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Same permits apply to: nail salon, barbershop.
A salon's extra rules come from the DOH sanitation rules for tonsorial and beauty establishments, enforced by your city or municipal health office. You need a sanitary permit before opening, and you and every employee need a health certificate. The one many owners miss is that the same rules cover home-service work, so stylists who visit clients need health certificates too.[1]
Home service counts
The implementing rules for Chapter XII of the sanitation code cover individuals who provide home service of a similar trade. If your salon sends stylists to weddings, debuts or homes, they fall under the same health certificate rule.[1]
Keep a copy of each home-service stylist's health certificate in the salon and one in their kit.
What the health office checks before it signs
Bacolod City, for example, asks for the Sanitary Permit to Operate application, updated health certificates of all employees, and an ocular inspection.[2]
Expect the inspector to look at how you clean combs, scissors and towels between clients. Set up your sterilizing station and towel bins before you book the visit, not after.
What the rules do not require
We found no national rule requiring a TESDA certificate or licence for hairdressers or beauticians. The rules ask for health certificates. A city may add its own requirements, so check yours.
Health certificates are renewed at least yearly. Plan renewals for all staff at once so no one works on an expired card.[1]
Questions people ask
- Do barbershops follow the same rules?
- Yes. The same rules apply to barber shops, beauty parlors and salons, manicure and pedicure shops, and several other personal care shops. See the barbershop kit.
- Do I need a sanitary permit if I only do home service?
- The rules cover individuals who provide home service. Ask your city health office how it handles home-service-only workers.
- Does my salon need FDA approval for the products I use?
- The FDA rules cited on this page do not name salons as product users. Buy from suppliers whose products carry proper labels.
Salon opening checklist
- List every stylist, manicurist and assistant for health certificates
- Include home-service staff on that list
- Set up a sterilizing area for tools
- Buy enough towels to rotate clean ones for each client
- Book the health office inspection once the shop is fitted out
- Put all health certificate expiry dates in one calendar
Sources
Checked 13 November 2026. We link the agency's own page for every requirement. Rules change; confirm with the office before you pay.
- Implementing Rules and Regulations of Chapter XII, Tonsorial and Beauty Establishments, of P.D. No. 856 · Department of Health (Supreme Court E-Library copy) · 15 December 1997
- Sanitary and Non-Sanitary Requirements (New) · City Government of Bacolod · June 2024
- Implementing Rules and Regulations of Chapter XII, Tonsorial and Beauty Establishments, of P.D. No. 856 · DOH (jur.ph copy) · 15 December 1997
The extra permits, in one table
| Permit or registration | Agency | When it applies | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanitary permit to operate (PD 856)[1] | Local health office (PD 856) | always | Not published |
| Health certificates for operator and all employees[1] | Local health office (PD 856) | always | Not published |
| Covered establishment under the tonsorial and beauty IRR[1] | DOH (PD 856 Chapter XII IRR) | always | Not published |
| Sanitary Permit to Operate + updated health certificates of all employees + ocular inspection[2] | LGU (Bacolod example) | Bacolod City | Not published |
| Home-service workers are also covered by the IRR[1] | DOH (PD 856 Chapter XII IRR) | if offering home service | Not published |
If it's a barbershop: shop, home service or both
The PD 856 Chapter XII rules apply to barber shops, beauty parlors, manicure and pedicure shops, tattoo and piercing shops, slenderizing salons and fitness clubs. They also cover individuals who provide home service.[1]
If you take home-service bookings on top of a shop, make sure every barber who goes out carries a current health certificate. For salons, see the salon kit.
If it's a nail salon: why a small nail bar still needs a sanitary permit
The rules apply to manicuring and pedicuring establishments by name, along with salons and tattoo shops. No tonsorial or beauty establishment may open for public patronage without a sanitary permit from the local health officer.[1,3]
This applies even to a two-chair setup in a mall kiosk or a corner of a sari-sari store.