11.1 Georgia Licensing Pathways, PSI Testing, Passing Score, and GOALS

Why Georgia licensing rules belong on your theory desk

A Georgia esthetician does not start legally serving the public the day school hours are signed. The Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers, administered by the Professional Licensing Boards Division of the Office of the Secretary of State, issues the certificate of registration. Rule 240-1-.01 places that office at 237 Coliseum Drive, Macon, Georgia 31217. The Board's how-to page for esthetician and esthetics instructor applications is https://sos.ga.gov/how-to-guide/how-guide-esthetician-and-esthetics-instructor, and the Board home is https://sos.ga.gov/georgia-state-board-cosmetology-and-barbers. Statute lives in O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 10. Rules live in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Department 240 at https://rules.sos.ga.gov/.

This OpenExamPrep chapter is independent study material. It is not an official Board, Secretary of State, or PSI publication, and it does not claim official approval, review, partnership, or exact equivalence with those bodies. Use it to learn the same rules, statute, and PSI National Esthetician topics Georgia candidates are tested on, then confirm live notices on SOS, GOALS, and https://test-takers.psiexams.com/gacos before you schedule or pay.

Two training doors: school versus apprentice

O.C.G.A. § 43-10-9 is the statutory application rule for an esthetician certificate. The applicant must be at least 17 years of age, present a high school diploma, a state-approved high school equivalency (HSE) diploma, or a postsecondary or college degree, and show either a 1,000 credit hour course of at least nine months at a Board-approved school or service as an apprentice for at least 2,000 credit hours. Rule 240-16-.02 fills in the school clock-hour map. Rule 240-5-.01 fills in the apprentice license. Those two rules do not let you mix the doors: apprentice hours cannot be combined with school hours (Rule 240-5-.01(4)).

The current Georgia Esthetician Test Taker Guide v1.9 EFF 4/28/2026 describes school testers through educator eligibility sent to PSI and does not present a standalone 33-semester-credit shortcut. If your transcript uses technical-college semester credits, confirm how the Board converts that program before treating language from an older bulletin as current.

School curriculum you must be able to count

Rule 240-16-.02 is the numbered school map. Level 1 is 250 theory hours taught by a licensed master cosmetology instructor or licensed esthetician instructor. One theory hour equals one clock hour for those first 250 hours. The 250 hours split as follows:

• Professional Practices = 150 clock/theory hours: bacteriology, cleansing and disinfection; personal hygiene; public health and safety; EPA, OSHA, chemicals, infection-control standards, and blood-spill procedures; AIDS, HIV, and communicable diseases; methods; facility hygiene and clean-up.
• Professional Ethics = 20 hours: professional attitude and personal image.
• Business Practices = 80 hours: State Board rules and laws; esthetician salon development; business insurance; client records; confidential ethics; medical record keeping; resume writing; the job interview.

Level 2 service-application hours on patrons may begin only after those 250 Level 1 theory hours and a minimum passing score of 75 percent. Then the student may progress to the clinic floor for the 750 required Level 2 hours on a live subject. That 75 percent clinic gate is a school rule. It is not the Board exam pass mark. Confusing 75 percent Level 1 with 70 percent on PSI is a frequent exam trap.

Rule 240-16-.02 then spends the 750 Level 2 hours as follows (these are school service-application hours, not PSI domain weights): Sciences = 320; Cleansing and Disinfection of Tools, Implements, and Equipment = 5; Body Treatments = 70 (massage 25, wraps 15, cellulite 10, aromatherapy 10, reflexology 10); Facials = 115 (spa facials 75, machine facials 30, pre-op therapy 5, post-op therapy 5); Make-up = 90; Hair removal = 75; Spa/salon management = 75 (front desk, marketing, managerial responsibilities, client retention, business and record management, profit-and-loss). Those seven Level 2 blocks add to 750. The 75 spa/salon-management hours sit beside the 20 Level 1 Professional Ethics hours: attitude and image in theory, then front-desk and business records on the clinic floor.

Rule 240-16-.01 still requires each student kit to include a current copy of Board laws and rules, tweezers, comedone extractors, and acids at 3.5 pH or above. That kit floor is not a license to perform medical peels; scope limits are in section 11.4.

Apprentice pathway: 16 to start, 36 months to supervise, four-year card

Rule 240-5-.01(1) lets a person at least 16 years of age apply for a four-year apprentice license to train in a salon/shop under the direct supervision of a master who holds a current Georgia license as a master cosmetologist, master barber, hair designer, esthetician, or nail technician and has been licensed at least 36 months (18 months for barbers). For an esthetics apprentice, Rule 240-5-.02 names an esthetician as the matching supervising registration, and a master cosmetologist may also take an esthetician apprentice. Esthetician apprentice training is 18 months and 2,000 hours.

Hold the license dates. An apprentice license issued on or after July 1, 2015 may be held for four years and shall not be renewable. Hours accumulate only after the person is registered with the Board as an apprentice. The salon/shop owner/manager keeps the clock. Credit will not be allowed for any hours received prior to issuance of the apprentice license. Each change of supervising master or salon/shop requires a new application. Hours obtained at a location other than the registered training salon/shop do not count (Rule 240-5-.02(4)). Rule 240-5-.02 generally limits a salon/shop to one apprentice for each qualifying master-level licensee unless the Board is shown that the opportunity to learn would otherwise be denied.

Picture a Marietta spa. A 16-year-old starts shadowing in June and files the apprentice application in August. June and July hours are not 2,000-hour credit. The supervising esthetician must already have 36 months of licensure. If that supervisor leaves, the owner files a new apprentice application; hours at a second, unregistered location do not travel with the student.

The apprentice still needs the O.C.G.A. § 43-10-9 certificate gates (at least 17, diploma or HSE or postsecondary degree) when applying to become a licensed esthetician. Sixteen starts the apprentice card. Seventeen, education proof, completed hours, and passing exams open the certificate.

PSI is the Board's designated exam vendor

Rule 240-6-.01 lets the Board designate vendor(s) to receive exam applications, schedule, notify, and conduct examinations. Georgia has contracted with PSI Services LLC. The live scheduling portal this chapter opened is https://test-takers.psiexams.com/gacos. The current official bulletin is the Georgia Esthetician Test Taker Guide, ESTHETICIAN v1.9 EFF 4/28/2026, at https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/2641. It controls the eligibility, fee, identification, practical, and closed-book theory logistics summarized here. The guide directs general PSI account and testing questions to (855) 744-0314 and identifies (855) 340-3713 for scheduling-process problems.

Georgia's current guide uses the PSI National Esthetician theory and practical program. Do not study the retired NIC 110-item / 55 percent–45 percent two-domain theory outline as if it were the current Georgia written test.

The current PSI National Esthetician Theory outline appears directly in the Georgia Esthetician Test Taker Guide v1.9:

Logistics from that national outline: 75 scored questions plus 10 non-scored experimental questions; 90 minutes (1.5 hours); closed book; at least 70 percent to pass the PSI National Esthetician Theory test. Experimental items do not count toward the score. Georgia Rule 240-6-.02(2) independently requires 70 percent on each of the practical and written examinations. The current Georgia PSI guide also states 70 percent to pass each national examination. The practical is approximately 85 minutes and presents five topic areas in order: workstation preparation (10 minutes), basic facial (20 minutes), eyebrow waxing and tweezing (20 minutes), makeup application (25 minutes), and workstation preparation for the next client (10 minutes). Infection control and workplace safety are scored throughout. Georgia Rule 240-6-.01(3) states all exams shall be administered in English and no foreign language translators will be allowed or furnished.

Eligibility window, retakes, and the 70 percent split

The Georgia PSI TTG GEORGIA TESTING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for school testers: upon approval of eligibility sent to PSI from an approved educator, the test taker is emailed an eligibility notice. For courses completed after July 1, 2018, eligibility is valid for 4 years from the date of course completion. If a test taker fails the test, they may retake on an unlimited basis, during the 4-year period. If there is not a passing score within the 4-year period, the test taker must re-apply with the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers.

Rule 240-6-.02(2) is the Board pass rule: the applicant shall be required to pass the practical and written examination with a minimum score of 70 percent on each section. Failure to achieve a passing score requires the applicant to retake the section failed. A Savannah graduate who scores 72 percent written and 68 percent practical has not earned a license. She schedules only the practical again. She does not sit the written a second time unless that section also failed. Board Rule 240-6-.02(1) says a person who fails or fails to report may qualify again by submitting another examination fee.

Apprentice and closed-school testers follow a different paper path in the TTG: do not send documentation to PSI until after the Exam Approval Letter is received from the Board office. Apprentices submit a verification of training hours to 237 Coliseum Drive, Macon, GA 31217. Endorsement candidates may be granted endorsement without testing; the TTG says do not apply with PSI until the Board's letter tells you to.

Fees: publish what PSI published; confirm the live cart

Do not invent a new exam fee or a pass rate. The Georgia Esthetician Test Taker Guide v1.9 lists the Esthetician Theory Test at $45 and the Esthetician Practical Test at $64, and states that fees are not refundable or transferable. Confirm the live cart before payment; the current guide and portal control over older bulletins or third-party summaries.

Cancel at least 48 hours before the appointment to avoid forfeiting the fee (TTG). Arrive at least 30 minutes early with the identification the current TTG requires (the current Georgia Esthetician guide requires two forms of I.D. at check-in). Personal electronics stay out of the testing room. The TTG theory section states the test is CLOSED BOOK.

After both sections pass: GOALS, not a salon chair

Passing PSI is not the license. Rule 240-6-.03 requires any person desiring to practice at the esthetician level to apply for a license on the Board form, with proof of passing a written and practical examination from the Board's designated agent, any other information the Board requires, and the required application processing fee(s), which is non-refundable. The Board how-to and SOS GOALS pages instruct candidates to file in GOALS (Georgia Online Application Licensing System) at https://sos.ga.gov/goals. The SOS GOALS FAQ this chapter opened states the Division is no longer accepting paper applications, and that all online application and license processing fees are $10. Confirm the current certificate fee on the Board fee schedule linked from the how-to page; this chapter does not invent that sticker price.

A Macon candidate who prints a PSI PASS report on Friday and books paying facial clients on Saturday without a GOALS-issued certificate is practicing without registration. The score report goes to the test taker and the Board; the certificate is a separate GOALS application after both sections pass.