How to Start an Aesthetic Business in Surrey, BC: Licences, Fraser Health Approval, Market Data

Planning to open a med spa, a laser clinic, a skin and esthetics studio or a laser hair removal or tattoo removal business in Surrey? This guide is written for owners and founders. Surrey added more than 50,000 residents between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, and its population is young, multilingual and spread across distinct town centres from Whalley and City Centre to Newton, Fleetwood, Cloverdale and South Surrey. Start with the client and competitor data, then the laser platforms to open with and the costs to plan for, and finish with what the City of Surrey, Fraser Health and WorkSafeBC need before your first appointment.

Is Surrey a good place to start an aesthetic business?

Surrey combines fast growth with a young, diverse client base: 568,322 residents at the 2021 Census, up 9.7% in five years, with Punjabi the leading non-official mother tongue. To open, you need a City business licence, Fraser Health approval with scaled floor plans, WorkSafeBC-referenced laser safety and Health Canada-licensed devices.

Every figure and rule below links to the official source. Where no official number exists, the guide shows you how to find the answer yourself.

Who are Surrey’s potential clients?

The figures come from the 2021 Census Profile for the City of Surrey and Statistics Canada’s population and dwelling counts table. Census day was May 11, 2021; household income refers to calendar year 2020.

What these numbers suggest for a service menu (planning guidance, not a forecast):

• Growth means new households. More than 50,000 residents were added between the two censuses. New residents are still choosing their esthetician, laser clinic and skin-care provider, which favours a business that markets early and builds reviews quickly.
• A large early-twenties group. At 8.0%, the 20–24 band is Surrey’s largest five-year adult band in the table. Laser hair removal and tattoo removal are typical first purchases for this age group, often sold as packages.
• Plan devices and training around medium and darker skin tones. About two-thirds of residents identify as a visible minority, and Punjabi, Mandarin and Tagalog lead the non-official mother tongues. Hair removal wavelengths suited to a wide range of skin types, pigment-correction options, and consent forms and aftercare in more than one language all deserve a line in the budget.
• Household income is close to the regional pattern. The citywide median was $98,000. Pricing should follow the trade area you pick: South Surrey and Newton can behave like different markets.

How many personal-care businesses already operate in Surrey?

Statistics Canada’s Canadian Business Counts (table 33-10-1176-01, June 2026) give these City of Surrey totals for locations with employees:

Group 8121 is Statistics Canada’s Personal care services industry. It covers hair care and esthetic services together with other personal care services such as depilatory salons and day spas. It is a picture of the broad beauty sector, not a tally of laser clinics, and no official count of laser providers exists. Keep Statistics Canada’s own caveats in mind: each physical location is counted separately, sole operators without employees are not published at city level, and the series is not meant to be read as a trend over time.

To map the real competition, run searches such as “laser hair removal Newton”, “tattoo removal Surrey”, “med spa South Surrey” and “IPL Fleetwood” for every candidate address. For each competitor, note services, the devices named on their site, posted package prices and review counts. A one-page grid per town centre will tell you more than any citywide total.

What kind of aesthetic business fits Surrey?

Decide the model before you look at space. Your licence description, your Fraser Health service list and your hiring plan all flow from it.

1. Esthetics and skin studio: facials, waxing, peels and skin-quality treatments, often run by the owner.
2. Focused laser studio: hair removal or tattoo removal as the core service, sold in multi-session packages.
3. Multi-platform laser and skin clinic: hair removal, pigment, redness and resurfacing under one roof.
4. Medical aesthetics clinic: laser and skin services plus injectables or other procedures delivered by regulated health professionals.

Across all four, laser services tend to earn the most per treatment room. Clients usually book a course rather than a single visit, and one versatile platform can cover several menu items in a day.

Which laser platforms should a Surrey clinic start with?

Fraser Health spells out the device test: lasers and other medical devices must meet Health Canada requirements under the Radiation Emitting Devices Act and the Medical Devices Regulations, and “if a device has not received a licence to be sold in Canada it cannot be used within a personal service establishment.” Its officers may also ask for the manufacturer’s specifications. Federally, a Class II, III or IV device cannot be imported or sold without a manufacturer’s licence, and every licence is searchable in MDALL. Look up the exact licence name and number before you sign (step-by-step guide), keep the printout for your Fraser Health file, and get training, warranty, service response and financing terms in writing.

Pro 1 Laser supplies its platforms manufacturer-direct, each with clinical training included, an 18-month warranty and lease-to-own programs on approved credit:

Monthly figures depend on configuration and term; current programs are on the financing page.

What should you budget to open in Surrey?

Here is how Surrey’s opening costs break down, using only what the official sources state:

• Health approval — Fraser Health’s package states there is currently no fee to operate a personal service establishment, though municipalities may charge; confirm with your environmental health officer, as the package dates from October 2016. Budget for at least two printed sets of scaled plans.
• City licence — confirm the fee with Business Licensing (604-591-4370) and ask whether the fit-out needs a building permit.
• Equipment — lease-to-own programs on approved credit run from $499/month (DPL Elite) to $999/month (Pro 1 Pico), depending on configuration and term.
• Insurance — liability and treatment insurance that lists laser services.
• Safety and materials — signage, eyewear rated for every wavelength, logs, and consent and aftercare templates in your clients’ languages.

Model the return per room with the ROI calculators for DioLase Titanium, Pro 1 Pico, DPL Elite and Alexa CO₂, and see the financing page for current lease programs.

What licence does the City of Surrey require?

Surrey regulates businesses under the Business License By-law, 1999, No. 13680 (consolidated through amending By-law 21963, April 13, 2026). Its definition of a Beauty and Wellness Centre is explicit about lasers: “a premise used to improve beauty and wellness through styling, cutting, or chemical treatment of hair and through skin and body treatments, including pedicures, manicures, facials, microdermabrasion, waxing, laser, hydrotherapy, anti-aging, skin rejuvenation therapy” and several massage-related services. The same by-law defines a separate Health Enhancement Centre for therapeutic touch techniques, so describe your actual services carefully and let the City confirm the category.

How to apply, according to the City’s Applying for a Business Licence page (checked October 12, 2026):

• Apply through the Online Business Licensing Application Portal, or complete the Business Licence Application form and email or mail it.
• Business Licensing has moved to the Surrey Operations Centre, 6651 148 Street; the Business Licence team’s number is 604-591-4370.
• Before you sign a lease, confirm with the City that your unit’s zoning allows the use you plan, and ask whether a building permit is needed for the fit-out.

Planning more than one location in Metro Vancouver? Our licensing and health directory for Canada’s 100 largest municipalities links each city’s licence office and health authority.

What does Fraser Health review before you open?

Surrey sits in the Fraser Health region. In British Columbia, running a personal service establishment is a regulated activity under the Regulated Activities Regulation, B.C. Reg. 161/2011, which covers any establishment “in which a person provides a service to or on the body of another person”. The Public Health Act (s.18) makes the operator responsible for preventing health hazards and for employees being adequately trained and equipped.

Fraser Health’s page on how to open a personal service establishment is direct: “Prior to opening a personal service establishment, an application form with floor plans must be submitted to your local health protection office.” The submission should include:

• at least two printed copies of construction plans, drawn to scale (1:50 or a quarter inch per foot), showing equipment and furniture layout, procedure rooms, hand wash basins, laundry and surface finishes;
• a list of services, including services you only plan to add later;
• a list of major equipment, and of single-use and reusable implements;
• a list of chemicals with active ingredient and strength;
• cleaning, disinfection and sterilization procedures for implements and contact surfaces.

The Fraser Health application package (October 2016) fills in the detail. It names “laser services” among typical personal services, asks for written approval before construction, renovation or operation, recommends three sets of plans, and lists “laser machines” among the equipment to show on the floor plan. Once the build-out is finished, you book an initial inspection with your environmental health officer to confirm the space matches the approved plans. The package states that Fraser Health currently charges no fee to operate a personal service establishment. B.C. Reg. 161/2011 itself sets no notice period, so start the conversation as soon as you have a candidate unit.

Who may perform laser and skin treatments in British Columbia?

In Surrey, laser hair removal, tattoo removal and other cosmetic laser services are offered as personal services in establishments that Fraser Health approves and inspects. Three practical points shape your staffing:

• No provincial operator certificate, but training is expected. Fraser Health’s package notes there are “no provincial training or certification requirements” for operators, recommends training for each service, and asks you to list courses and attach certificates.
• Fraser Health sorts unclear services. If you are unsure how a service is classified, an environmental health officer will tell you whether it is a personal service, an activity reserved for a regulated professional, not authorized in BC, or not a personal service at all.
• Physician-led clinics follow their college. A medical aesthetics model is governed by the professionals’ own colleges. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC’s laser safety standard applies to physicians who order medical (Class 3B or 4) laser procedures; it allows them to be ordered only to nurses licensed by the BC College of Nurses and Midwives and requires a medical director and a laser safety officer. Injectables require regulated professionals.

Which laser-safety rules apply to Surrey employers?

WorkSafeBC’s OHS Regulation, Part 7 brings laser standards into workplace law. Section 7.23 says equipment that produces non-ionizing radiation “must be installed, operated and maintained in accordance with” listed standards. For lasers, the list includes ANSI Z136.1, ANSI Z136.3 and “CSA Standard Z386-01, Laser Safety in Health Care Facilities, as amended from time to time”. Section 7.19(4) relies on the same standards for exposure limits.

The province’s laser hair removal guideline adds a staffing point: for Class 3b and 4 lasers, management designates a laser safety officer to run the facility’s laser safety program, and the owner can hold that role in a small business. In practice, a Surrey clinic should have:

• one named laser safety officer with documented training;
• a treatment room that can be closed off, with warning signs at the door;
• eyewear rated for every wavelength you use, for staff and clients;
• written procedures, periodic safety audits and device maintenance logs.

CSA lists CSA Z7001:24 as superseding Z386:20; ask your safety adviser which edition to build your program on. Health Canada’s laser hair removal safety guidelines and our laser safety requirements guide help with room layout.

What must a Surrey treatment space include?

Drawn only from the sources above. Fraser Health may set further conditions for your premises.

Your Surrey opening checklist

Timings are suggestions. Follow any date Fraser Health or the City gives you.

1. About six months out: choose the model and menu; build a competitor grid for each town centre you are considering.
2. Before signing a lease: confirm zoning with the City and call your Fraser Health environmental health officer about the planned services.
3. Five months out: register or incorporate, shortlist devices, check every MDL in MDALL and arrange financing.
4. Four months out: have scaled plans drawn; submit the Fraser Health application with services, equipment, chemicals and cleaning procedures; wait for written approval before construction starts.
5. Three months out: apply for the City business licence; name your laser safety officer; book liability and treatment insurance that lists laser services.
6. Six to eight weeks out: take delivery of devices, complete clinical and safety training, and prepare consent, aftercare and record templates in the languages your clients use.
7. Two to three weeks out: book the Fraser Health initial inspection once the build-out matches the approved plans.
8. Before the first client: hold health approval and the City licence, with signage, eyewear and logs in place.

Build on a growing market

Surrey’s growth and its young, multilingual population give a well-run aesthetic business room to build a loyal following. Get the Fraser Health plans approved early, keep your device licences on file and lead with laser services, and the business can grow with the city.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change; confirm them with the City of Surrey and Fraser Health before you sign a lease. Sources were checked on October 11–12, 2026.