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Renting a booth or a suite in a Montana salon? The big question is whether you need your own establishment license or whether you are covered by the salon you rent from. Here is exactly how Montana treats it in 2026 — the license question, the fees, the inspection rule, how your rent is taxed, and the steps and postings to get compliant — sourced to the state’s own rules and dated.
Distinctive to Montana: a booth/suite renter does NOT hold the salon's full salon/shop establishment license, but Montana DOES require the renter to hold a separate individual 'booth rental license' from the Board (37-31-309, MCA). The salon owner holds the salon/shop license; each independent (non-employee) renter must obtain and post their own booth rental license. Verified on the Board's booth page: https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/barber-and-cosmetologists/license-information/booth
Booth rental license: $95 initial and $95 annual renewal (all fees non-refundable), verified on the Board's official booth license page. For reference, the salon/shop establishment license held by the owner is $125 original/renewal plus a $150 inspection fee (both required at initial application), verified on the Board's salon/shop page. (Note: an older $75 booth figure appears in third-party copies of the administrative rule, but the current official Board fee is $95.) Confirm current amounts at ebiz.mt.gov/pol before filing.
Applicant must hold a current Montana barber, barber non-chemical, cosmetologist, electrologist, esthetician, or manicurist license in good standing (37-31-309, MCA). Individual practitioner licenses and the booth rental license renew annually with a July 1 renewal date (renewal window generally May 3 – July 1; late period to Aug. 14 — confirm the exact dates for the current cycle with the Board).
The Board's official booth rental license page lists no separate pre-opening inspection for the booth renter; the salon/shop itself carries a $150 inspection fee paid by the establishment owner, and a booth is subject to the same sanitary operating standards as salons/shops under ARM 24.121.13. Confirm whether an inspection is triggered for a new booth with the Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists.
Montana explicitly licenses booth renters. To qualify, the renter must (1) hold a current Montana practitioner license in good standing and (2) NOT be employed by the owner of the shop — i.e., be a true independent contractor (37-31-309, MCA; confirmed on the Board's booth page). Apply online at ebiz.mt.gov/pol. The booth operates inside a licensed salon/shop (or licensed mobile salon) and is bound by the salon's sanitary standards. Renewal is annual (July 1).
No. Montana has no general sales tax — the Department of Revenue states verbatim: 'Montana does not have a general-use sales tax.' Booth/suite rent and personal-care services are therefore not subject to any state sales tax. (Montana levies only narrow selective taxes — lodging/accommodations, short-term vehicle rental, etc. — none of which reach salon booth rent.) Source: https://revenue.mt.gov/taxes/general-sales-tax
Work through these in order — the kit turns them into a checklist you can tick off:
Montana is one of the few states that actually issues an individual 'booth rental license' — so going independent here is not an informal chair-rent handshake, it is a distinct license number under 37-31-309, MCA that you personally hold and must post, separate from the salon's establishment license. The gating requirement is that you are genuinely NOT an employee of the salon owner; the license is designed for true independent contractors. And because Montana has no general sales tax at all (the Department of Revenue states 'Montana does not have a general-use sales tax'), the single hardest question in most other states — is booth rent taxable? — simply does not exist here. The renter's cost of compliance is low ($95/yr, verified on the official Board booth page) but the license is mandatory, not optional.
Many renters assume the salon's shop license covers them. In Montana the independent booth renter must obtain a separate booth rental license (37-31-309, MCA) and post it at their station — operating without it is unlicensed activity even though the salon is licensed.
The Board's own eligibility criteria require the applicant NOT be employed by the owner of the shop. If your arrangement looks like employment (owner sets hours, supplies product, controls the work), you may not qualify for the booth license — and misclassification can create tax/labor exposure separately.
Both your individual license and the booth rental license renew annually on July 1. Under 37-31-309, a booth rental license not renewed within one year of the most recent renewal date automatically terminates and CANNOT be reactivated — you must obtain a brand-new original license. Confirm the exact renewal-window dates for the current cycle with the Board.
Montana having no sales tax removes the booth-rent sales-tax question, but you still owe federal self-employment tax and Montana individual income tax on your earnings as an independent contractor — budget for quarterly estimated payments.
Timeline: Online booth rental license applications through ebiz.mt.gov/pol are typically processed within a few weeks once your individual license is verified in good standing; allow extra time near the July 1 renewal peak. Confirm current processing time with the Board.
Cost: $95 non-refundable booth rental license (initial and annual renewal), verified on the official Montana Board booth page. No state sales tax on booth rent. The salon/shop establishment license ($125) plus $150 inspection fee is the owner's cost, not the renter's.
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Pick Montana and get one clear kit: whether you need your own license, the fees, the inspection rule, how your rent is taxed, plus the steps to get compliant and what to display — as interactive checklists that save your progress. Free watermarked preview; clean printable PDF for $29.
Build my Montana kit →Distinctive to Montana: a booth/suite renter does NOT hold the salon's full salon/shop establishment license, but Montana DOES require the renter to hold a separate individual 'booth rental license' from the Board (37-31-309, MCA). The salon owner holds the salon/shop license; each independent (non-employee) renter must obtain and post their own booth rental license. Verified on the Board's booth page: https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/barber-and-cosmetologists/license-information/booth
Booth rental license: $95 initial and $95 annual renewal (all fees non-refundable), verified on the Board's official booth license page. For reference, the salon/shop establishment license held by the owner is $125 original/renewal plus a $150 inspection fee (both required at initial application), verified on the Board's salon/shop page. (Note: an older $75 booth figure appears in third-party copies of the administrative rule, but the current official Board fee is $95.) Confirm current amounts at ebiz.mt.gov/pol before filing.
Applicant must hold a current Montana barber, barber non-chemical, cosmetologist, electrologist, esthetician, or manicurist license in good standing (37-31-309, MCA). Individual practitioner licenses and the booth rental license renew annually with a July 1 renewal date (renewal window generally May 3 – July 1; late period to Aug. 14 — confirm the exact dates for the current cycle with the Board).
The Board's official booth rental license page lists no separate pre-opening inspection for the booth renter; the salon/shop itself carries a $150 inspection fee paid by the establishment owner, and a booth is subject to the same sanitary operating standards as salons/shops under ARM 24.121.13. Confirm whether an inspection is triggered for a new booth with the Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists.
No. Montana has no general sales tax — the Department of Revenue states verbatim: 'Montana does not have a general-use sales tax.' Booth/suite rent and personal-care services are therefore not subject to any state sales tax. (Montana levies only narrow selective taxes — lodging/accommodations, short-term vehicle rental, etc. — none of which reach salon booth rent.) Source: https://revenue.mt.gov/taxes/general-sales-tax
No. SalonBoothLicense gives general information based on each state's published cosmetology/barbering and tax rules, dated to when we last verified them, and is not a guarantee of licensure. Booth/suite rules also depend on local permitting and your written rental agreement. Always confirm with your state board and local authority.
Sources: boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov. Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice and not a guarantee of licensure — confirm with your state board and local authority before you open.