All 50 states and DC, from each board's own rules
Cosmetology license renewal and CE, state by state
Every beauty license has to be renewed, and the rules change at the state line. 15 states require continuing education to renew a cosmetology license, while 7 states say none is needed. The typical on-time renewal fee is $60. Pick your state for when your cosmetology, barber, esthetician or nail tech license expires, what renewal costs, the CE hours and topics, and what to do if it has lapsed, each in the board's own words.
Read from the official sources on October 28, 2026. How we checked ยท Download every state (CSV)
- States that require CE to renew a cosmetology license
- 15 of 51
- States whose board says no CE is required
- 7
- Typical cosmetology renewal fee
- $60
Pick your state
How do you renew your license in your state?
When your cosmetology, barber, esthetician or nail tech license expires, what renewal costs, the continuing education it needs, and what to do if it has lapsed, each answered with the board's own words.
- AlabamaCE: Not stated
- AlaskaCE: Not stated
- ArizonaCE: Not stated
- ArkansasCE: Not stated
- CaliforniaCE: None required
- ColoradoCE: Not stated
- ConnecticutCE: Not stated
- DelawareCE: None required
- District of ColumbiaCE: 6 hours
- FloridaCE: 10 hours
- GeorgiaCE: 5 hours
- HawaiiCE: None required
- IdahoCE: Not stated
- IllinoisCE: 14 hours
- IndianaCE: Not stated
- IowaCE: 6 hours
- KansasCE: Not stated
- KentuckyCE: Not stated
- LouisianaCE: Not stated
- MaineCE: Not stated
- MarylandCE: 6 hours
- MassachusettsCE: Not stated
- MichiganCE: Not stated
- MinnesotaCE: 8 hours
- MississippiCE: Not stated
- MissouriCE: Not stated
- MontanaCE: None required
- NebraskaCE: 8 hours
- NevadaCE: 4 hours
- New HampshireCE: Not stated
- New JerseyCE: Not stated
- New MexicoCE: Required
- New YorkCE: Not stated
- North CarolinaCE: 24 hours
- North DakotaCE: 4 hours
- OhioCE: 4 hours
- OklahomaCE: Not stated
- OregonCE: Not stated
- PennsylvaniaCE: None required
- Rhode IslandCE: Not stated
- South CarolinaCE: 4 hours
- South DakotaCE: None required
- TennesseeCE: Not stated
- TexasCE: 4 hours
- UtahCE: Not stated
- VermontCE: Not stated
- VirginiaCE: Not stated
- WashingtonCE: Not stated
- West VirginiaCE: None required
- WisconsinCE: Not stated
- WyomingCE: Not stated
Across the states
What the renewal rules have in common
- Continuing education is a split. For a cosmetology license, 15 states require it to renew (typically 6 hours per renewal), 7 states say none is required, and the pages we read do not settle it in 29 states.
- The most CE. North Carolina (24 hours), Illinois (14 hours) and Florida (10 hours) ask the most continuing education per cosmetology renewal.
- Most licenses renew every 2 years. 41 states renew every 2 years, 5 states renew every year, 2 states renew every 3 years and 2 states renew every 4 years.
- Renewal costs differ several times over. Per year of license, cosmetology renewal runs from $5.50 in Wisconsin to $90 in Alaska; the middle state charges $32.50 a year.
- Barbers often follow a different board. 9 states require continuing education to renew a barber license and 8 states say none is required; barber renewal fees are typically $65.
- Lapsed licenses get harder to restore with time. 50 states spell out what an expired cosmetology license must do; in many, after a few years you must reapply or retake the exam rather than simply pay a late fee.
Every state compared
Renewal and continuing education, state by state
The cosmetology license's renewal period and on-time fee, and the continuing education each of the four licenses needs per renewal. "Not stated" means the official pages we read did not settle it; each state's page has the late fees, the expired-license rules and the board's own words.
| State | Cosmetology renews | Renewal fee | Cosmetology CE | Barber CE | Nail tech CE | Esthetics CE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Every 2 years | $100 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Alaska | Every 2 years | $180 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Arizona | Every 2 years | $60 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Arkansas | Every 2 years | $50 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| California | Every 2 years | $50 | None required | None required | None required | None required |
| Colorado | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Connecticut | Every 2 years | $100 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Delaware | Every 2 years | Not stated | None required | None required | None required | None required |
| District of Columbia | Every 2 years | $110 | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours |
| Florida | Every 2 years | $45 | 10 hours | 2 hours | 10 hours | 10 hours |
| Georgia | Every 2 years | Not stated | 5 hours | 5 hours | 5 hours | 5 hours |
| Hawaii | Every 2 years | $146 | None required | None required | None required | None required |
| Idaho | Every 2 years | $60 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Illinois | Every 2 years | Not stated | 14 hours | 1 hour | 10 hours | 10 hours |
| Indiana | Every 4 years | $40 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Iowa | Every 2 years | $60 | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours |
| Kansas | Every 2 years | $50 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Kentucky | Every 2 years | $100 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Louisiana | Every year | $35 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Maine | Every year | $20 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Maryland | Every 2 years | $28 | 6 hours | None required | 6 hours | 6 hours |
| Massachusetts | Every 2 years | $68 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Michigan | Every 2 years | $48 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Minnesota | Every 3 years | $115 | 8 hours | Not stated | 8 hours | 8 hours |
| Mississippi | Every 2 years | $50 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Missouri | Every 2 years | $60 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Montana | Every 2 years | $100 | None required | None required | None required | None required |
| Nebraska | Every 2 years | Not stated | 8 hours | Not stated | 8 hours | 8 hours |
| Nevada | Every 2 years | $70 | 4 hours | Not stated | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| New Hampshire | Every 2 years | $55 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| New Jersey | Every 2 years | $90 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| New Mexico | Every 2 years | $100 | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| New York | Every 4 years | $40 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| North Carolina | Every 3 years | $39 | 24 hours | Not stated | 8 hours | 8 hours |
| North Dakota | Every year | $50 | 4 hours | 6 hours | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| Ohio | Every 2 years | $65 | 4 hours | 4 hours | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| Oklahoma | Every 2 years | $80 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Oregon | Every 2 years | $65 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Pennsylvania | Every 2 years | $97 | None required | None required | None required | None required |
| Rhode Island | Every 2 years | $25 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| South Carolina | Every 2 years | $52 | 4 hours | Not stated | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| South Dakota | Every year | $45 | None required | Not stated | None required | None required |
| Tennessee | Every 2 years | $60 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Texas | Every 2 years | $50 | 4 hours | 4 hours | Not stated | Not stated |
| Utah | Every 2 years | $52 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Vermont | Every 2 years | $155 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Virginia | Every 2 years | $120 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Washington | Every 2 years | $66 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| West Virginia | Every year | $35 | None required | None required | None required | None required |
| Wisconsin | Every 2 years | $11 | Not stated | None required | None required | None required |
| Wyoming | Every 2 years | $96 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
Method
How we checked each state
- Official sources only. For each state we read the board's renewal and continuing education pages, its fee schedule, its FAQs, and the statute and rules on expiration, late renewal, lapsed licenses and continuing education. Schools, continuing education providers and other guides were not used as sources.
- Every answer carries the board's own words. Each fact is stored with the official page it came from and a verbatim quote, and a script confirmed that every quote appears on its page and that every fee and hour count appears in its quote before the page was published. Each state's page shows those quotes.
- No continuing education means the board says so. A license counts as needing no CE only where an official page says none is required. Where the pages we read are silent, the answer is "Not stated", never a guess.
- Not legal advice. These are the boards' own rules and fees as published on October 28, 2026. Fees and deadlines change: confirm with your board before you renew.
Questions
License renewal, answered
How often do you have to renew a cosmetology license?
It depends on the state. 41 states renew every 2 years, 5 states renew every year, 2 states renew every 3 years and 2 states renew every 4 years. Pick your state above for its expiration date rule.
Do you need continuing education to renew a cosmetology license?
In 15 states, yes: DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. In 7 states the board says none is required (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and West Virginia). In 29 states the pages we read do not settle it; ask your board.
How much does it cost to renew a cosmetology license?
The typical on-time renewal fee is $60, or $32.50 per year of license once longer renewal periods are evened out. Late renewal usually adds a penalty; each state's page has its exact fees.
What happens if my cosmetology license expires?
You may not work on an expired license. Most boards let you renew late for a penalty within a set window; after that many require you to reapply, show new training or retake the exam. Each state's page says how long that window is where the board states it.
Is barber, esthetician and nail tech renewal the same as cosmetology?
Often, but not always. Where one board licenses all four, the fees and continuing education are usually the same; where barbers have their own board, their renewal cycle, fee and CE can differ. Each state's page answers every license separately.
Where do these answers come from?
From each state's own board pages, fee schedules, statutes and rules, read on October 28, 2026, never from schools or continuing education providers. Each answer carries the official page and the board's own words, and a script confirmed each quote is on that page and each number is in its quote. Rules and fees change: confirm with your board before you renew.
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