1000 University Avenue W, Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55104
Phone: 651-201-2742
Fax: 651-649-5702
Email: [email protected] 

https://mn.gov/boards/cosmetology/

About the Board

LICENSING FORMS and INFO

The Board has contracted with a national testing vendor, PSI, to provide tests for applicants for Minnesota licensure. Questions about costs, scheduling a test, test locations, etc. should be directed to PSI by phone or the PSI website

For exam content outlines (e.g. study topics) for operators, salon managers, and school managers, please refer to the Candidate Information Bulletin. (Or refer to the Spanish version or Vietnamese version.)

 For instructor exams, refer to the Instructor Candidate Information Bulletin.

The state exam study outlines should be used in conjunction with Minnesota Rule chapters 2105 and 2110 and Minnesota Statute chapter 155A.

Helpful Hints for Successful Studying and Testing

Practitioner Continuing Education

8 hours of continuing education are required to renew or reactivate an operator or salon manager license: 

  • 4-hour Core continuing education course.
    This course must consist of 1 hour of laws and rules; AND 
    3 hours of health, safety, and infection control standards.
  • 4-hour Professional Practice continuing education course.
    This course may be based on any or all of the following:
    1. product chemistry and chemistry interaction;
    2. proper use of machines and instruments;
    3. business management and human relations; OR
    4. techniques relevant to the type of license held.
For Practitioners:

2020 Practitioner Core Continuing Education Course List    
2020 Practitioner Professional Practice Continuing Education Course List 

For Providers:

2020 Practitioner CE Course Approval Application

Instructor Continuing Education

Instructors and School Managers: When is it OK to Double-Dip?

All instructor continuing education courses must be pre-approved by the Board.*
To renew an instructor license, 45 hours of continuing education are required:

  • 30 hours of teaching-methodology courses
  • 15 hours of clinical practice courses

*You may use qualifying credits from completed classes on teaching methods or clinical practice from the MnSCU system schools, the University of Minnesota, or other postsecondary schools licensed by the Office of Higher Education but not licensed by the Board. Preapproval of such classes is not required. You must attach an official transcript and the class syllabus or catalog course description, which must establish the class hours and establish that the content of the course is based on teaching methodology or clinical practice, to your Instructor Renewal Application. Postsecondary courses are equivalent to 16 CE hours per credit, and lab courses are equivalent to 32 CE hours per credit. CEUs earned are accepted as one CE hour per CEU credit.

For Instructors:

2020 Instructor Continuing Education Course List

For Providers:

2020 Instructor CE Course Approval Application

The purpose of this credentialing process is to verify the authenticity and US equivalency of foreign education and related documents.

Any documents which originated outside of the United States, such as high school diplomas and cosmetology training transcripts, must be formally evaluated by a credentialing service, Aequo International, prior to submitting an application to the Board.  At this time, Aequo International is the only Board-approved provider for foreign document evaluations; evaluations performed by other providers will not be accepted.

The Board encourages applicants to submit any relevant foreign documentation to Aequo International for evaluation at the start of cosmetology school training.  The evaluation time frame can be extensive, and starting the process at the beginning of training will help to avoid a delay after graduation and upon application for licensure.

                    

Please visit: https://aequointernational.com/evaluations/

After payment is made on the Aequo website, you will be directed to the Aequo International evaluation application page to create an account and complete the necessary requirements. You will also see the required documents for your evaluation and instructions for submission. If for some reason you are not immediately directed to the Aequo International evaluation application page after payment is submitted, you will receive an email confirmation containing the link to the Aequo International page where you can create your account.

Did you complete your cosmetology training outside of the US?
Applicants with training and/or work experience in another country who have not been licensed in another state must apply to a Board licensed school as a transfer student for an evaluation of training, school records, and work experience prior to submitting a license application to the Board office. Any records from another country, including records in English, must first be evaluated by Aequo International at the student’s or school’s expense.

Please contact Aequo International with any questions related to the evaluation application or process by calling 844.882.3786 or by emailing [email protected].

**The Legislature repealed the requirement for hair braiders to register annually with the Board and exempts hair braiding from Board regulation, effective 7/1/2019.**

Hair Braiding Registration Repeal

Laws & Rules INFO

For highlights of the September 13, 2016 rules overhaul, please view the bulletins for practitioners, salons, and schools. The Infection Control and Salon Prohibitions Summary lists the infection control rules in a reader-friendly way and can be easily printed for your salon or school.

Overhaul of School Rules: RD4456:

The updating of Rules Chapter 2110 on school rules is in the beginning stages and expected to be completed in 2022.
Current Rule Docket:
The Public Rule Docket lists the status of pending rulemaking activities.

About the School Rules

CHAPTER 2110 ​BOARD OF COSMETOLOGIST EXAMINERSCOSMETOLOGY; SCHOOLS

About the Salon Rules

CHAPTER 2105​ BOARD OF COSMETOLOGIST EXAMINERSCOSMETOLOGY; INDIVIDUALS AND SALONS

About the laws

CHAPTER 155A Cosmetology

155A.30 SCHOOLS.

Subdivision 1.Licensing. Any person who establishes or conducts a school in this state shall be licensed. A license issued to postsecondary licensed cosmetology schools meeting the provisions of subdivision 12 shall include the designation “Postsecondary Cosmetology...

155A.29 SALONS.

Subdivision 1.Licensing. A person must not offer cosmetology services for compensation unless the services are provided by a licensee in a licensed salon or as otherwise provided in this section. Each salon must be licensed as a cosmetology salon, a nail salon,...

155A.275 SPECIAL EVENTS.

Subdivision 1.Special event services. For purposes of this section, “special event services” means services rendered for compensation and performed at a location other than a licensed salon. These services are limited to the practice of nonpermanent manipulation of...

Barber

CHAPTER 2100​ BOARD OF BARBER EXAMINERSC

LICENSING, REGISTRATION, AND OPERATION