Opening a Beauty Salon in Hong Kong: Licences, Massage and Medical Aesthetics

Short answer: an ordinary beauty salon (facials, nails, make-up) does not need a specific "beauty salon licence" in Hong Kong. Business registration is enough to trade. But offering some kinds of massage, medical procedures such as injections, or having a doctor practise on the premises may require a massage establishment licence, a clinic licence or a day procedure centre licence.

Ordinary beauty services: no licence, but rules still apply

• Business registration: register the business before you start. If you employ staff, employees' compensation insurance is compulsory.
• Products: pharmaceutical products (for example botulinum toxin, lidocaine, tranexamic acid) must be registered in Hong Kong, and the sales pack should carry a registration number in the form "HK-xxxxx".
• Equipment: the Department of Health runs an administrative Medical Device Control System. Dermal fillers and breast implants are Class IV (high-risk) devices; you can check on the Department of Health website whether they are listed.
• Laser and IPL treatments: the Department of Health's booklet (2015) does not require laser or intense pulsed light treatments to be performed by a doctor, but advises consumers to check whether the operator has passed the relevant Vocational Training Council skills test.

Massage: when do you need a massage establishment licence?

The Massage Establishments Ordinance (Cap. 266) regulates premises that provide massage. Under the 2001 amendments, it does not apply to:

• massage in a hairdressing salon or beauty parlour carried out in full view of other customers;
• premises that only massage the face, scalp, neck, shoulders, hands, arms or feet (below the knee), with no other massage;
• premises where no full-body massage is given to a customer by a person of the opposite sex (full-body massage means the body between the shoulders and the knees);
• the practice premises of registered or listed Chinese medicine practitioners, and of registered chiropractors.

Otherwise, for example full-body massage by a person of the opposite sex in a separate room, you need a massage establishment licence from the Police Licensing Office. During the application, the BD and FSD set building and fire safety requirements, the Planning Department advises whether planning permission is needed, and the District Office consults the local community.

Medical aesthetics: which procedures need a doctor?

The Department of Health's booklet on cosmetic procedures (January 2015) states that the following should be performed by registered medical practitioners:

• injections: botulinum toxin, dermal fillers, injection lipolysis, whitening injections;
• skin peels deeper than the epidermis (medium or deep peels);
• liposuction and breast augmentation;
• hyperbaric oxygen therapy (only by trained, experienced doctors for patients with a clinical need).

Teeth whitening should be done by registered dentists. The Department of Health has reminded the beauty industry that people who are not registered doctors or dentists should not perform these procedures.

A doctor on the premises: clinic licence or exemption

Applications under the clinic regulation regime of the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 633) opened on 13 October 2025. Premises where registered doctors or dentists provide medical services without overnight stay need to apply for a clinic licence or a small practice clinic exemption. The current arrangements:

• Clinics operating on or before 30 November 2018 could apply between 13 October 2025 and 13 April 2026; the Department of Health may issue a provisional licence so they can keep operating until a full licence is issued.
• Clinics that opened or moved after 30 November 2018 must apply directly for a full licence.
• When operating without a licence becomes an offence is for the government to announce. News reports in June 2026 said all private clinics are expected to need a licence or exemption by the end of 2027.

The requirements for each type:

• Clinic licence: the application fee depends on the total number of consultation and procedure rooms: HK$8,840 for 5 or fewer, HK$9,860 for 6–10, HK$10,900 for more than 10.
• Small practice clinic exemption: for clinics run by no more than 5 registered doctors or dentists (sole proprietor, partners or company directors), with no other doctor or dentist practising there except locums. The premises must be used exclusively by the operator, not sublet, and must be structurally separated from premises used for other purposes, with a direct and separate entrance. There is no fee.
• Day procedure centre licence: needed instead of a clinic licence where the "scheduled medical procedures" listed in Schedule 3 of the Ordinance are performed.

What this means for a beauty salon: if you plan to add a doctor's room, design the fit-out for structural separation and a separate entrance from the start, or you may not be able to get the exemption or licence later.

Fit-out works to watch

• Signboards: minor works items 3.17 (wall signboard 5 m² or less), 2.19, 3.16 (small projecting signboard), in Chinese
• Air-conditioner supports on external walls: 3.27, 2.49
• Changes to external drain pipes: 3.23, 2.30
• If new rooms mean moving sprinkler heads or smoke detectors, the work must be done by a registered fire service installation contractor.
• Before signing a lease, you can check the building for statutory orders with our Building Orders Search (in Chinese).

You can also use the Trade and Industry Department's Business Licence Information Service to look up government licences, permits and approvals relevant to your business.

Common questions