2.2 Prohibition of Booth Rental & Facility Restrictions

Prohibition of Booth Rental & Facility Restrictions

Quick Summary: Booth rental is unlawful in Pennsylvania. 49 Pa. Code § 7.65 states the rule in one sentence, and 63 P.S. § 514.1 - amended by Act 100 of 2024 - extends it explicitly to salons limited to esthetics. An individual esthetician licence never authorises premises; the salon needs its own licence under § 7.51. The designated person in charge of an esthetician salon may be a licensed cosmetologist or a licensed esthetician (§ 7.62(b)(1)). Services outside the salon are confined to residences and institutions under § 7.81, with records kept under § 7.82.

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The Booth-Rental Ban

49 Pa. Code § 7.65, in its entirety:

"The rental of booth space within a salon is prohibited."

63 P.S. § 514.1 (Section 8.1 of the act), as amended October 16, 2024 by Act 100 of 2024:

"The rental of booth space by an owner of a cosmetology salon, or the owner of a salon limited to esthetics or nail technology to any holder of a license issued under this act is unlawful."

The 2024 amendment matters: it names limited practice salons directly, closing any argument that the ban reached only full cosmetology salons. Section 7.1 defines booth space as "the area of a salon in which a licensed cosmetologist or a holder of a limited license provides to a client a service for which a license is required under the act" - a functional definition, so relabelling a rented area a "suite," "room," or "studio" does not take it outside the rule.

What lawful practice looks like

An esthetician practising in a Pennsylvania salon is either:

1. the licensed salon owner - holding both the personal licence and the salon licence for that location; or
2. an employee of the salon owner.

An arrangement in which a licensee pays rent for space, keeps their own client revenue, and operates as an independent contractor is the arrangement the regulation prohibits. Both sides of the transaction are exposed: the owner who rents and the licensee who takes the space.

Why the ban exists

Section 7.64(a) places on the salon owner and designated person in charge "the administration of the business and personnel affairs of the salon and to assure compliance within the salon with all laws of the Commonwealth, this chapter and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (43 P.S. §§ 951-963)." Section 7.64(b) makes the owner or person in charge subject to discipline for a violation committed by a licensed employee "if the owner or designated person in charge had knowledge of, or control over, the violation or should have had knowledge or control." That accountability model only works if one identifiable person is responsible for the whole premises - which independent tenancy would fragment.

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Individual Licence vs. Salon Licence

These are two different credentials and the exam separates them.

• An individual esthetician licence authorises the person to perform esthetician services (§ 7.14a). It does not authorise premises.
• A salon licence authorises a specific location. Under § 7.51 the owner-applicant submits a sketch plan of the layout showing doors, windows, partitions, shampoo basins, lavatories, adjustable chairs, and other floor equipment; the name and licence number of the designated person in charge; and the fee. A licence issues only after the Board verifies the sworn statements and a Bureau inspector inspects the salon for compliance with the chapter's facility requirements.
• § 7.52: a salon licence "is valid only for the location stated on the license." Moving requires a change-of-location application with the § 7.51 material and the fee; § 7.52 also covers changes in physical dimensions. § 7.53 covers change of ownership.
• Fees under § 7.2 (effective July 1, 2024): limited practice salon initial $142, biennial renewal $144, change with inspection $105, change without inspection $45, reinspection $91.

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The Designated Person in Charge (49 Pa. Code § 7.62)

A salon owner need not personally hold a licence. What the regulation requires is supervision:

"(a) A cosmetology salon shall be managed by the salon owner or, in the absence of the salon owner, a person in charge designated by the salon owner. (b) The designated person in charge shall be a licensed cosmetologist, except as follows: (1) In the case of an esthetician salon, the designated person in charge may be either a licensed cosmetologist or a licensed esthetician. …"

[!IMPORTANT] This is the single most valuable line in § 7.62 for an esthetician candidate. The general rule points to a cosmetologist, but subsection (b)(1) creates an express exception: in an esthetician salon, a licensed esthetician may be the designated person in charge. Parallel exceptions exist for nail technology salons (nail technician) and natural hair braiding salons (natural hair braider). Any answer implying that only a cosmetologist may run an esthetician salon is wrong.

Two further duties:

• § 7.62(c): the owner and the designated person in charge are both responsible for posting the name of the owner or designated person in charge in a conspicuous place in the salon, as required by section 4.4(b) of the act (63 P.S. § 510.4(b)).
• § 7.62(d): the owner or designated person in charge "shall be readily available in person to Bureau inspectors during regular business hours."

Note also § 7.66, which prohibits refusing, withholding, or denying the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of a salon to any person because of race, colour, religious creed, ancestry, or national origin.

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Services Outside the Salon (49 Pa. Code §§ 7.81-7.83)

The baseline is that licensed services happen in a licensed salon. Section 7.81 states the exception, and it is narrower than most candidates expect:

"A cosmetologist or holder of a limited license, with the permission of the employing salon, may render by appointment cosmetology or limited license services to persons at their residences and to persons who are confined to institutions due to illness, imprisonment, old age or similar circumstances."

Three elements: permission of the employing salon, by appointment, and to one of the named categories. Note that imprisonment is one of the enumerated grounds of confinement - it is easy to overlook and is exactly the sort of detail a state item turns on.

Section 7.82 sets the record-keeping duty:

"A licensee who renders licensed services outside the salon shall maintain at the employing salon complete records for each service rendered outside the salon, including the date, time, place and fee charged. The record of outside services shall be considered part of the records of the salon."

Four fields - date, time, place, fee. Under the Act 48 schedule at 49 Pa. Code § 43b.5, failing to maintain that record draws $50 for a first offence and $250 for a second.

Section 7.83 places responsibility for outside services on the salon.

[!WARNING] There is no special-events exception. Chapter 7 does not authorise off-site services for weddings, theatrical productions, fashion shows, or photo shoots. Section 7.81 lists residences and confinement due to illness, imprisonment, old age, or similar circumstances - that is the whole exception. Prep material listing bridal and theatrical work as a permitted category is describing another state's rule.

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Dedicated Use of the Premises (49 Pa. Code § 7.77)

"No part of a salon, including lavatories and laundry facilities, may be used for other purposes."

Short and absolute on its face. It is why the licensed footprint is not shared with an unrelated business and not doubled as domestic space in a home salon. Chapter 7 does not itself set up a "partition-and-you-may" allowance or a variance procedure for § 7.77 - the express variance power in the chapter attaches to the floor-space requirement (63 P.S. § 515.4; § 7.76). Retail sale of professional products used in the salon's own services is ordinary salon activity; running a separate trade inside the licensed footprint is not.

Chapter 7 also contains no mobile-salon provision. There is no regulation authorising or specifying licensure for salons in vans, trailers, or recreational vehicles, so treat claims about Pennsylvania "mobile salon requirements" with caution.

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Worked Example: The Salon Suite Offer

A developer converts a building into thirty 100-square-foot suites and offers them to estheticians at $350 per week, marketed as "be your own boss."

• Renting a suite inside an existing licensed salon is prohibited booth rental under § 7.65 and 63 P.S. § 514.1, whatever the space is called. Both the licensee and the owner are exposed.
• Licensing a suite as its own salon fails on size: 100 sq ft is below the 120 sq ft minimum of 63 P.S. § 515.4 for a single licensee, absent a Board variance. It would also need its own sketch plan, pre-licensure inspection, § 7.71a equipment, a lavatory within its square footage (§ 7.79), a § 7.78 sign, and dedicated use under § 7.77.
• The lawful shapes are to be the licensed owner of a compliant, separately licensed salon, or to be employed by one.

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Exam Watchouts

• Booth rental is unlawful, full stop - "suite," "room," and "chair" are the same thing under the § 7.1 definition of booth space.
• An esthetician may be the designated person in charge of an esthetician salon (§ 7.62(b)(1)).
• Outside services: residences and institutional confinement only, with salon permission and by appointment; no wedding or theatrical exception.
• The outside-service record has four fields: date, time, place, fee - kept at the employing salon.
• § 7.77 reaches lavatories and laundry facilities explicitly, not just the treatment floor.