Pen, notebook and reading glasses on a wooden table, How to Open a Nail Salon in Nevada: Licenses and Costs

How to Start a Nail Salon Business in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

A Nevada nail salon needs two kinds of Nevada State Board of Cosmetology licenses: an establishment license for the space, and an individual nail technology license for every person who works on clients. The establishment license sets your opening date, because the Board inspects the space before it issues the license, and the Board's own process starts with your Nevada State Business License.

This guide is for someone opening a nail salon in leased or owned commercial space, or in an in-home or mobile establishment. It follows the order the Board uses. For salons that also cut and color hair, see the Nevada hair salon guide.

What You Need Before You Start

  • Licensed people: An establishment operator may employ, or lease space to, only licensed or registered nail technologists, cosmetologists and the other Board-licensed trades (NRS 644A.615). That includes booth renters: a nail technician who rents a station from you needs their own Board license.
  • An owner's license is a separate question: The establishment application is filed through the "owner, manager or person in charge" (NRS 644A.600), and we found no statute that requires the owner to hold a license. If you will do nails yourself, you need a nail technology license. Ask the Board before relying on an owner-only structure.
  • A space that can pass the opening inspection: The Board checks exhaust, plumbing, restrooms and floors before it issues the license. Step 3 lists the rules.
  • A State Business License: The Board's first step is to apply for a Nevada State Business License (Board of Cosmetology: open an establishment).

The Nail Technician License

Everyone who gives manicures, pedicures or nail extensions in your salon holds this license, including you if you work on clients. NRS 644A.345 sets the entry requirements: at least 18 years old, good moral character, 10th grade or equivalent, and one of these:

  • At least 600 hours of practical training under a licensed instructor in a licensed school of cosmetology.
  • At least 4 years of documented practice as a nail technologist outside Nevada that the Board accepts.
  • At least 1,200 hours as a registered nail technologist's apprentice in a licensed establishment where nail technology is practiced.

The exam can include practical demonstrations in nail technology, pedicuring and nail extensions, plus written and oral tests on sanitation and on Nevada cosmetology law (NRS 644A.350). The Board charges $70 for a 2-year license or $140 for a 4-year license, $125 to test and $95 to re-test (Board of Cosmetology: licensing and service fees).

If you are already licensed in another state, the Board's reciprocity route costs $325 and requires a 25-question Nevada law test with a score of at least 75%. The Board does not accept every out-of-state license: it does not recognize Florida's "Full Specialist" license or Alaska's basic Manicurist license (Board of Cosmetology: transfer to Nevada). Check that page before you hire someone from out of state.

Step-by-Step: How to Open Your Nevada Nail Salon

Step 1: Choose the Establishment Type

A person licensed in cosmetology may practice only in a licensed cosmetological establishment, apart from emergencies the Board approves in advance (NAC 644A.810). The Board licenses three setups (Board of Cosmetology: mobile and in-home establishments):

  • Commercial space: The standard path, covered in the steps below.
  • In-home establishment: Every room must be completely and permanently sealed off from the living space, with its own exits and entrances, a restroom, a dispensary sink, heating and air conditioning, a ceiling at least 8 feet high and outside signage with the establishment's name. The 2-year license is $200 and inspectors visit 2 to 3 times a year. Your city or county zoning is a separate approval; read the Nevada home-based business guide first.
  • Mobile establishment: A self-contained vehicle that meets the same standards as a fixed salon. You may not perform services while it is moving or live in it. The 2-year license is $200.

Step 2: Form Your Business and Get the State Business License

A sole proprietor does not file formation papers with the Secretary of State but still needs the State Business License. Most salon owners that want liability protection form an LLC; compare it with a corporation in the Nevada LLC vs corporation guide. The LLC state costs are:

  • Articles of organization: $75 (NRS 86.561).
  • Initial list of managers or members: $150, then the same $150 every year (NRS 86.263).
  • State Business License: $200 for an LLC, renewed every year; $500 for a corporation (NRS 76.100). Late renewal carries a $100 penalty.

That is $425 to open an LLC and $350 a year after that. File through Nevada SilverFlume after checking the name in the Secretary of State entity search. Reserving an LLC name costs $25 and holds it for 90 days (NRS 86.176). The Secretary of State offers faster processing for an extra fee, but its fee schedule was not readable when we checked, so confirm the current expedite fee with the office. A step-by-step is in the Nevada LLC guide, and you can compare LLC formation services in Nevada if you would rather not file yourself. An EIN is free from the IRS online application.

Step 3: Read the Opening Checklist Before You Sign a Lease

The Board publishes an Opening Checklist, floor plan examples and an application video on its open an establishment page, and the inspector walks the checklist at your opening inspection. Read it with your landlord's floor plan in hand. These are the rules that decide whether a space works:

  • Exhaust: An establishment must have a mechanical exhaust system "acceptable to the Board" that complies with building codes, local ordinances, fire codes, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Act and the federal OSHA Act (NAC 644A.710). The rule gives no airflow number, so our recommendation is to have your mechanical contractor and the Board agree on the design from the floor plan before build-out. Adding exhaust after a failed inspection is the avoidable way to find out what the Board accepts.
  • Plumbing: Permanent plumbing with hot and cold running water and drainage where work is done, plus a dispensary sink that has permanent plumbing, is separate from any restroom sink or shampoo bowl, and can be reached at all times while you are open. Floors within one sink-width of any sink, pedicure spa or dispensary sink must be non-porous (NAC 644A.725).
  • Restrooms: Working toilets for clients and employees, a sink with hot and cold water and a mechanical exhaust system in each restroom. A restroom outside your suite must be within 100 feet of your entrance and under the same roof (NAC 644A.715).
  • Sign: A legible sign stating the establishment is not a medical facility, plus the license displayed in plain view (NRS 644A.615).

Step 4: Apply to the Board at Least 20 Days Before Opening

The Board's sequence is: get the State Business License, submit the establishment application with a floor plan, schedule an opening inspection, pass it and receive the license (Board of Cosmetology: open an establishment). The application is due 20 days before your scheduled opening date. If the space fails, a $25 re-inspection fee must be paid before another inspection is scheduled (Board of Cosmetology: establishment licensing overview).

A new establishment license costs $215 for 2 years or $415 for 4 years. By statute that is $200 or $400 for the license plus a $15 initial inspection fee (NRS 644A.600). Three later rules catch owners out:

  • Changes need a new license: A change of ownership, name, services offered or location means you cannot operate until the Board issues a new license, and changes to the physical structure need Board approval (NRS 644A.605).
  • Renewal is $200 or $400: If the renewal fee is not paid within 90 days after the license expires, the establishment must be closed immediately (NRS 644A.610).
  • Unpaid Board balances block renewal: Any outstanding fee or fine must be paid before the Board renews the license (same section).

Step 5: Register for State Taxes

Nevada has no state income tax (Nevada Department of Taxation: income tax in Nevada). The taxes that can reach a salon are these:

  • Sales tax permit: $15 per location (Nevada Department of Taxation: start and run a business). If you sell polish, lotions or other products to clients, that is where it applies. The Department's sales tax FAQ says services that are not tied to the sale of tangible property are not subject to sales tax, using consulting as its example. It does not name nail services, so confirm with the Department how to treat your service charges before you set up your register.
  • Modified Business Tax: The general business rate is 1.17% of quarterly wages above $50,000 (NRS 363B). A salon with a small team may never reach that line; see the Modified Business Tax guide.
  • Commerce Tax: Applies only above $4,000,000 of Nevada gross revenue in a fiscal year (NRS 363C); see the Commerce Tax guide.

Step 6: Get Local Approvals

The Board tells applicants to contact their local, city, county and state agencies for any licensing requirements that apply (Board of Cosmetology: establishment licensing overview). Clark County's business license guide lists six licensing jurisdictions: Clark County, Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite. Reno publishes its own business licensing guide. Our pages for Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno and unincorporated Clark County cover the rest.

We did not verify local license fees for any city, so ask the issuing office. Also ask the building department about permits for the build-out, because NAC 644A.710 ties your exhaust system to local building and fire codes.

Step 7: License Your Staff and Insure the Business

Before an employee or station renter works on a client, confirm their license in the Board's licensee lookup. Failure of an establishment owner to comply with the cosmetology statutes or Board regulations is grounds for discipline (NRS 644A.850).

An employer with at least one employee under a contract of hire is covered by Nevada's industrial insurance law (NRS 616B.633), and a sole proprietor may elect coverage for themself (NRS 616B.659). See Nevada workers' compensation requirements. The cosmetology statutes we read set no general liability insurance requirement, but your lease may. Rent, build-out, equipment and insurance premiums are market prices that no agency publishes, so get quotes.

Licenses and Permits Checklist

RequirementIssued byCostSource
Establishment license, newBoard of Cosmetology$215 (2 years) or $415 (4 years)Board fee table
Re-inspection after a failed inspectionBoard of Cosmetology$25Establishment overview
Establishment license renewalBoard of Cosmetology$200 (2 years) or $400 (4 years)Board fee table
In-home or mobile establishment licenseBoard of Cosmetology$200 (2 years)Mobile and in-home page
Nail technology license, each personBoard of Cosmetology$70 (2 years) or $140 (4 years)Board fee table
Licensing examBoard of Cosmetology$125 ($95 to re-test)Board fee table
State Business LicenseSecretary of State$200 a year (LLC or sole proprietor)NRS 76.100
LLC articles and initial listSecretary of State$75 plus $150NRS 86.561, 86.263
Sales tax permitDepartment of Taxation$15 per locationDepartment fee table
City or county business licenseYour jurisdictionAsk the officeClark County guide

The Nevada startup cost guide covers the rest of the formation costs.

Sanitation Rules the Board Enforces

Most of what a Board inspector checks day to day sits in NAC chapter 644A. These are the rules owners most often set up wrong:

  • Tools are disinfected, not just wiped: Nonporous tools are washed with soap and hot water, rinsed, dried and fully immersed in a covered container of an EPA-registered disinfectant other than alcohol, mixed and used per the label. Solutions are made daily and thrown out at the end of the day or sooner if debris is visible (NAC 644A.740). That section requires steam or dry sterilizers only for electrolysis instruments; for nail tools it requires the immersion steps above.
  • Single-use items are never reused: The rule names buffers, cotton balls, emery boards, nail files, pedicure slippers, sleeves and sanders for electric files, foam buffer blocks and similar items. They are used on one client and thrown away (same section).
  • Foot spas follow a written cleaning cycle: Drain, clean with soap, disinfect with the surface kept wet for 10 minutes or the label time, whichever is shorter, between clients, and run a longer nightly procedure. Check the client's feet and legs for open sores first (NAC 644A.735).
  • Hand washing is the licensee's job: Wash with liquid soap before and after each client and after each restroom visit. Hand sanitizer must be available at each station for clients, but it and gloves do not replace hand washing for the licensee (NAC 644A.765).

Important Disclaimer

This article is general information about starting a nail salon in Nevada, not legal or tax advice. Board rules, fees and statutes change, and this page reflects the sources listed below as of November 5, 2026. Confirm licensing, hour requirements and inspection standards with the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology, confirm local licensing and building requirements with your city or county, and ask a Nevada attorney or CPA about entity choice and tax treatment.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides