 on the government portal.

Nail studios: the grey zone

There is no law for nail technicians and no nail register. A 2020 amendment created a register of assistant beauticians (two-year diploma), whose defined work includes being self-employed for manicure, pedicure and make-up. But the ban on unregistered work in the beauticians law covers skin care, and does not name nails.

So the law does not clearly say whether you need a registration to do gel nails for money, or whether a stand-alone nail studio needs an institute licence. We will not guess. Call the Beauticians Registration Council before you open, and note who you spoke to.

The premises

• Planning: a material change of use needs a planning permit. Whether shop to salon counts is the planning authority's call; you can ask in advance for a binding preliminary view. Applications go online through the ΙΠΠΟΔΑΜΟΣ system, to your district's local government organisation (ΕΟΑ) or the Department of Town Planning.
• Building: changing the approved use of a building also needs a building permit from the ΕΟΑ, and nobody may use a building before its certificate of approval is issued. There is no fast track for salons.
• Municipality: every business premises needs an operating licence from the municipality (law 52(I)/2022, article 56). Municipalities typically ask for the building permit, approved plans, a final approval certificate or title deed, and the lease.
• Professional tax: the law sets ceilings, for example €150 a year for a private company with up to five staff, plus up to €1,000 a year for a small company. Each municipality sets the real amount.
• Sign: a shop sign needs a municipal licence.
• Fire: fire conditions are written into the planning and building permits. We found no separate fire certificate for a small salon, but the hand fire extinguisher is required.

Company, tax and social insurance

• Business name: trading under a name other than your own (“Studio X” rather than “A. Georgiou”) needs a registered business name: €80, within one month of starting.
• Company: a private limited company costs €165 to register, and the application must be sworn by a lawyer.
• Tax number: online only, through Tax For All.
• VAT: registration is required once your taxable sales pass €15,600 in twelve months, or are expected to within 30 days. Hairdressing is taxed at 5%. Beauty and nail services are not on any reduced list, so they are presumably 19%; barbering is not named separately. Check with the Tax Department if you mix services.
• Social insurance: the self-employed are insured by law. Salon owners fall under the category for shopkeepers, which names hair salons and beauticians, with minimum insurable earnings of €452.56 a week in 2026. At the 16.6% rate that is about €977 a quarter at the minimum.
• GESY: 4% on self-employed income.
• Staff: register as an employer, and report every hire at the latest one day before the person starts.

Who to call

The ΕΟΑ numbers for Larnaca, Nicosia and Paphos come from a professional body's list that may be out of date.

Sources

• Registration of Hairdressers and Barbers Law 28(I)/2003 (CyLaw)
• Hairdressers and Barbers Regulations ΚΔΠ 162/2011 (scan, Business in Cyprus)
• Business in Cyprus: Hairdressing salon or barber shop (updated 3 February 2026)
• Business in Cyprus: Hairdresser or barber
• Registration of Beauticians Law 40(I)/1999 (CyLaw)
• Business in Cyprus: Beautician
• Shop opening hours law 155(I)/2006 (CyLaw)
• Town Planning Law 90/1972 (CyLaw)
• Streets and Buildings Regulation Law Cap. 96 (CyLaw)
• Planning Control Manual, first revision January 2025 (ΕΟΑ Λάρνακας)
• Municipalities Law 52(I)/2022 (CyLaw)
• Registrar of Companies: business names
• Registrar of Companies: incorporating a company
• Business in Cyprus: registering for income tax and VAT
• Tax Department: VAT rates
• Tax Department: tax reform 2026
• Social Insurance: services for the self-employed
• Tax Department: GESY contributions