The Trickiest State Requirements for Estheticians

Whether you’re an experienced esthetician or you’re hoping to get licensed in the near future, you’ve probably had these questions: Can I use my esthetician license in another state? Or can I transfer my esthetician license to another state if I move? And are other state requirements for estheticians trickier than my current state?

You may think of the United States as a fairly coherent group of states, but that changes when you take a look at the esthetician regulations by state. Some states require a lot more out of you–which isn’t always a bad thing.

For example, while it is great that some states allow people as young as 16 to get their esthetician licenses, waiting until the minimum age requirement of 18 in other states may allow for some much needed growth and maturity. On the other hand, waiting until you’re 23, like Arizona requires, might feel like a stretch for someone planning their future career as an esthetician.

We talked about the risks and challenges of being a practicing esthetician. Now, let’s talk about some of the hurdles and state laws for estheticians you may have to leap over to become an esthetician.

What are typical state requirements for estheticians?

While it would be difficult to cover all esthetician regulations by state individually here, these are some common state requirements for estheticians as established by the various state laws for estheticians you can find across the country:

• Age Requirements
• High School Education Requirements
• Training/Work/Apprenticeship Hour Requirements
• Examination Requirements

If you’d like to review specific training and esthetician license requirements by state to see what your state requires you to do, the World Population Review website has an excellent list to start your search. Otherwise, check your local state requirements for estheticians online.

While state requirements for estheticians have a lot in common across states, some regions make it harder than others. Which states make it the toughest to become an esthetician? It depends how you measure difficulty.

Which state requirements for estheticians have the highest age requirements?

Like we said earlier, many states have age requirements to get licensed. Lots of states, like Idaho, allow you to start young at 16 or 16.5. (Apparently that half a year is important!?) If you consider having to wait until a certain age to start your career difficult, then you’ll have a tough time living in Arizona. Arizona takes the prize for oldest state requirements with a 23-years-old age requirement, beating every other state by at least five years.

Which state laws for estheticians require the most education?

Age isn’t the only prerequisite to consider. High school education plays an important role, too. There are eight states that don’t require any form of education as a prerequisite state requirement for estheticians, but the rest do. You usually don’t need a high school diploma, but you need proof that you at least completed your education up through a certain grade.

With the minimum age for many of these state requirements for estheticians being 16 years old, most applicants will have automatically fulfilled the requirements of 19 different states to at least have completed 10th grade–and some of those only require completion of only 8th or 9th grade. For estheticians in the 16 states that require a high school diploma, however, you’ll need to have either graduated or gotten your GED. The states that require you to complete high school are:

• Arizona
• Montana
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Vermont
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Alaska
• Kansas
• Mississippi
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Texas
• Florida
• Hawaii

Esthetician License Hours By State: Which states require the most?

While some of the other state requirements for estheticians are optional from state to state, there is one requirement that is universal: Every esthetician must document and complete a certain amount of hours practicing as an esthetician.

You can complete these hours either in a training course or program or in an apprenticeship. Esthetician hour requirements by state vary depending on whether you choose an apprenticeship or a course. For example, Alaska doesn’t care how you get their 350 hour requirement, whether in school or an apprenticeship. On the other hand, California, Georgia, and many other states require you to submit twice as many hours in an apprenticeship as you would have if you had just done a course or school.

While most states require 750 hours or less, there are some that ask for a lot more. Curious which state requires the most hours for estheticians? Here are the top three:

• California at 1,600 school hours or 3,200 apprenticeship hours
• Delaware and Wisconsin, both at 1,550 hours
• Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas all at 1,000 hours

While having fewer esthetician hours for each state can seem like an open invitation to move to the states with minimum requirements, remember that you should always take as much training as you need to feel ready, even if you put in more than the required hours listed by your state.

State and National Examinations: What and how are you tested?

Of the 50 states in the USA, 40 states require that you pass a written theory test or exam as part of their state requirements for estheticians. Of those, 38 also require a practical exam. These exams are often state specific, but they cover a lot of the same material as the national esthetics examination offered by the National-Interstate Council on State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC). As shared by Esthetician EDU, the topics in state written exams primarily include:

• Scientific concepts, like sanitation, anatomy, various disorders, or skin care.
• Esthetics practices, including cleansing procedures, appropriate mask use, color theory, and skin analysis.

During practical exams, you perform many of the normal services you’ll offer, such as facial cleansing and steaming, cleaning your station, hair removal, and facial massages. Completing your training courses or apprenticeship helps you prepare for your exams.

To know more about exams, check out your state laws for estheticians.

Transferring An Esthetician License To Another State

If you’ve ever wondered about esthetician reciprocity by state in case you need to move in the future, here’s some good news: most states are willing to issue you a license so long as you can provide proof that you are licensed in your previous state. Many will want to know that your previous state’s education and licensing requirements were comparable to theirs or higher, but others don’t care so long as you are an active esthetician.

Occasionally there are additional requirements for switching an esthetician license from state to state on top of having a current license, such as:

• Taking a written exam specific to their state, regardless of whether you took one in your previous state.
• Showing a certificate/proof to verify your training hours and the exams you took.
• Proof that you have been actively working as an esthetician for a few years, like in California or Idaho.

If you are in a state without reciprocity for esthetician license requirements in other states, you may have to prove the hours you have worked and also take another practical and written exam approved by the state.

Continuing Education: Is it harder to stay licensed in some states?

Once you have your esthetician license, another factor to consider is whether your state requires continuing education. Most states don’t have continuing education requirements, but some do. North Carolina tops the list by requiring 8 hours of continuing education annually (CEUs). Florida and Illinois are the next highest by requiring 10 hours biennially.

Even if you don’t live in a state with continuing ed requirements, should you still pursue more education? Absolutely. The more you know, the more services you can perform and the more proficiently you can perform them. Additional knowledge and certifications can make you a better esthetician and give your clients better experiences. So keep at it!

State requirements for estheticians may be tricky, but protecting yourself shouldn’t be.

Knowing and following the esthetician regulations by state isn’t a simple task, and protecting your business from claims can feel even trickier. How can you correctly respond to client claims or lawsuits? Unlike all these state laws for estheticians, we at WellnessPro Insurance make protecting your business as simple as possible. We offer affordable, easy-to-use coverage so that you can run your esthetician business without losing any sleep. And we offer that coverage to estheticians in all 50 states.

Learn how our coverage can protect estheticians and aestheticians here.