1.3 Written, State Law, and Practical Scheduling and Scoring

Scheduling the two written exams with Prov

Written testing for Arkansas cosmetology occupations, including Nail Technologist / manicurist theory and State Law, is delivered by Prov, Inc. You schedule through Prov's system, pay Prov, and follow Prov's identification and accommodation rules. The regulator is still the ADH Cosmetology Section; Prov is the written testing vendor.

Each written exam is $78, first time or retake (Prov CIB 2026.01.05 and ADH FAQ). You take two written exams, so plan $156 in Prov payments before any written retake. The current ADH fee schedule sets no written-examination fee, so no Department line changes what Prov charges.

Create the Prov account using the same legal name as your government photo ID. The ADH FAQ states that the name must match the government ID. A school nickname, a missing middle name, or a recently changed last name that is not yet on the ID is a door-stop, not a paperwork footnote. If you have a name change, update ADH student records and Prov before exam day — not at the check-in desk with a photocopied marriage license you hope the proctor will accept.

ADA accommodations are requested through Prov, not by emailing a general ADH inbox the night before the appointment. Start that packet early. Documentation rules belong to Prov's process. Do not assume a school IEP from years ago automatically transfers; follow Prov's current accommodation instructions.

Stale vendor warning, because it affects scheduling: if a bookmark, group chat, or old Manicure.pdf tells you to create a PSI account, stop. The current written vendor is Prov. A PSI confirmation will not get you into an Arkansas manicurist written exam under the 2026 bulletin.

Prov contact published with the Arkansas CIB: (801) 733-4455, (877) 228-3926, www.provexam.com. The Section remains your regulator: 4815 W. Markham St., Slot 8, Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-682-2168, with online services at adhcosmo.arkansas.gov and program pages on healthy.arkansas.gov.

Arkansas State Law written: what is published and what is not

State Law is a separate written exam. Passing NIC theory does not pass State Law. ADH rules require 70 on state law, including when state law is taken independently. A candidate who sits State Law on a different day from theory is still chasing a 70, not a blended written average.

Not published in the official sources opened for this guide (Prov Arkansas CIB 2026.01.05, ADH FAQs, ADH rules, NIC theory CIB):

• State Law item count
• State Law time limit

Do not invent 50, 75, or 100 questions. Do not assume 90 minutes because NIC theory is 90 minutes. Study Arkansas Cosmetology and Body Art Law and the Cosmetology and Body Art Rules for the content. Treat timing and length as unknown until Prov displays them for your appointment. An old exam-meta placeholder that says "100 multiple choice" is not an official State Law count.

If you fail State Law, ADH FAQs do not tell you to guess a Prov-only public retake button as the whole process. You submit the State Law Re-take Examination form to the Cosmetology Section. The Section sends an online link. That is a regulator-controlled retake path, different from how you first paid Prov $78 to sit State Law. Keep a copy of the form and note the date you sent it; the clock that matters next is when the Section issues the link, not when you wish the score had been 70.

Scheduling the practical at an approved school

The practical is not a Prov testing-center multiple-choice event. You apply through an Arkansas Cosmetology School. The school administers the official Arkansas practical using the ADH official grading document. Exams run Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Proctoring follows NIC guidelines, and schools are observed yearly under ADH rules.

The school provides a supply list; you bring the kit. Chapter 15 covers kit labels (to be disinfected / soiled linens / trash), timings, mannequin rules, and NIC core tasks in performance detail. For this overview, expect a long, timed, hands-on exam scored as performance, not as a second written test. Sanitation is part of that performance. Arriving with an unlabeled spray bottle and a borrowed bit kit is a scoring problem, not a hospitality issue.

Practical fee: $65 on the ADH fee schedule. Schools collect it and may not exceed that published practical amount. Do not pay a "premium weekend practical" surcharge above $65 and assume the fee table authorizes it — the published window is Monday through Friday regular hours, and the published practical amount is $65.

NIC's national practical bulletin (effective September 1, 2025; revised March 1, 2026) describes core tasks such as client prep, a basic water manicure with polish, a new-client reset, full-well tip application, sculptured nail, sculptured-nail removal, and blood exposure. Arkansas uses its own official grading document while proctoring per NIC guidelines. Learn the national task map in Chapter 15, and follow the supply list and grading sheet your Arkansas school issues for the day you test. Do not assume a YouTube "NIC practical" video can replace the ADH document your examiner holds.

Scoring, results, and the mailed license

Hold these floors as three independent gates:

When the Section receives passing scores, ADH FAQs state that the license is mailed in 10 to 14 days. That clock starts when the Section has the scores, not when you feel good walking out of practical, and not when Prov shows an unofficial written result on a phone. Do not take salon booth rent, post "licensed in Arkansas," or serve paying clients outside the student-clinic rules until the license is issued and you are working in a lawful setting. Display, establishment, and expired-license rules are Chapters 2 and 16.

Avery's path makes the independence concrete. Avery passes NIC theory on a Tuesday at 70 or higher, takes State Law the next week and scores 68, then scores 78 on the school practical Friday. Avery is not licensed. Avery files the State Law Re-take form, waits for the Section's online link, passes State Law at 70 or higher, and then waits 10 to 14 days after the Section receives that last passing score for the mailed license. Passing practical did not erase the State Law fail, and passing theory did not create a temporary work permit.

Renewal is not exam scoring — but it starts on your birthday

Arkansas practitioner licenses expire on the licensee's birthday on a biennial basis. You renew within 30 days after expiration. After five years expired, the path is a new application and examination, not a casual late fee. Lifetime licenses for people 55 or older with 20 or more years of active practice or teaching, duplicate licenses, and lapsed-license filings are taught fully in Chapter 16. For this overview, remember that passing today does not create a calendar-year license that always dies on December 31. Your birthday is the renewal landmark. Do not skip Chapter 16 because this chapter already mentioned the word renewal.

Put the scheduling facts on one card: Prov for both written exams, school for practical Monday through Friday, 70 / 70 / 75, name = ID, ADA via Prov, State Law retake form to the Section, license mailed 10 to 14 days after the Section receives passing scores, birthday biennial renewal later.