Hair salon terms and conditions: template

A client arrives 25 minutes late and expects the full service. Another does not turn up at all, and you had him booked for an hour when you could have taken someone else. A third comes back after a week with comments about the fade and wants his money back. All three situations can be settled "by eye", or you can have the rules written down. A hair salon's terms and conditions (in Polish: regulamin) are exactly that: a written set of rules on bookings, cancellations, complaints, hygiene and client data. Below you will find the skeleton of such a document, tips on what not to put in it and short notes on where the terms have a basis in the legislation. It is a skeleton to be adapted to your salon, not a ready-made text to copy.

Key takeaways

• The terms and conditions are a standard contract form. They bind the client if they were delivered to him before the contract was concluded (Article 384 § 1 of the Civil Code).
• In contracts with consumers it is not enough that the client "could easily have learned" the content of the terms. The exception applies only to contracts commonly concluded in minor, everyday matters.
• Provisions that grossly violate the consumer's interests do not bind him. The Civil Code gives a list of clauses that are, in case of doubt, considered prohibited.
• The terms do not replace the price list, the information on personal data or the sanitary procedures. They complement them.
• Do not promise in them that the salon "is not liable" for the effects of the service. Such provisions are the riskiest.

Why a salon needs terms and conditions and who they bind

The terms are a set of rules that you set yourself and offer to every client in the same way. The Civil Code calls them a standard contract form and states expressly that a form also includes "terms and conditions". A form binds the other party if you deliver it before the contract is concluded (Article 384 § 1). In practice that is the moment of booking: by phone, by messenger or in an online system.

Two things in Article 384 matter for a salon:

• In contracts involving consumers, the rule that a form binds even when the other party "could easily have learned its content" does not apply. The exception covers contracts commonly concluded in minor, current matters of everyday life (§ 2). We do not decide whether a haircut falls within this exception. It is safer to make the terms available before the visit.
• If you use the terms in electronic form, make them available so that the client can store and reproduce them (§ 4). A link that disappears after booking does not meet this.

The terms must be worded clearly and comprehensibly. Ambiguous provisions are interpreted in favour of the consumer (Article 385 § 2).

What the terms for clients should contain

Good terms for a salon fit on one to two pages. The skeleton below shows a typical layout. The sample sentences only illustrate the style, so adapt them to your offer:

Part	What you write about	Example wording
1. General provisions	who runs the salon, who the terms apply to	"These terms set out the rules for using the services of the salon [company name]."
2. Bookings	how to arrange a visit, how to confirm it	"A visit can be booked by phone or online. You will receive a confirmation by message."
3. Lateness and cancellations	how late a visit can be cancelled, what happens if the client is late	"Please cancel your visit at least [X] hours in advance."
4. Payments	forms of payment, advance payment or deposit	"You can pay by cash, card or BLIK (a Polish mobile payment method)."
5. Complaints	how to report comments on the service, to whom	"Comments on the service can be reported in the salon or by e-mail."
6. Hygiene and safety	rules for clients, refusal in case of skin changes	"The salon may refuse a service if the condition of the skin prevents it from being performed safely."
7. Personal data	reference to the information clause	"Information on personal data is available [where]."
8. Final provisions	changes to the terms, date of entry into force	"These terms apply from [date]."

Bookings, lateness, cancelling a visit

This is the part that resolves the most everyday disputes, but it is also the easiest place for a prohibited provision. A few rules:

1. Write down the cancellation deadline. That is enough for the client to know what you expect. A simple request for earlier cancellation is not risky.
2. Be careful with a no-show fee. Among the clauses that the Civil Code, in case of doubt, considers prohibited are those imposing on the consumer alone an obligation to pay a fixed sum in the event of withdrawal from the contract (Article 385³ point 16) and a grossly excessive contractual penalty or withdrawal fee (point 17). A provision on such a fee should be discussed with a lawyer, because the assessment depends on its construction and amount.
3. Name the payment plainly. If you take a deposit (in Polish: zadatek), the Civil Code attaches specific consequences to it: if a party fails to perform the contract, the other party may withdraw from it and keep the deposit, or, if it gave the deposit itself, demand double the amount. This applies unless the parties agreed otherwise (Article 394 § 1). The deposit is returned when the contract is terminated or when non-performance results from reasons for which neither party is responsible or both are (§ 3). If you only want a prepayment, do not call it a deposit.
4. Describe lateness as a procedure, not a penalty. For example: if the client is late, the service will be performed to the extent possible in the remaining time, or the visit will be rescheduled.

Complaints about the service and the salon's liability

In the terms you can describe how a client reports comments on the service and who handles them. What you cannot do is "exclude" liability. Among the clauses that are, in case of doubt, prohibited are those that exclude or limit liability towards the consumer for personal injury (Article 385³ point 1) and those that exclude or substantially limit liability for non-performance or improper performance of an obligation (point 2). The popular sentence "the salon is not liable for the effects of the treatment" is exactly what is best avoided in the terms.

We described the client's rights regarding a service and the differences between a complaint about a service and a complaint about goods in the articles on complaints about a barber service and selling cosmetics. In the terms a short provision on how to report a complaint and a reference to statutory rights is enough.

Hygiene rules and refusing a service

A salon where the continuity of tissues is breached, for example when shaving with a razor, is obliged to introduce and apply procedures protecting against infections (Article 16(1) and (2) of the Act on preventing infections). The terms may contain a short note for the client that tools are disinfected or sterilised and that the salon uses disposable materials where the procedures provide for it. The procedures themselves, however, stay in a separate document.

It is also worth stating that the salon may refuse to perform a service if the client's skin or health condition prevents it from being performed safely, and that it will then propose another date or a medical consultation. When to refuse is described in the article on skin diseases and refusing a service, and allergy tests for beard colouring are covered in the article on allergies and patch tests. Do not base a refusal solely on the terms: the decision always concerns a specific client and a specific situation.

Personal data and monitoring

The terms do not replace information on data processing. When you collect data from a client, the controller gives him, among other things, its identity and contact details, the purposes of processing together with the legal basis, and information about the recipients of the data (Article 13(1) of the GDPR). In the terms put one sentence referring to the full clause, and keep the clause itself where the client gives his data, that is, at booking and on the client card. The rules on consents and cameras are described in the article on GDPR in a barbershop, and the client card itself is covered by a separate article on the hairdresser's client card and GDPR.

Where to display them and how to document that the client has read them

The terms must be available before the client decides. A sensible arrangement:

• Online booking. A checkbox "I have read the terms" with a link to a file that can be saved. Record the date and time of ticking, if the system allows.
• Phone booking. Send a link or a file after arranging the visit and tell the client the main rules before he arrives.
• In the salon. A printed copy at the entrance or at reception, in a legible size.
• Archive. Keep previous versions with their dates of entry into force. If you change the rules, a client booked earlier should receive the new version before the visit.

Remember the price list. The price of a service is displayed at the place where services are provided in a clear and unambiguous way (Article 4(1) of the Act on informing about the prices of goods and services). So do not copy the price list into the terms as the only source of prices: it should hang separately, where the client will see it.

The terms are also one of the documents that are best kept together with procedures and consents. The Shield package in BarberReady includes the "Salon terms for clients" as a ready starting point. Adapt it to your offer and check the provisions on fees and liability with a lawyer before you start using it.

Frequently asked questions

Does a hair salon have to have terms and conditions?

None of the provisions discussed in this article obliges a salon to have terms, but we did not examine all acts. So the terms are voluntary. If you do use them, however, they must meet the Civil Code requirements for standard contract forms.

Are the terms binding on a client who did not read them?

They bind him if you delivered them before the contract was concluded (Article 384 § 1 of the Civil Code). In contracts with consumers, the mere fact that the client could learn the content of the terms is not enough, except for contracts commonly concluded in minor, everyday matters.

Can I charge a fee for not showing up for a visit?

It is a risky provision. Among the clauses suspected of being prohibited, the Civil Code lists those that impose on the consumer alone an obligation to pay a sum in the event of withdrawal from the contract and a grossly excessive contractual penalty. The assessment depends on how the provision is constructed, so consult a lawyer.

Do the terms protect me from complaints?

No. The terms do not exclude the consumer's statutory rights, and provisions that exclude or substantially limit liability for improper performance of a service are, in case of doubt, prohibited (Article 385³ point 2).

Do the terms replace the GDPR clause?

No. You give information on personal data separately, at the time of collecting the data (Article 13 of the GDPR). In the terms you can only refer to the full clause.

The full text of the provisions on standard contract forms and prohibited clauses is in the consolidated text of the Civil Code in the Journal of Laws.

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Legal status as of: 2 November 2026
Legal basis: Civil Code of 23 April 1964 (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026, item 795; Articles 384, 385, 385¹-385³, 394); Act of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious diseases in humans (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2025, item 1675; Article 16(1) and (2)); Act of 9 May 2014 on informing about the prices of goods and services (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2023, item 168; Article 4(1)); Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (GDPR; Article 13(1)). We did not check the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act on information obligations in contracts concluded on business premises or at a distance, case law on no-show fees, the UOKiK (the Polish consumer protection authority) register of prohibited clauses, or changes to the Civil Code after 27 May 2026. The sample wording in the text is not a legally verified template and needs to be adapted to your salon. This text is not legal advice.
Last review: 2 November 2026