Free Practice Questions for TX Nail Technician

Candidates must answer 70% of the scored items correctly on the computer-based written examination administered by PSI Services on behalf of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The exam contains 66 items: 60 scored items with a 90-minute limit and 6 unscored pretest items with an additional 10 minutes, so you must answer at least 42 of the 60 scored questions correctly.

Texas requires 600 hours of instruction completed at a barbering or cosmetology school licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Once your school reports your completed hours, TDLR transmits your eligibility to PSI, allowing you to schedule your examinations.

Candidates pay a $50 non-refundable application fee to TDLR, a $55 written examination fee to PSI, and a $76 practical examination fee to PSI upon passing the written portion. Biennial license renewal costs $50 every two years.

The PSI content outline lists four areas: Licensing and Regulation (20%, 12 questions), Infection Control (34%, 20 questions), Nail Structure and Analysis (5%, 3 questions), and Nail Care (41%, 25 questions). Infection Control carries the skin and nail disease and disorder items, and Nail Care carries manicuring, pedicuring, enhancements, equipment, implements, massage, and products.

Under 16 TAC 83.25, Texas manicurists must complete at least 4 hours of TDLR-approved continuing education in the two-year period immediately preceding renewal. The 4 hours must include 1 hour of sanitation and 1 hour of human trafficking prevention (required for renewals on or after September 1, 2025), plus 2 hours in any topic listed in 16 TAC 83.202. A licensee who has held a practitioner license for at least 15 years completes only the sanitation and human trafficking prevention hours.

Yes. Out-of-state manicurists apply through the substantial equivalence route in 16 TAC 83.28. You must submit a certified transcript of hours, furnish an active license in good standing, be at least 17 years old, and pay both the $50 substantial equivalence fee and the $50 license application fee. For Class A barber and operator licenses, documented work experience in the licensing jurisdiction can substitute for missing training hours at 25 hours per month worked, up to a 300-hour maximum.

16 TAC 83.112(a) lists four prohibited substances or products: methyl methacrylate (MMA) liquid monomers; razor-type callus shavers designed to cut growths of skin such as corns and calluses, for example credo blades; alum or other astringents in stick or lump form; and fumigants such as formalin tablets or liquids. Alum and astringents in powder or liquid form are expressly acceptable, and 83.111(a) permits powdered alum, styptic powder, or a cyanoacrylate liquid bandage applied with a disposable cotton-tipped instrument that is discarded immediately.