1.2 Eligibility and the 750-Hour Illinois Curriculum

1.2 Eligibility and the 750-Hour Illinois Curriculum

Quick Answer: For the current school route, you must be at least 16, hold a high school diploma or equivalent or be beyond compulsory school attendance, and complete an IDFPR-approved 750-hour esthetics program lasting not less than 18 weeks. Current 225 ILCS 410/3A-2 no longer sets a four-year maximum, but 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.700 still prints not more than 4 consecutive years; keep the authorities distinct and follow live IDFPR direction. The hours split 75 / 150 / 500 / 25. Through December 31, 2026, current law and CTS instructions allow a 600-hour pre-file to test early, but licensure on this route still requires the full 750 hours. P.A. 104-0478, effective January 1, 2027, adds a separate apprenticeship route and removes the statutory 600-hour early-test sentence.

Through December 31, 2026, Illinois uses the school pipeline for this examination route: approved school, prescribed hours, then the NIC theory exam. Ordinary on-the-job training at a spa or a weekend certificate does not substitute for the current 750-hour program. If your school is not IDFPR-approved to teach esthetics under Subpart H of Part 1175, CTS will not have a valid transcript to approve. A statutory apprenticeship alternative begins January 1, 2027; it is a formal paid program, not informal spa experience.

Age and education — 16, diploma, or beyond compulsory attendance

1175.700(a) restates Section 3A-2 of the Act. All three must be true before you file for the examination:

1. At least 16 years of age. Illinois does not set the exam floor at 18. A 16-year-old who finished an approved 750-hour program that met the 18-week minimum can be a candidate. Schools still control enrollment age; the statute is the exam-eligibility floor.
2. High school graduate or equivalent, or beyond the age of compulsory school attendance. A GED or other recognized equivalent counts. The Act also allows a person who is simply beyond compulsory attendance even without a diploma. Do not assume every school will enroll on that alternative—the exam rule is broader than some catalogs.
3. Complete the current approved-school route with a 750-hour esthetics program. Cosmetology schools may teach esthetics only if IDFPR has approved that curriculum. A 1,500-hour cosmetology diploma is a different license; it does not automatically print an esthetician transcript unless the student completed the esthetics program the school is approved to offer. Starting January 1, 2027, P.A. 104-0478 adds completion of the formal apprenticeship program in new Section 1-15 as an alternative.

Current 225 ILCS 410/3A-2 requires the 750-hour school program to extend not less than 18 weeks. P.A. 104-153 removed the former four-consecutive-year maximum from the Act effective January 1, 2026, but 1175.700 still prints “nor more than 4 consecutive years.” A 12-week sprint fails both authorities. A program extending beyond four years presents a current statute-rule conflict, so a candidate or school should obtain live IDFPR direction rather than claiming that both sources still impose the deleted cap.

The 1175.835 hour split you will see on a transcript

Each licensed esthetics school, and each licensed cosmetology school teaching esthetics, must provide a minimum of 750 clock hours (or a 25-credit-hour equivalency at 1 credit hour = 30 clock hours). Instruction is a mix of classroom and hands-on work. The required categories are not optional electives:

Those 25 business hours are why Illinois candidates cannot skip "law and OSHA" because NIC's published pie is 55/45. 1175.710 still expects knowledge of the Act and labor/compensation laws. The 25-hour block is where schools are required to teach them.

Notice what Practices and Procedures excludes: scalp massage. Illinois esthetics massage in the curriculum is non-therapeutic massage excluding the scalp. Hair-cutting, color, and nail services belong to other licenses. Lash extensions, tabs, and strips appear twice—once in the 75-hour basic introduction and again in professional makeup inside the 500-hour block—so they are not a hidden add-on.

Online theory cap: 10% in each category

1175.835(a) allows online hours in theory only, and those online hours shall not exceed 10% of the hours required in each of Basic Training, Scientific Concepts, Practices and Procedures, and Business Practices. That is not 10% of 750 (75 hours) dumped into whatever category is convenient. It is a per-category cap: at most 7.5 of the 75 basic hours, 15 of the 150 scientific hours, 50 of the 500 practice hours, and 2.5 of the 25 business hours may be online theory. Hands-on clinic work is not a distance product. If a school advertises a mostly online esthetics diploma, it is not describing a Part 1175-compliant program.

The 75-hour gate before you touch the public

1175.835(b) is a hard clinic rule: an esthetics student is not permitted to practice on the public until successful completion of the 75 hours of basic training. History, hygiene, ethics, sterilization/sanitation, intro analysis/facials, and intro lash work come first. Schools may run a student clinic on the school premises after that gate, under teacher supervision, with a posted sign that students provide the services. Students receive no compensation, including tips, but they do receive hour credit toward the 750. The school operates that clinic on its school license and does not need a separate salon registration for those on-premises student services.

Optional internship after 375 hours

Internship is optional. A school that offers one may substitute it for up to 75 of the 750 hours. It is not extra hours on top of 750, and it is not a paid job.

A student may enter an internship only after completing 375 hours and holding a minimum average grade of 80 (a school may set a higher average or extra standards). Other intern limits in 1175.835(a)(5):

• Maximum 75 hours in the internship.
• Unpaid — it is curriculum, not employment.
• Maximum 8 hours a day, and the student must spend 1 day a week at the school.
• Direct on-site supervision by a licensed cosmetologist or licensed esthetician, 1 student per 1 licensee.
• The salon must be a registered salon, and the school must have a signed contract among student, school, and supervising licensee. Any party may terminate at any time.

Do not confuse the internship's 80 average with the exam's passing grade of 75. Do not treat 375 hours as "done with school." The intern is still a student. The 1:1 licensed supervisor rule is a favorite trap: a busy salon that parks two students with one licensee is out of compliance.

January 1, 2027: a distinct paid apprenticeship route

P.A. 104-0478, signed June 26, 2026 and effective January 1, 2027, creates 225 ILCS 410/1-15 and adds apprenticeship completion as an alternative in 3A-2. An esthetician apprentice must receive at least 1,500 hours of practical training from a sponsoring licensed salon or shop, including 90 hours of related supplemental instruction from a licensed salon/shop or licensed school, as established by rule.

This future route is not the current 75-hour school internship. The apprentice is an employee under an apprenticeship agreement and must receive at least Illinois minimum wage, with wage increases as competency grows. Services must be supervised by an actively licensed professional and remain within that supervisor’s scope. The supervisor must have at least 3 years of licensed experience or hold the corresponding teacher license, have an active license, and have no disqualifying discipline in the previous 10 years; the salon/shop must post notice that an apprentice works there.

As of this guide’s August 2026 review, current Part 1175 contains no apprenticeship rules. Do not treat the future statutory route as an already available CTS filing option. Candidates planning to use it should wait for IDFPR’s implementing rules and application instructions.

CTS 600-hour pre-file — current through December 31, 2026

CTS will accept either:

• an original transcript verifying completion of 750 hours, or
• an original transcript verifying a minimum of 600 hours for pre-filed applicants.

Current 225 ILCS 410/3A-5 likewise allows an applicant who has completed 600 hours in the study of esthetics to take the examination. That is a testing convenience, not early licensure. IDFPR still licenses school-route graduates of the 750-hour program. If you sit at 600 hours and pass, you still finish the remaining hours, obtain the graduate transcript, and only then use the Official Results Letter to apply for the license. Failing at 600 hours still consumes an attempt.

P.A. 104-0478 deletes the Act’s 600-hour early-test sentence effective January 1, 2027. CTS currently still publishes the pre-file option. A candidate testing on or after that effective date should verify the live CTS and IDFPR instructions instead of relying on an older PDF or this dated transition note.

Abnormal skin growth education on or after January 1, 2026

Public Act 103-0851 and 1175.1225 require abnormal skin growth education for original licensure applications on or after January 1, 2026. IDFPR has approved Impact Melanoma's "Skinny on Skin" one-hour course for that mandate. This is an application requirement, not a substitute for NIC items on lesions, growths, and melanoma. You still study ABCDE, basal cell, squamous cell, and referral rules for the theory exam; you also complete the approved education so IDFPR will accept the license application. If you graduate in 2026 and skip Skinny on Skin, a passing NIC score will not finish the file.

Out-of-state and foreign training

1175.700(d) requires out-of-state or foreign training to substantially comply with Subpart H. The Board may send credentials to an evaluation service (at the applicant's cost), require additional coursework or the 125-hour refresher in 1175.836, or require an interview. A 600-hour license from another state is not an automatic Illinois waiver of the 750-hour standard. Endorsement is a different pathway with a $45 fee under 1175.100; this chapter is the examination route.

Map your transcript to the 75/150/500/25 split before you email CTS. If basic training is short, clinic started before hour 75, or online theory ate an entire category, fix it at the school—CTS cannot invent missing hours.