Published 18 October 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
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Ontario's personal service settings are regulated by O. Reg. 136/18 under the Health Protection and Promotion Act. You must give the local medical officer of health written notice 14 days before opening, before adding services, and before a renovation if you close for it. Inspectors check section 8 premises standards (cleanable surfaces, hot and cold water, a dedicated hand sink, a separate reprocessing sink where tools are reused), equipment and sterilizer practices, disinfectants, sharps, hygiene and records. Toronto inspects through BodySafe and publishes the results. Peel reviews floor plans and can order service stops or closures. York posts results through YorkSafe. Design the plumbing to section 8 before you build.
Looking for personal service space in Toronto or the GTA? Tell me what you need and I will send you units that fit, with the zoning and the lease checked before you commit.
What counts as a personal service setting
The Health Protection and Promotion Act defines a personal service setting as premises where personal services are offered and there is a risk of exposure to blood or body fluids. The definition expressly includes hairdressing and barbering, tattooing, body piercing, nail services, electrolysis and other aesthetic services. O. Reg. 136/18 sets the operating rules.
The regulation reaches further than most owners expect. Premises can include a vehicle, convention, fair, festival or trade show (section 2(1)). It does not apply to hospitals, retirement homes, long-term care homes, a client’s own home where the service is provided there, or a setting where services are primarily provided by a member of a regulated health profession practising that profession (section 2(2)). That last exclusion is the line between a technician-run laser studio and a physician-led medical spa.
Two services are banned outright by section 7: ear candling or coning, and any service involving live aquatic species, including fish pedicures.
Notice you owe public health before opening or renovating
Section 3 of the regulation sets four notice triggers:
- Opening. Written notice to the medical officer of health at least 14 days before you start operating, with the setting’s name and location, the operator’s name and contact information, and a list of the services.
- Adding services. Written notice at least 14 days before you start offering them.
- Renovating while closed. Written notice at least 14 days before construction starts.
- Renovating while open. Notice before construction starts, saying that services will continue during the work.
Routine maintenance, repairs and replacing existing equipment are not a renovation under the regulation. New walls, moved sinks and an added treatment room are.
How you give notice depends on the health unit:
- Toronto. Email [email protected] at least 14 days before opening, with the premises name and address, the owners’ legal names, all services, expected hours and opening date, and copies of your City licence and business name registration if you have them. You also need a Personal Services Settings licence from Municipal Licensing & Standards. The City’s page asks for 14 days’ notice to both offices before you change your services. Chapter 545, s. 545-516 C says 30 days for a change in the class of service, so give 30 days to be safe.
- Peel (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon). Use the Region’s online new-business service. Peel Public Health reviews floor plans and asks for 14 days’ notice before construction starts. In Mississauga, the personal services business licence also requires health clearance from the Region.
- York (Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill and the rest of the region). York has an online Personal Service Settings notification form.
What inspectors check
| Area | What the regulation requires | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Premises condition | Free of health hazards. Floors, walls, ceilings, fixtures and furniture in good repair, smooth, impermeable and sanitary. Not part of a dwelling room or a food room. | 8(1) 1-3 |
| Water and hand sink | Potable hot and cold running water under pressure. A sink used only for hand washing, convenient to the work area, accessible at all times, with soap in a dispenser and single-service towels or an air dryer. | 8(1) 4-6 |
| Reprocessing sink | A separate sink wherever reusable equipment is used: immerses the largest item, has counter space, is not in a toilet room, and is separated from service areas. Exemption for hair-only settings that reprocess before and after each business day. | 8(3), 8(6) |
| Lighting, ventilation, storage, waste | Sufficient for sanitary operation and safe service. Adequate storage. Waste, biomedical and laundry receptacles as needed. | 8(1) 7-10, 8(4) |
| Animals | None, except service animals and fish in sanitary tanks. | 9 |
| Equipment | Maintained to the manufacturer’s instructions, which must be kept on site. Cleaned and disinfected or sterilized between uses. Single-use items discarded. | 10(1)-(5) |
| Sharps and sterilizers | Sterile single-use sharps, CSA-compliant sharps containers near the service, sterilizers tested at least every two weeks unless the inspector directs otherwise. | 10(6)-(11) |
| Products and disinfectants | Stored and dispensed to prevent contamination. Disinfectants with a Health Canada DIN or NPN (bleach excepted). | 11 |
| Hygiene and training | Hand hygiene before and after every service, no smoking during service, training if the inspector requires it. | 12, 13 |
| Client information and records | Client name and contact information (not required for hair-only services), invasive-procedure explanations, and the records in section 14. | 5, 6, 14 |
| Posting results | Inspection results posted as the inspector requests. | 4 |
Toronto’s own minimum standards in Chapter 545 add that every table or surface a client lies or sits on must have a smooth, impervious top, and that mechanical sterilizers be monitored with spore tests and temperature-sensitive indicators on the schedule the medical officer of health sets.
Records: what to keep and for how long
Section 14 lists four kinds of records: sterilization (sterilizer, date and time, equipment, maintenance, test results), disinfection (product, concentration, date prepared, discard date), invasive procedures (procedure, body part, client and provider contact information, the risk explanation, dates, and lot numbers and expiry dates of pre-packaged sterile equipment), and accidental exposures to blood or body fluids. Keep them at the setting in a secure location for one year, then readily available for at least two more years, and give them to an inspector on request.
Toronto’s Chapter 545 is longer: five years, with the first year at the premises. Toronto Public Health’s general requirements sheet describes three years with at least 365 days on site, which matches the provincial rule. If you operate in Toronto, keep five years. The premises point is simple: you need a lockable cabinet or a secure digital system on site, and space for one year of paper.
Toronto BodySafe: ratings, frequency and disclosure
BodySafe is Toronto Public Health’s inspection program for personal service settings. It sorts services by risk:
- Critical, such as tattooing, piercing, electrolysis, micropigmentation and invasive facials: inspected once a year and on complaint.
- Semi-critical, such as hair cutting and barbering, manicures and pedicures, and waxing: likely once a year and on complaint.
- Non-critical, such as non-invasive facials and massage: complaint basis only.
Aesthetics in BodySafe includes waxing, facials and laser hair removal. Results are a green Pass, a yellow Conditional Pass, or a red Service(s) Closed or Establishment Closed notice. Results are published online, and if infractions are found, a re-inspection is likely within 48 business hours. Chapter 545 requires the latest notice to be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance, and the inspection report to be shown to anyone who asks. Your inspection history is public, and buyers and landlords read it.
Key takeaway
An inspection result follows the address and the business name. If you are buying or taking over a setting, read its online BodySafe or YorkSafe history before you make an offer, and budget to fix whatever the last inspector wrote up.
Peel and York: how inspections work outside Toronto
Peel. Peel Public Health bases its requirements on O. Reg. 136/18 and provincial infection prevention and control requirements. Inspectors must be let in even if the owner is not there, and you can ask to see their photo identification. Inspectors look at practices, premises and equipment. Non-compliance can lead to education, a service stop order, equipment placed on hold, a closure or a re-inspection. For renovations involving construction or new services, Peel asks you to report the change and submit plans for review.
York. York Region’s YorkSafe program covers personal service settings such as hair salons, tattoo studios and spas. It publishes routine, complaint and re-inspection results for the past two years. Settings that pass get a green Proof of Public Health Inspection sign, which can be posted by the main entrance. Red Closed signs go to establishments that pose an immediate health hazard.
Halton, Durham and other GTA health units follow the same regulation, with their own forms and disclosure sites. Ask the local unit for its pre-opening checklist before you finalize drawings.
How premises design passes inspection
Practices can be fixed in a day. Plumbing and layout cannot. Design from section 8 outward:
- Two sinks, two jobs. A hand sink a couple of steps from the stations, as BodySafe describes it, on every floor where you provide services. A reprocessing sink outside the washroom, with one-way flow from dirty to clean.
- Separation. Reprocessing away from service chairs, and no food prep or staff lunch in the service room.
- Finishes. No fabric furniture, including in the waiting room. Sealed floors, washable walls, impervious tops on beds and chairs.
- Storage. Closed storage for clean tools and supplies, and a staff area so personal items are not at workstations.
- Waste. Room for sharps containers at the point of service, and for biomedical and laundry waste where applicable.
Each service adds its own requirements. Read the sibling guide for yours: hair salons (the reprocessing-sink exemption), nail salons (pedicure plumbing and vapours), lash, brow and threading studios, tattoo studios (invasive procedures and sterilizers), laser aesthetics clinics and day spas.
Watch out
Adding one service can change the premises rules. A hair-only salon that adds manicures or waxing loses the section 8(6) exemption and needs a reprocessing sink, plus 14 days’ notice to public health. In Toronto it also needs a new licence endorsement.
The lease clauses that matter for a personal service tenant
- Health approval condition. Make the deal conditional on the health unit’s review of your layout and on the city licence, not just on zoning.
- Permitted use listing every service, including services you may add later, so a new service does not breach the lease when it triggers a new public health notice.
- Landlord’s work for water. Hot and cold supply and drains to the locations of both sinks, and a water heater sized for your service mix.
- Renovation consent written broadly enough to cover future changes public health may order, with consent not unreasonably withheld.
- Access for inspectors. Make sure the landlord’s access and security rules do not stop a public health inspector entering during your hours.
- Posting rights. The right to post the inspection notice at or near the entrance, overriding window and signage restrictions.
- Records storage. A secure, lockable space within the premises.
- Assignment to a buyer of the business. Inspection history and the licence move with the business, so the lease needs to move too.
The permitted-use clause carries most of this. My use clause guide goes through the wording.
Deal-killers to check on a viewing
- Only one sink, inside the washroom.
- No water to the unit, or to the kiosk pad.
- A space shared with food sales or a dwelling.
- Carpet, fabric seating or porous surfaces you would have to replace.
- For a takeover: a recent Conditional Pass or closure online, and no record of what was fixed.
- A landlord who will not allow plumbing work or a public health notice on the door.
Where I fit
I help personal service owners across Toronto, Peel, York and the rest of the GTA find units that can pass a public health inspection before they sign. I check the sinks, water and zoning on the viewing, read the inspection history of any business you are taking over, and negotiate the use and landlord’s work clauses. If you are valuing a salon you might buy, my hair salon valuation tool is a quick first step.
Find me personal service space
Tell me your service mix, area, size, budget and timing, and I will send units with the water and layout to pass inspection.
I will come back to you personally, usually the same day, with spaces that fit. If it is urgent, call or text 833-330-1925.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice does public health need before a salon or spa opens in Ontario?
At least 14 days in writing, under section 3 of O. Reg. 136/18. The notice goes to the medical officer of health for your area and must include the setting's name and location, the operator's name and contact information, and the list of services. The same 14 days applies before you add services, and before a renovation if you close during the work.
What does a public health inspector check in a personal service setting?
The premises standards in section 8 of O. Reg. 136/18: cleanable impermeable surfaces, hot and cold water, a dedicated hand sink, a reprocessing sink where tools are reused, lighting, ventilation, storage and waste. Inspectors also check equipment cleaning and sterilization, sterilizer testing, disinfectant DIN or NPN numbers, sharps disposal, hand hygiene, client information and records.
How often are personal service settings inspected in Toronto?
It depends on risk. Toronto Public Health's BodySafe program inspects critical services such as tattooing, piercing and electrolysis once a year and on complaint. Semi-critical services such as hair, nails and waxing are likely inspected once a year and on complaint. Non-critical services such as non-invasive facials are inspected only on complaint. Results are posted online.
How long do personal service settings have to keep records in Ontario?
O. Reg. 136/18 requires sterilization, disinfection, invasive-procedure and blood-exposure records to be stored securely at the setting for one year, then kept readily available for at least two more years. Toronto's Municipal Code Chapter 545 requires five years, with the first year at the premises. Inspectors can ask to see the records at any time.
Do I need to tell public health before renovating my salon?
Yes. If you close during the work, give written notice at least 14 days before it starts. If services continue during the work, give notice before it starts, saying that services will continue. Routine maintenance, repairs and like-for-like equipment replacement do not count as renovation. Peel Public Health also asks you to submit plans for review.
What happens if a salon fails an inspection in Peel or York?
In Peel, non-compliance can lead to education, a service stop order, equipment placed on hold, a closure or a re-inspection. York Region's YorkSafe program gives a green sign to settings that pass and a red Closed sign to establishments that pose an immediate health hazard, and publishes inspection results from the past two years online.
Does a hair salon need a reprocessing sink in Ontario?
Not if it only provides hairdressing or barbering and reprocesses its reusable equipment before the start and after the end of each business day. That is the section 8(6) exemption in O. Reg. 136/18. Add nails, waxing or other services and the exemption no longer applies, so you will need a reprocessing sink separate from the hand sink.
Sources
- Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 136/18, Personal Service Settings (Health Protection and Promotion Act) — scope, notice, premises, equipment, records, prohibited services
- Ontario e-Laws — Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7 — statutory definition of personal service setting
- City of Toronto — Personal Services Settings licence — Toronto notice to BodySafe and ML&S, licence
- City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing (Article XLIV, Personal Services Settings) — Toronto posting, 30-day class change, records, impervious surfaces
- Toronto Public Health — About BodySafe — risk categories, frequency, colours, disclosure, re-inspection
- Toronto Public Health — BodySafe general requirements for personal service settings — hand sink placement, one-way flow, finishes, records
- Region of Peel — Personal service businesses — Peel notice, plan review, inspector entry, enforcement outcomes
- York Region — YorkSafe Inspection Program — YorkSafe coverage, signs, two-year disclosure
- City of Mississauga — Personal services business licence — Mississauga licence requires Peel health clearance
Related reading
- Hair salon and barbershop premises
- Nail salon premises in Ontario
- Tattoo studio premises in Ontario
- Laser aesthetics clinic premises
- Day spa premises in Ontario
- Lash, brow and threading studio premises
- The use clause in a commercial lease
About the author — Jatin Dua, Toronto and GTA real estate broker
I am Jatin Dua, Broker of Record and co-founder of RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway, Toronto. I help business owners across Toronto and the GTA find, assess and lease commercial space, and I work with buyers and sellers of homes and businesses. Four-plus years of active GTA transactions and over $100 million in sales volume. Every rule here comes from a regulator, statute or by-law linked in the sources, so you can check all of it without asking me.
Reach me at [email protected] or 833-330-1925, or book a call.