Beauty Salon Rules, Deposits and No-Shows

Beauty salon rules (in Polish, regulamin) are a standard-terms document that you draw up yourself and that binds the client if you give it to her before the contract is concluded (Article 384(1) of the Polish Civil Code). The Civil Code does not require you to have one, but it regulates when it binds, and terms that were not individually negotiated, conflict with fair dealing and grossly violate the interests of a client who is a consumer do not bind her (Article 385¹(1)).

A Friday afternoon, a full schedule, and a client with a two-hour appointment neither turns up nor cancels. Salon rules and a deposit are documents that put such situations in order, but only when they are written in line with the law. Below we show what beauty salon rules can contain, which clauses to avoid, how a Polish "zadatek" differs from a "zaliczka", and how to hand the rules to a client. The requirements for the price list itself are covered in our article on salon price list rules.

The essentials

• The rules bind the client if they were given to her before the contract was concluded. If you provide them in electronic form, do it so that she can store and reproduce them (Article 384(1) and (4)).
• Terms that were not individually negotiated, conflict with fair dealing and grossly violate a consumer's interests do not bind her, and the rest of the contract remains in force (Article 385¹(1) and (2)).
• The rules must be worded clearly and comprehensibly, and ambiguous terms are interpreted in the consumer's favour (Article 385(2)).
• A zadatek (deposit) has defined effects in the Civil Code (Article 394). The Code has no general provision on a zaliczka (advance on the price) corresponding to Article 394.
• If you provide services by electronic means, for example through a booking form on your website, the Act on the Provision of Electronic Services requires terms for those services (Article 8).

Beauty salon rules: are they mandatory and what can they contain

Salon rules are the terms on which you provide services: bookings, cancellations, late arrivals, prepayments, complaints, behaviour in the salon. The Civil Code treats them as standard terms: they bind the other party if given to her before the contract is concluded (Article 384(1)). The provision does not require you to have rules, but without handing them over before booking it is hard to rely on their wording.

Separate from this are terms for services provided by electronic means. The Act requires the service provider to set such terms and make them available free of charge before the contract is concluded, and the recipient is not bound by provisions that were not made available in that way (Article 8(1) and (2)). Whether a given function of your website is a service provided by electronic means within the meaning of Article 2(4) of that Act depends on how it works. If you have a client account, a booking system or a newsletter, check this with a lawyer.

• What is worth regulating: how bookings are made, the free cancellation window, the consequences of arriving late (for example a shortened treatment or rescheduling), prepayment rules and settlement, rules on children and pets, the complaint procedure. We describe the complaint procedure in the article on complaints about a beauty service.
• What the rules cannot change: prohibited terms that were not individually negotiated do not bind a consumer, including when she accepted the rules at booking (Article 385¹(1) and (3)).
• Language: plain and specific. The terms must be clear and comprehensible (Article 385(2)), and an unclear clause will work against you.
• Personal data: we cover consents and the information duty separately in the article on GDPR consents in a beauty salon.

Prohibited clauses in beauty salon rules

The Civil Code treats as a consumer a natural person who enters into a legal transaction with a business that is not directly related to her business or professional activity (Article 22¹). A salon client usually meets this definition. Terms of a contract with a consumer that were not individually negotiated do not bind her if they shape her rights and obligations in a way contrary to fair dealing and grossly violate her interests. This does not apply to terms on the main performance, including the price, if they are worded unambiguously (Article 385¹(1)).

A term whose content the client had no real influence on was not individually negotiated, in particular when it comes from a standard form you proposed to her. The burden of proving that a term was individually negotiated lies on the person relying on it (Article 385¹(3) and (4)). Whether a term complies with fair dealing is assessed as at the time the contract was concluded (Article 385²).

Article 385³ contains a list of terms that are presumed prohibited in case of doubt. It is a presumption, not a judgment, so a court ultimately assesses the term. Below are examples from the list, translated into salon situations.

Clause in the salon rules	Item in Article 3853
The whole payment is forfeited regardless of timing when the client gives up the visit	item 12: excluding the duty to return payment for a performance not rendered if the consumer gives up the contract or its performance
A cancellation fee that applies only to the client, with no equivalent duty on the salon	item 16: a duty to pay a fixed sum on withdrawal imposed solely on the consumer
A high fee for not cancelling a visit or for giving it up	item 17: a duty of a consumer who did not perform an obligation or withdrew from the contract to pay a grossly excessive contractual penalty or withdrawal fee
The salon's right to change the contract or the service unilaterally, or to raise the price after booking	items 10 and 19: unilateral change of the contract or of essential features of the performance without a valid reason; item 20: raising the price after conclusion without a right to withdraw
Excluding the salon's liability for harm after a treatment	items 1 and 2: excluding or limiting liability for personal injury and for non-performance or improper performance
Terms the client could not read before booking	item 4: terms the consumer had no opportunity to read before the contract was concluded

A fairness test for your rules: read each provision and ask whether you would accept it as a client of another salon. If a clause works only one way, check it against the list in Article 385³.

Terms declared prohibited by a final judgment of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection can be checked in the UOKiK register of prohibited clauses (in Polish). The absence of an entry does not mean your clause is permitted.

Zadatek, zaliczka, prepayment in the salon rules

The words you use in your rules and in the booking confirmation have legal effects. The Civil Code regulates the zadatek (Article 394). It has no general provision on a zaliczka on the price corresponding to Article 394, and none on a prepayment without a name (the word zaliczka appears in the Code only in specific contexts, for example Article 743 on an advance for expenses under a commission contract (zlecenie)), so the effects of such payments depend on what you write in the contract and the rules. An ambiguous term is interpreted in the consumer's favour (Article 385(2)).

Situation	Zadatek under Article 394 of the Civil Code
The client who gave the zadatek does not perform the contract	The salon may withdraw without setting an additional deadline and keep the zadatek, unless agreed otherwise and unless a different custom applies (paragraph 1)
The salon does not perform the contract	The client may withdraw and demand twice the amount of the zadatek (paragraph 1)
The visit takes place	The zadatek is credited towards the client's performance, and returned if crediting is not possible (paragraph 2)
The contract is terminated, or non-performance results from circumstances for which neither party, or both parties, are responsible	The zadatek must be returned and the duty to pay double falls away (paragraph 3)

Practical takeaway: if you want to rely on the rules on zadatek, call the payment a zadatek and describe its effects in the rules and in the booking confirmation. Remember that a zadatek works both ways. Set the amount in proportion to the price of the treatment: a zadatek is meant to secure the appointment, not to be a hidden penalty. If instead of a zadatek you set a fee for an uncancelled visit, it may be assessed as a contractual penalty (Article 483(1)), which the debtor may ask to have reduced if it is grossly excessive (Article 484(2)).

No-shows: a step-by-step procedure

• At booking: the client reads the rules and pays the zadatek (bank transfer, payment in the booking system, BLIK). You may leave bookings without a zadatek for regular clients, but write that rule into the salon rules.
• Reminder: a message the day before the visit stating until when the appointment can be cancelled under the rules.
• Cancellation on time: the zadatek is returned or moved to a new date, as stated in the rules.
• No cancellation: you document the attempt to contact the client, apply the rules and record the event. A consistent practice makes it easier to show you are not acting arbitrarily.
• Settlement: discuss a retained zadatek with your accountant. We describe the rules on receipts and invoices in the article on cash registers in a salon, and payments through booking platforms in the article on DAC7 reporting by salons.

Treat chance events separately, such as illness, an accident or an urgent family matter. The Civil Code provides that when non-performance results from circumstances for which neither party is responsible, the zadatek must be returned (Article 394(3)). A simple clause such as "in documented chance events the zadatek moves to a new date" removes the label of rigidity from the rules. Apply exceptions by one rule to all clients.

How to hand over the salon rules and prove acceptance

The rules bind the client if you gave them to her before the contract was concluded (Article 384(1)). The provision requires delivery, not a signature, but you need to be able to show that she could read them. It is worth having several layers at once:

• Website and booking profile: the full text of the rules available from the booking page, not hidden in the footer. In the booking system, set a requirement to accept them at the first booking. Provide the rules in electronic form so that the client can save and reproduce them, for example as a downloadable file (Article 384(4)).
• The salon: a printed copy in a visible place at reception, for clients who book by phone or in person.
• Booking confirmation: a message with the date containing a link to the rules, the cancellation terms and information about the zadatek.
• First visit: a short statement that she has read the rules, kept with her client card.

Mark changes to the rules with an effective date and keep earlier versions with their dates. For single visits, the version given before booking binds. Standard terms issued during a continuing contractual relationship bind the other party if the requirements of Article 384 were met and she did not terminate the contract at the nearest notice date (Article 384¹). If you sell multi-visit passes or subscriptions, check with a lawyer whether that is such a relationship.

Introducing new rules

Announce new rules in advance, explain the reason plainly (uncancelled visits block slots for other clients), allow a transition period and apply the same rules to everyone. You can offer regular clients milder terms, but write that into the rules as a clear principle. After a few months, compare the number of uncancelled visits before and after the change and clients' reactions, then adjust the zadatek amount and the free cancellation window.

Frequently asked questions: beauty salon rules

Can I keep the whole prepayment if a client cancelled the day before?

It depends on whether the payment is a zadatek and on what your rules say. With a zadatek, Article 394(1) lets you keep it when the client did not perform the contract, unless the exception in paragraph 3 applies. A clause forfeiting the whole payment regardless of the cancellation date is risky: Article 385³ item 12 lists among doubtful terms excluding the duty to return payment for a performance not rendered when the consumer gives up the contract. The provisions we checked do not say where the line lies between a zadatek and an item 12 term, and a court ultimately assesses it. Free cancellation up to a set hour, with the zadatek lost only after it passes, is easier to justify.

Does every client have to sign the rules?

No. Article 384(1) requires the rules to be given before the contract is concluded, not signed. A signature or an acceptance tick at online booking does, however, make it easier to show the rules were known, so it is worth collecting.

Can the rules exclude the salon's liability for harm after a treatment?

Article 385³ items 1 and 2 list among terms presumed prohibited in case of doubt those that exclude or limit liability to a consumer for personal injury, and those that exclude or significantly limit liability for non-performance or improper performance. A liability exclusion is therefore not a safe protection. We write more about liability after a treatment in the article on allergic reactions after a treatment.

Can I set a fee for an uncancelled visit?

A fee for an uncancelled visit may be assessed as a contractual penalty (Article 483(1)). Article 385³ item 17 lists among doubtful terms a duty of a consumer who did not perform an obligation or withdrew from the contract to pay a grossly excessive contractual penalty or withdrawal fee, and Article 484(2) allows a grossly excessive penalty to be reduced. The provisions do not name an amount treated as safe, so we do not give one. Describe the consequences of arriving late alone, for example a shortened treatment, separately in the rules.

What if a client regularly cancels at the last minute?

The rules may provide that after a set number of late cancellations further bookings require prepayment. Word the principle unambiguously (Article 385(2)), apply it consistently and keep a history of cancellations. The rules we checked do not say after how many cancellations you may do this, so agree it with your lawyer.

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Legal status as of: 5 November 2026
Legal basis: Act of 23 April 1964, Civil Code (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2026, item 795, legal status in the announcement as of 19 May 2026, including the amendment in Journal of Laws 2026, item 507; Article 22¹, Article 384, Article 384¹, Article 385, Articles 385¹-385³, Article 394, Article 483 and Article 484; we found no later amendments to these articles); Act of 18 July 2002 on the provision of electronic services (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2024, item 1513, Article 2(4) and Article 8; the amendment in Journal of Laws 2026, item 1296, entering into force on 6 November 2026, does not change these provisions); UOKiK register of prohibited clauses (page read on 5 November 2026). Not checked: the Consumer Rights Act (including withdrawal from distance contracts), the Act on informing about prices of goods and services, the GDPR, case law on deposits and fees for uncancelled visits, tax effects of a deposit, and the terms of booking platforms.
Last reviewed: 5 November 2026