Funding for a Beauty Salon in 2026

Funding for a beauty salon looks online like a long list of programmes, each one "for women", "for young people" or "for beginners". In practice, the rules you can check directly provide two mechanisms for people starting a business: a one-off grant from the labour office and a start-up loan. The other sources, meaning regional and EU programmes, change during the year, so instead of repeating other people's lists we point to where you can check current calls.

This article is an overview of sources. You will not find promises of an amount or of the outcome of an application, because that is decided by the starosta (head of the county) or the institution running the call. If you are only planning to open, add to your reading the guide to opening a nail salon.

Key points

• A one-off grant to start a business is awarded by the starosta (through the county labour office, powiatowy urząd pracy) to, among others, unemployed people, in the amount set in the agreement, not higher than 6 times the average salary.
• A loan to start a business is granted by financial intermediaries selected by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK). The Act sets, among other things, interest of 0.25% a year and a limit of 20 times the average salary.
• The grant must be accounted for, and the business run for at least 12 months. If you breach the conditions, you return the funds with interest.
• This is de minimis aid. The ceiling is EUR 300,000 over three years for one undertaking.
• We do not describe regional and EU programmes with amounts. You can check current calls on the European Funds Portal.

Funding for a beauty salon: where support can come from

Source	Who it is for (under the Act)	Form and limit
Grant to start a business from the labour office (starosta)	Unemployed people, graduates of a social integration centre or club (CIS or KIS), non-employed carers of disabled people who are looking for work	One-off, amount set in the agreement, at most 6 times the average salary on the day the agreement is concluded
Loan to start a business (Labour Fund or EU funds)	Unemployed, non-employed, final-year students, people returning from abroad and people whose income did not exceed the average salary (conditions in Article 172)	Up to 20 times the average salary, up to 100% of costs, 0.25% a year, repayment up to 7 years, capital grace period up to 12 months, no fees for granting and servicing
Regional and EU programmes for businesses	Depends on the programme and call	We did not check current calls

The first two forms come from the Act of 20 March 2025 on the labour market and employment services, which replaced the previous Act on promotion of employment from 1 June 2025. The starosta may additionally set conditions concerning the type of planned business or categories of applicants, after a positive opinion of the county labour market council. So you check the rules in your county at the local labour office.

You can search current EU calls on the calls page of the European Funds Portal, in Polish. We do not describe their conditions, because they change during the year and differ between regions.

Basic conditions: who can apply and what happens next

An application for a grant to start a business can be filed by an unemployed person who, on the day of filing, meets conditions such as these:

• in the last 2 years was not finally convicted of certain offences, including making false statements,
• in the last 12 months did not run a business in Poland and did not have one suspended,
• did not previously use non-repayable public funds to start a business,
• did not interrupt, through her own fault, a form of labour office assistance in the last 12 months,
• did not file a similar application with another starosta.

After you receive the funds, the starosta removes your unemployed status. This is a normal consequence of the rule, but it is worth knowing before you decide to apply.

The agreement requires security and obliges you to several things: accounting for the funds, returning any unspent part, running the business for at least 12 months, not suspending it for more than 6 months in total and not taking up employment in that period. If you breach this, you return the funds with statutory interest. If after starting the business you gain the right to deduct VAT, you return the equivalent of the VAT paid on purchases made from the grant.

What the application and business plan look like

You file the application with the starosta competent for your place of residence, on paper or electronically. The implementing regulation of 21 November 2025 lists what it must contain. For a salon owner the most important points are:

1. the PKD symbol of the planned business (see PKD codes for a nail and beauty salon),
2. a description of the business, including required licences and permits,
3. the address where the business will be carried out and a description of the premises,
4. education, training and experience useful for running a salon,
5. estimated monthly revenue and costs in the first year, with justification of the assumptions,
6. a detailed specification of expenses: fixed assets, equipment, materials, goods, advertising materials, adapting the premises, services, legal assistance and advice,
7. a cost calculation with sources of financing and the amount of the requested grant,
8. the proposed form of security for the agreement, plus statements and certificates on de minimis aid.

Deadlines from the regulation: the starosta notifies you in writing of acceptance or refusal within 30 days of a complete application being filed. The funds are transferred within 14 days of concluding the agreement, and you start the business within 30 days of receiving them. You file the settlement within 2 months of starting the business, based on paid invoices or equivalent documents. The application is considered if the starosta has funds to finance it.

You can build a realistic budget for the cost estimate with the help of the article on the cost of opening a nail salon in 2026.

What to plan in the budget besides equipment

The specification of expenses easily closes on the chair, the lamp and the nail drills. But a beauty salon has costs that come from sanitary and OHS requirements. It is worth working them out before filing the application:

• sterilisation: the autoclave and consumables (selection is described in the article on choosing an autoclave for a salon),
• ventilation and room fit-out (see the technical requirements for a nail salon),
• documentation: procedures, registers, GDPR consents and the risk assessment,
• insurance (see liability insurance in a beauty salon),
• costs of advice and legal assistance related to starting the business, which the Act names expressly as an element of the grant.

Whether a specific item will be accepted in the settlement depends on the approved specification and on the starosta's assessment. The starosta may accept expenses that depart from the specification if they fit within the grant amount and the starosta considers them justified. Ask the labour office about items you are unsure of before buying. The same item also cannot be financed from two public sources: the Labour Fund does not cover costs financed from other public funds.

De minimis aid: what it means for a salon

A grant to start a business is awarded in line with the conditions for permissible de minimis aid. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 applies from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2030. The total de minimis aid granted by one Member State to one undertaking must not exceed EUR 300,000 over three years. You attach to the application certificates of de minimis aid received, or a statement of its amount or that you received none.

For a one-person salon the ceiling will rarely be a problem, but the application must contain this information. We did not check how the central register of de minimis aid works, which the regulation announces from 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get funding for a beauty salon if I have a regular job?

The labour office grant is available to the groups named in the Act: the unemployed, graduates of CIS or KIS and carers of disabled people who are looking for work. A person in regular employment is not unemployed. The start-up loan has a wider group of eligible people, including those whose income did not exceed the average salary, but you assess the conditions with the labour office or the financial intermediary.

How much money can I get?

The labour office grant is limited to 6 times the average salary, the loan to 20 times. The specific amount is set in the agreement and depends on the budget of the starosta or the intermediary. We do not give amounts in zloty, because the average salary changes over time and we did not check its current value.

Do I have to repay the grant?

Yes, if you breach the agreement, for example by not keeping the business running for 12 months, using the funds for another purpose or not accounting for them. The repayment includes statutory interest from the day you received the funds. If you perform the agreement properly, you return only the unspent part.

Does the start-up loan carry interest?

The Act sets fixed interest of 0.25% a year, a repayment period of up to 7 years and the possibility of a capital grace period of up to 12 months. The borrower pays no fees for granting and servicing. You apply to a financial intermediary selected by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

Can I include advice and documentation in the cost estimate?

The Act expressly names the costs of legal assistance, consultations and advice related to starting a business. Whether a specific purchase of documentation will be accepted in the settlement, you agree with the starosta when drawing up the expense specification.

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Legal status as of: 2 November 2026
Legal basis: Article 65(1)(4), Article 78, Article 79(1), Articles 147-153 and 172-174 of the Act of 20 March 2025 on the labour market and employment services (Journal of Laws 2025, item 620; the amendments in Journal of Laws 2025, items 1746 and 1794 and 2026, items 451, 507 and 734 do not touch these provisions; Journal of Laws 2026, item 1123 changes, from 1 January 2028, Article 153(3) and Article 172(4)(1) as regards nurseries); Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 21 November 2025 on applications and performance of agreements on funding to start a business (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1645, §§ 2-4); Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023 (Articles 3 and 8). Not checked: the current amount of the average salary, conditions and calls in your county, regional, national and EU programmes (including PARP), the central register of de minimis aid, tax consequences of a grant, or the rules of loans at specific financial intermediaries.
Last reviewed: 2 November 2026