1.1 Current Arkansas Manicurist Exam Facts

Official title, exam ID, and who licenses you

Arkansas law and Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Cosmetology Section rules license the occupation as manicurist. That is the credential name on the statute, the rules, fee tables, school enrollment forms, and the wall license the Section mails after you pass. OpenExamPrep catalogs this exam as ar-nail-technician in the Nail Technician family so learners can find Arkansas content next to other state nail licenses. Those labels describe the same entry-level nail license. When you read a school catalog, a Prov bulletin, or an ADH FAQ, look for manicurist. When you use this site's practice and study-guide URLs, you will see Nail Technician and the exam ID ar-nail-technician.

The licensor is the Arkansas Department of Health Cosmetology Section, not a free-standing "State Board of Cosmetology" agency with a separate building and separate website. Mail and in-person contact: 4815 W. Markham St., Slot 8, Little Rock, AR 72205. Phone: 501-682-2168. Online applications and Cosmetology Licensing Information live at adhcosmo.arkansas.gov. Program pages, FAQs, the Cosmetology and Body Art Law PDF, rules, and the fee schedule live on the healthy.arkansas.gov Cosmetology & Body Art hub. Save both URLs. Schools and testing vendors change bulletin filenames; the Section's published pages are where you confirm fees, forms, and mailing rules.

A working manicurist performs nail services as ADH rules define them: cutting, trimming, polishing, coloring, tinting, cleansing, filing, buffing, pushing, extending, protecting, wrapping, covering, building, or beautifying nails, and softening or massaging arms, hands, feet, and ankles with hands, mechanical or electrical appliances, cosmetics, chemicals, antiseptics, lotions, or creams. Scope limits — eyelash extensions, microblading, Class 1 or 2 lasers — belong in Chapter 2. This chapter stays on exam identity: what you sit, who scores it, how long the published pieces last, and what they cost.

Three exams, not one combined score

Arkansas does not issue a manicurist license on a single blended test. You must pass three components:

1. NIC Nail Technology written theory, delivered by Prov, Inc.
2. Arkansas State Law written, also delivered by Prov, Inc.
3. Practical examination administered by an approved Arkansas cosmetology school, scored with the ADH official grading document, and proctored per NIC guidelines during Monday through Friday regular business hours.

Passing two of three is not a license. A candidate who scores 90 on theory and 80 on practical still cannot work if State Law is below 70. A candidate who passes both written exams still needs the school practical. Plan calendar time and money for all three, and treat each score as an independent gate.

Written vendor trap: an older Manicure.pdf on the ADH site still mentions PSI. The current Prov Arkansas Cosmetology Candidate Information Bulletin dated 2026.01.05 and the ADH Cosmetology FAQ both name Prov, Inc. as the written-exam vendor. Treat PSI references as stale. Prov phone numbers published with that bulletin: (801) 733-4455 or (877) 228-3926. Web: www.provexam.com. If a classmate forwards a PSI confirmation email, that email is not your Arkansas manicurist written appointment.

NIC theory: published time, item count, and what is not published

The NIC National Nail Technology Theory Candidate Information Bulletin is effective September 1, 2025, with a March 1, 2026 revision. For that bulletin:

Do not convert 110 items into a State Law guess. Do not assume State Law is also 90 minutes. If a third-party page or an old summary says "100 multiple choice" for the whole Arkansas process, that figure describes neither the NIC 110 / 100 split nor the unpublished State Law exam. The 10 unweighted items are mixed in; you cannot skip a topic because you hope it is pretest.

Because 100 items are scored and the bulletin publishes domain percentages, you can translate weights into a study budget for the scored set. Those percentages do not apply to State Law and do not tell you which 10 of the 110 items are unweighted.

Domain weights on the 100 scored items

Enhancements are the largest slice (20%). Manicure and pedicure services are next (18%). Infection control and anatomy and physiology are tied at 15% each. Tools (13%) and chemistry (10%) are large enough that skipping them is a failing strategy on a 70-point written curriculum floor. Pre-service (5%) and post-service (4%) are small, but they are cheap points if you already practice station setup and dismissal the way Arkansas sanitation rules require. Add the eight weights and you get 100 percent of the scored set — that arithmetic is the bulletin, not a guess.

Bulletin references listed on the March 1, 2026 revision include Milady Standard Nail Technology, 8th edition, plus Foundations (2020); Pivot Point; and Tammy Taylor. Those are the national theory publishers NIC cites. This OpenExamPrep chapter is independent study material for people sitting the Arkansas manicurist exams. It is not an NIC product, an ADH product, or a publisher workbook.

Passing scores under ADH rules

ADH Cosmetology and Body Art Rules set three numeric floors. Memorize them as three sentences, not as a blended "about 70 to 75 percent" range:

• 70 on written curriculum (the NIC theory / written curriculum exam)
• 70 on state law, including when state law is taken independently
• 75 on the practical

A 69 on State Law is a fail even if theory is 95. A 74 on practical is a fail even if both written exams are 100. Do not average the three numbers. Do not treat a website placeholder that says 70–75% as a single passing score for the whole license.

"Independently" matters. Some candidates sit State Law on a different day from NIC theory, or retake only State Law. The floor stays 70. There is no published "retake discount" that lowers the State Law cut score.

Fees: pay Prov $78 per written exam

Each Prov written exam costs $78, first time or retake, according to the Prov Arkansas Cosmetology CIB dated 2026.01.05 and the ADH Cosmetology FAQ. Candidates take two written exams (NIC theory + State Law), so written testing is $156 at those rates, plus whatever the school collects for the practical.

The ADH fee schedule does not set a written-examination fee. Under Examination for licensing, the current Cosmetology and Body Art Rule (effective September 5, 2024) lists only Practical (Payable to School) — not to exceed $65.00. The $60 written line that older study lists still quote came from the superseded 2020 Rules for Cosmetology in Arkansas and was removed when the current rule took effect. Candidates pay Prov $78 for each written exam, and the school collects the practical fee and may not exceed $65.

Worked example: Priya finishes clinic in May 2026. She schedules NIC theory and State Law on Prov's site ($78 + $78 = $156) and pays her school $65 for the practical. Her testing outlay is $221 before any retake. If she had budgeted from a stale $60-per-written-exam list, she would be $36 short on written testing alone. If she fails State Law once and retakes it, she pays another $78 to Prov — the retake is not discounted, and it is not free because she already passed theory.

Enrollment ($20), practitioner renewal, duplicate licenses, and establishment fees belong in later chapters. For exam day, remember: $78 × 2 written to Prov, practical not to exceed $65 on the Department schedule, payable to the school.

Scenario: mixing labels and vendors

Devon searches "Arkansas nail technician exam PSI" and finds an old PDF. Devon also sees OpenExamPrep's ar-nail-technician ID and assumes the license title printed by the Section will say Nail Technician. Both shortcuts fail. The current written vendor is Prov. The license title is manicurist. Devon can still use this guide's Nail Technician pages because that is how the site groups state nail exams — but Devon's government ID, Prov profile, and ADH student record must use the same legal name, and Devon's school paperwork should say manicurist. Devon's study plan should budget 90 minutes and 110 items / 100 scored for NIC theory, and should not invent a State Law item count to fill the blank.