Mobile Nail and Brow Salon - Polish Health Inspection Requirements 2026 and How to Register

You do manicures at clients' homes, hire a table at wedding fairs, travel to photo shoots with gel and hybrid systems. The mobile beauty business is growing, but its legal obligations are no lighter than those of a fixed salon. You have the same requirements for sterilisation, client documentation, safety data sheets, and sanitation procedures. The only difference is practical: meeting those requirements is harder when you have no permanent workspace with a sink, locked cabinets, and an autoclave on site.

Does a Mobile Salon Need to Register with the Health Inspectorate

Yes. Without exception. Every service business involving contact with a client's skin - manicure, pedicure, brow styling, lash lamination, lash extensions - is subject to mandatory registration with the State Sanitary Inspectorate (Sanepid) in Poland.

• Where you register: at the Sanepid office responsible for your place of residence or registered business address, not for the locations where you travel to clients. If you live in Kraków and serve clients across the Małopolska region, you register with the Kraków Sanepid office.
• Which form: an application for entry in the register of establishments subject to sanitary supervision. Available at the Sanepid office or increasingly through the authority's electronic submission portal.
• What you include in the application: state that you operate a mobile salon, list the services you provide (manicure, hybrid system, lash lamination, brow styling, etc.) and note that work takes place at changing locations at clients' premises or at events.
• Paid or unpaid: the registration obligation applies to paid services. Even if you run a sole trader business and perform one treatment per week, the obligation applies.

What the Health Inspector Checks for a Mobile Technician

Inspecting a mobile technician differs logistically from inspecting a fixed salon, but the substantive scope is identical. An inspector may carry out an inspection at the point where the service is being delivered, meaning at the client's home.

• HACCP and sanitation documentation: you must have a written sanitation procedure adapted to mobile working. A standard salon template describing a fixed sink and an on-site autoclave is not sufficient for a mobile technician. The procedure must address: the absence of fixed infrastructure, the transport of tools, changing locations, and access to water.
• Tool sterilisation: you do not sterilise at the client's home because you have no autoclave there. The solution: you bring pre-sterilised sets in sealed, labelled sterilisation pouches. You open the pouch only at the client's premises, in front of the client.
• Access to water: the inspector checks how you handle handwashing and tool rinsing. Options: you use the client's sink (acceptable, but this must be described in your procedure), or you use bottled water with a pump dispenser and a waterless hand sanitiser.
• Waste management: you bring your own sharps container (broken metal files, needles, drill bit tips) and a container for chemical waste (acetone-soaked cotton pads, product residues). You do not pour chemicals down the client's drain.
• Safety data sheets: you have them with you or accessible on request via your phone, if the inspector accepts that. A paper version in a small folder taken on every visit is the safest option.
• Client record cards: you have access to cards during the visit, either in a phone app or in paper form. You complete and sign the card at the visit.

Minimum Equipment for a Mobile Nail Technician

Every visit to a client or event requires a complete kit. Missing any item is a deficiency during an inspection and a risk in the event of an accident.

• Sterilised tools in sealed, labelled sterilisation pouches (sterilisation date, expiry of sterility)
• Single-use files or sanitised files in a separate container
• Waterless hand sanitiser (for example Sterillium or equivalent) in case there is no sink available
• A container labelled "dirty" for used reusable tools awaiting sterilisation on return to base
• A sharps waste container for broken metal files, needles, and drill bit tips
• Single-use couch roll or disposable table covers for the working surface
• Client record card and patch test form for treatments requiring a test
• Nitrile gloves in the correct size
• A first aid kit (sterile dressings, eye wash, gloves)
• SDS documents for all products you are carrying

Treatments You Cannot Perform Mobile - or Only With Significant Restrictions

Not every treatment from your fixed salon menu can be safely transferred to a client's premises.

• Treatments requiring autoclave sterilisation of reusable tools: you cannot sterilise at the client's home. The solution: for treatments that require sterile instruments, use only single-use tools. For example, medical pedicure with autoclaved instruments should only be carried out at your base, not on mobile visits.
• Treatments requiring running hot water: some lash lamination protocols using thioglycolate solutions or nail strengthening systems require rinsing with running water. At the client's home this is possible if a sink is accessible, but you must describe this in your sanitation procedure and confirm water availability before every visit.
• Treatments generating high volumes of chemical vapour without ventilation: acrylic systems and some gel systems produce strong fumes. In a small, unventilated room at a client's home this can be a health risk for both of you. Include ventilation requirements for the treatment location in your sanitation procedure.

Mobile Documentation - What You Take on Every Visit

Create a checklist and go through it before every departure. A missing document at the location is a deficiency an inspector can identify even during an unannounced visit at a client's home.

• Client record cards or app access on your phone
• SDS documents for all products you are taking
• Mobile salon sanitation procedure
• Sterilised tool sets in labelled pouches
• Sharps waste container
• Single-use table covers
• Waterless hand sanitiser
• Nitrile gloves
• First aid kit

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do gel manicures at a client's home without registering with the health inspectorate?

No. Every paid service involving contact with the skin is subject to sanitary regulations regardless of where it is performed. Working without registration is non-compliant from a regulatory standpoint. If an inspection takes place, or a client makes a claim after an accident, the absence of registration significantly weakens your legal position.

Which treatments can you do mobile and which only in a fixed salon?

Manicure, pedicure, hybrid systems, gel nail extensions, brow styling, lash lamination - all of these can be done mobile, provided you meet the sanitary requirements for mobile working. Treatments requiring sterilised reusable instruments are only permissible mobile if you use single-use tools exclusively for that visit. Treatments requiring autoclave sterilisation should either be performed only at your base, or you must switch to fully single-use instruments.

Do you need separate HACCP documentation for mobile work?

Yes. A standard salon template describes a fixed workstation with a sink, autoclave, and lockable cabinets. A procedure for mobile working must address: the absence of fixed infrastructure, transport of sterilised tools, access to water at changing locations, waste management away from base, and sterilisation of tools after returning to base. This is a separate document, not a modification of the fixed salon template.

Can the health inspector inspect you at a client's home?

Yes. A sanitary inspector has the authority to carry out an inspection at the point where the service is being delivered, whether that is a client's home or an event venue. They may also inspect your base if that is where you sterilise tools and keep records. Missing documents, unsterilised tools, or the absence of a first aid kit are deficiencies that result in a formal inspection report and potentially a fine.