Virginia hair braiding rules
Do you need a license to braid hair in Virginia?
No license needed. Braiding human hair or a wig or hairpiece for pay does not require a Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology license. Below: locs (not stated), hair extensions and sew-ins (not stated) and wig installs (license needed), each answered from Virginia's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 29, 2026, with the state's own words.
- Braiding
- No license needed
- Locs
- Not stated
- Extensions
- Not stated
- Wig installs
- License needed
Licensed by the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology.The board's site Hours and fees for each licenseThe state's own words
Hair braiding
Do you need a license to braid hair in Virginia?
No license needed. Braiding human hair or a wig or hairpiece for pay does not require a Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology license.
- License needed
- No license needed
- Exemption
- Braiding human hair or a wig or hairpiece is excluded from the cosmetology definition.
Virginia is one of 35 states whose official pages exempt hair braiding from licensing.
Locs
Do you need a license to do locs in Virginia?
Not stated. Virginia's official pages we read do not say whether starting and maintaining locs need a license. Ask the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology before you offer them.
- License needed
- Not stated
Hair extensions and sew-ins
Do you need a license to do hair extensions or sew-ins in Virginia?
Not stated. Virginia's official pages we read do not say whether hair extensions and sew-ins need a license. Ask the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology before you offer them.
- License needed
- Not stated
Wig installs
Do you need a license to install wigs in Virginia?
Yes. Dressing or cutting a wig or hairpiece for pay is cosmetology and needs a Cosmetologist license; adjusting, combing or brushing a prestyled wig that keeps its style is not.
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Cosmetologist
- License for this work alone
- None
- Exemption
- Adjusting, combing or brushing a prestyled wig or hairpiece that keeps its style is not cosmetology.
Good to know
What else Virginia asks of braiders
- Operating a barbershop or cosmetology salon requires a valid Board license.
- The Code section that governed the hair braider waiver, § 54.1-703.2, is repealed.
- The Board's Hair Braiding Regulations, chapter 30 of 18VAC41, are repealed.
Sources
What Virginia's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of Virginia's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 29, 2026. Rules change: confirm with the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology before you start charging for a service.
- Hair braiding
“but shall not include hair braiding upon human hair, or a wig or hairpiece”
law.lis.virginia.gov “Chapter 30. Hair Braiding Regulations [Repealed]”
law.lis.virginia.gov - Wig installs
“arranging, dressing, curling, waving, cutting, shaping, singeing, waxing, tweezing, trimming, bleaching, coloring, relaxing, straightening, or similar work, upon human hair, or a wig or hairpiece”
law.lis.virginia.gov “upon human hair, or a wig or hairpiece, by any means, including hands or mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliances unless such acts as adjusting, combing, or brushing prestyled wigs or hairpieces do not alter the prestyled nature of the wig or hairpiece, and practices cosmetology for compensation.”
law.lis.virginia.gov “or such acts as adjusting, combing, or brushing prestyled wigs or hairpieces when such acts do not alter the prestyled nature of the wig or hairpiece”
law.lis.virginia.gov - Also good to know
“No individual or entity shall operate a barbershop, cosmetology salon, nail care salon, waxing salon, tattoo parlor, body-piercing salon, ear-piercing salon, or esthetics spa without a valid license issued by the Board.”
law.lis.virginia.gov - Also good to know
“Repealed by Acts 2012, cc. 803 and 835 , cl. 54.”
law.lis.virginia.gov - Also good to know
“Chapter 30. Hair Braiding Regulations [Repealed]”
law.lis.virginia.gov
Questions
Virginia hair braiding licenses, answered
Do you need a license to braid hair in Virginia?
Do you need a license to do locs in Virginia?
Do you need a license to do hair extensions or sew-ins in Virginia?
Do you need a license to install wigs in Virginia?
What do you need to open a braiding salon in Virginia?
Plan the rest
Ready to fill your book
- Hours, exams and fees for each Virginia cosmetology and barber license
- What Virginia requires to open a salon or shop of your own
- What Virginia inspectors check in a salon
- Renewing a Virginia cosmetology or barber license
- Renting a chair or a suite? Start from a booth rental agreement
- A deposit and cancellation policy for long appointments
Hair braiding rules in other states
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