4.5 Where Barber Services May Be Performed & Ownership Changes
Key Takeaways
- Section 476.188(1), F.S., requires barber services to be performed only by licensed barbers in registered barbershops, subject to the exceptions in that section.
- Section 476.188(2), F.S., permits barber services outside a registered barbershop for a client who because of ill health cannot travel to one, but the arrangements must be made through a registered barbershop; a barber may nevertheless shampoo, cut, or arrange hair elsewhere without such arrangements.
- Rule 61G3-19.010(1), F.A.C., requires the client name and the address of service to be recorded in the shop appointment book, which must remain at the shop and be made available on request to any Department investigator or inspector.
- Section 476.188(3), F.S., permits barber services outside a registered shop in connection with the motion picture, fashion photography, theatrical, or television industry, a manufacturer trade show demonstration, or an educational seminar.
- Section 476.184(7), F.S., bars transfer of a barbershop license to another person but permits transfer from one location to another after Department inspection and approval and payment of a $125 transfer fee.
Where Barber Services May Be Performed & Ownership Changes
Blueprint anchor: Florida Barber Laws and Rules (25%) → Licensure Requirements; Maintain Licensure Status.
Every sanitation rule Florida writes presumes a licensed, inspected physical space. So the statute starts from a hard default and then opens three narrow doors.
1. The Default Rule — Section 476.188(1), F.S.
"Barber services shall be performed only by licensed barbers in registered barbershops, except as otherwise provided in this section."
Two conditions, both required: a licensed person and a licensed place. Section 476.194(1)(d), F.S., makes it a prohibited act to own or operate an unlicensed barbershop or one in which an unlicensed person is permitted to perform services — the mirror image of the same requirement.
2. Exception One: The Ill-Health House Call — Section 476.188(2), F.S.
"Pursuant to rules established by the board, barber services may be performed by a licensed barber in a location other than a registered barbershop, including, but not limited to, a nursing home, hospital, or residence, when a client for reasons of ill health is unable to go to a registered barbershop. Arrangements for the performance of barber services in a location other than a registered barbershop shall be made only through a registered barbershop. However, a barber may shampoo, cut, or arrange hair in a location other than a registered barbershop without such arrangements."
Read that last sentence carefully — it is the sleeper in the section.
| Service | Outside a licensed shop | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Shampoo, cut, or arrange hair | Permitted | No arrangements through a shop required, and no ill-health predicate stated |
| Shaving, chemical services, and everything else | Permitted only under the ill-health exception | Client unable to travel because of ill health and arrangements made through a registered barbershop |
The paperwork that makes it auditable — Rule 61G3-19.010(1), F.A.C.
When services are performed in a residence under the ill-health exception:
- Arrangements shall be made through a licensed shop.
- The name of the client and the address at which the services are to be performed shall be recorded in the appointment book.
- The appointment book shall remain at the shop and be made available upon request to any investigator or inspector of the Department.
Institutional settings — Rule 61G3-19.010(2), F.A.C.
When barber services are performed in an unlicensed location within a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility, they may lawfully be performed only upon clients, residents, or patients who for reasons of ill health are unable to visit a licensed shop.
"If such services are to be performed upon employees or persons who do not reside in the facility, or any other nonqualified persons, the location must be a licensed shop."
Nursing home, unlicensed grooming room
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Resident who cannot travel due to ill health ──► ALLOWED
Nursing home employee on a lunch break ──► NOT ALLOWED
Visiting family member ──► NOT ALLOWED
(for those, the room must be a LICENSED SHOP)
Exam Key: the discriminator is who the client is, not where the room is. The same chair in the same facility is lawful for a bed-bound resident and unlawful for a staff nurse.
3. Exception Two: Media, Trade Shows and Seminars — Section 476.188(3), F.S.
"Any person who holds a valid barber's license in any state or who is authorized to practice barbering in any country, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States may perform barber services in a location other than a registered barbershop when such services are performed in connection with the motion picture, fashion photography, theatrical, or television industry; a manufacturer trade show demonstration; or an educational seminar."
This is the only place in Chapter 476 where a person without a Florida license may lawfully perform barbering in Florida. Three points:
- The person must hold a valid barber's license in any state, or be authorized to practise barbering in any country, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
- The setting is limited to the enumerated list: motion picture, fashion photography, theatrical, television, manufacturer trade show demonstration, or educational seminar.
- It does not license a Florida practice. A platform artist demonstrating at a trade show in Orlando may not take paying clients at a hotel the following morning.
4. Change of LOCATION vs. Change of OWNERSHIP
Florida treats these completely differently, and candidates routinely merge them.
A. Location transfer — Section 476.184(7), F.S.
"No license for operation of a barbershop may be transferred from the name of the original licensee to another. It may be transferred from one location to another only after inspection and approval by the department, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, and payment of a $125 transfer fee."
- The license does move with the owner to a new address.
- Preconditions: Department inspection and approval, plus the $125 fee.
- The Department's approval "shall not be unreasonably withheld."
B. Ownership change — Rule 61G3-19.013, F.A.C.
Prior to opening a shop which has new ownership, the new owner must:
- File a new application on the form prescribed in Rule 61-35.006(5), F.A.C.;
- Pay the appropriate fee;
- Surrender the old license with the application; and
- Be issued a new barbershop license as outlined in Rule 61G3-19.011, F.A.C.
| Location change | Ownership change | |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | § 476.184(7), F.S. | Rule 61G3-19.013, F.A.C. |
| Existing license | Transferred | Surrendered |
| Cost | $125 transfer fee | New application fee |
| Inspection | Required before approval | New shop licensed under Rule 61G3-19.011 |
| Timing | Before operating at the new address | Prior to opening under new ownership |
| First-offence lapse ≤ 30 days | — | Notice of non-compliance (Rule 61G3-21.012(1)(f)) |
| Lapse ≤ 3 months | — | $200 citation (Rule 61G3-21.009(1)(f)) |
The DBPR renewal notice puts the practical version plainly: a licensee may change the shop's mailing address online, but if the shop's name changes, the ownership changes, or the physical address changes, the owner is required to apply for and obtain a new shop license.
5. Closure, Reopening and Re-inspection — Rule 61G3-19.015(2), F.A.C.
Moving or selling is not the only event that pulls a shop back under inspection:
- A barbershop inspection revealing that the shop has been closed for a period of 30 days or longer requires a re-inspection before reopening for business.
- An owner planning to close temporarily for 90 days or longer must notify the Department in writing, including the date on which the barbershop is expected to reopen.
- "No barbershop shall be permitted to reopen until it has been reinspected by the Department."
Exam Key — three different day counts, three different consequences. 30 days closed → re-inspection required before reopening. 90 days planned closure → written notice to the Department. 30 days or less delinquent-license or ownership-transfer lapse on a first offence → notice of non-compliance rather than a fine.
6. Also Non-Transferable: The Individual License
Rule 61G3-25.006, F.A.C., requires a licensee to notify the Department of the mailing and e-mail address and place of practice. Section 476.204(1)(d) and (f), F.S., make it unlawful to present as one's own the license of another or to impersonate any other licenseholder of like or different name. And Rule 61G3-19.009(1), F.A.C., requires the displayed certificate to carry a 2" by 2" photograph taken within the previous two years — the photograph exists precisely so that an inspector can verify that the person in the chair is the person on the license.
Under Section 476.188(2), Florida Statutes, which barber services may be performed in a location other than a registered barbershop WITHOUT arrangements being made through a registered barbershop?
A licensed barber performs haircuts in an unlicensed grooming room inside a nursing home. Under Rule 61G3-19.010(2), F.A.C., on whom may those services lawfully be performed?
Rule 61G3-19.010(1), F.A.C., governs barber services performed in a client’s residence under the ill-health exception. What recordkeeping does the rule require?
A barbershop is sold to a new owner who plans to keep the same name, staff and address. Under Rule 61G3-19.013, F.A.C., what must the new owner do prior to opening?