Откриване на салон за красота: документи и изисквания

Opening a beauty salon is among the popular business initiatives in Bulgaria - and quite rightly so. The business is attractive, promising and, at first glance, easy to start. Behind the apparent ease of starting, however, lies a significant volume of documentation that many people underestimate. Regardless of whether you are planning a large hair salon or a small, charming manicure studio, the law imposes the same and quite strict rules. Before investing in interior design and advertising, it is important to be aware of the administrative and sanitary requirements. In this article, we will examine the actual steps for opening your premises fully legally and for saving yourself costly mistakes and fines even before the actual start.

Choosing the Premises

The first and most important step is finding suitable premises, but here the criteria are not only aesthetic. The premises must necessarily have hot and cold water and the possibility to maintain a temperature between 20°C and 22°C. In terms of space, the law sets minimum area criteria for each workstation depending on the type of beauty salon, with the chairs being at least 1 metre apart from one another.

Once you have secured the required floor area, the premises must be technically prepared in accordance with state standards. The law even fixes the exact number and sizes of towels, and these vary for the different types of beauty salon. More important from a legal point of view is disinfection, for which there are specific statutory requirements regarding the instruments used and the cleaning of the premises itself. All of this is recorded daily in the so-called sanitary log, which is the first thing inspectors request during an inspection.

Qualification of the Team

Each of your employees - or you yourself, if you will be working in the salon - must have a legitimate certificate for completion of a professional course, a certified personal health booklet and a completed course in sanitary minimum. As manager, you will have the obligation to prepare the so-called “Work Programme”.

Administrative Part

In parallel with the renovation of the premises, the correct legal form for the business must be chosen. The activity is purely commercial and carrying it out without the relevant registration is unlawful. A commercial company (OOD) provides the greatest security. The necessary documents are prepared, part of them is notarised, and they are submitted to the Commercial Register.

The Procedure before the RHI and the Municipality

Once the company and the salon are ready, it is time to actually activate the permits.

The first step is related to the Health Actaccording to which the trader is obliged to notify the relevant Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) of the opening of the premises. Based on this notification and the relevant attachments to it, the officials carry out a mandatory on-site inspection in order to establish whether the objective condition of the premises, the architectural parameters and the disinfection regimes comply with the state health standards.

An electronic cash register with fiscal memory is purchased and is officially registered with the National Revenue Agency (NRA) by the authorised service company. From the date of fiscalisation of the device, a preclusive 7-day period begins to run, within which the trader is obliged to register its working hours. In view of the circumstance that most of these premises are located in residential areas, the standard permitted working hours are normatively limited to the range between 06:00 and 22:00. Upon acceptance of the documents, the municipal administration issues an incoming number, which has the legal force of a temporary permit and legitimises the trader’s right to start its commercial activity immediately while the internal procedure for issuing the final administrative act is ongoing.

Placing Advertising and Consent from the Condominium Ownership

If your plan includes placing a large branded or illuminated sign on the facade of the building, the law obliges you to go through the General Assembly of the condominium ownership. You can read more here.

Important Points

The use of music in a commercial premises, such as a beauty salon, constitutes “public performance” within the meaning of of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights AcAs such, it is subject to legal regulation and requires prior settlement of the rights of use.

By law, cosmetic activity is commercial and should be carried out in premises with such designated purpose: “premises for commercial activity”. If the premises do not have such status, it should be changed.

It is extremely important to know that in beauty salons it is strictly prohibited to carry out medical and invasive manipulations, such as the injection of dermal fillers or Botox. These procedures may be performed only in medical establishments by qualified doctors.

In order for a beauty salon to be fully compliant with the law, there are numerous specific requirements, details and administrative procedures that must be carried out precisely even before the actual start of work. Missing even one detail - from the status of the premises to the proper submission of documents to the RHI, NRA and the municipality - may lead to serious delays, refusals by the administration or even fines.

Do not take unnecessary risks when starting your business. Contact KGK Law Firm for full legal assistance.