1.3 Fees, Renewal, Reciprocity & Score Window

1.3 Fees, Renewal, Reciprocity & Score Window

Quick Answer: PSI charges $167 to test Theory and Practical together, or $93 for either exam alone. LARA charges $63 for the initial application plus a 2-year license, and $48 to renew every 2 years. You need 70 out of 100 points to pass Theory and 95 out of 127 points to pass Practical, and your two passing scores must fall within 1 year of each other to both count toward licensure.

Budgeting for your Michigan cosmetology license means tracking two separate sets of fees — one paid to PSI for the exams themselves, and one paid to LARA for the state license — plus understanding the score-timing rule that ties your Theory and Practical results together.

PSI Exam Fees

PSI's current Candidate Information Bulletin (MI_CIB_COS_112025.pdf) lists the following exam fees for Michigan cosmetology candidates:

Notice that testing Theory and Practical together ($167) costs slightly less than paying for each separately ($93 + $93 = $186), so candidates who are ready for both exams at the same time save money by scheduling them together. If you fail one exam and need to retest, you'll pay the applicable single-exam fee ($93) again for that exam only — you are not required to repay for the exam you already passed. Exams are scheduled through PSI's testing-center system (test-takers.psiexams.com, program code MICOS), and candidates with scheduling questions can reach PSI at 855-579-4635.

LARA Licensing Fees

Separately from PSI's testing fees, LARA charges its own fees to process your license:

The $63 initial fee covers both your application processing and your first 2-year license term once you pass both exams. After that, Michigan cosmetologist licenses run on a recurring 2-year renewal cycle, and you'll pay $48 each time you renew — regardless of how many years you've been licensed. Renewal is handled through the same MiPLUS portal used for your original application, so keeping your MiPLUS login and contact information current is worth doing well before your renewal deadline arrives.

Passing Scores: Theory vs. Practical

The two exams use different point scales, so it's easy to mix them up if you only remember 70 or 95 without the context:

• Theory exam: pass with 70 points out of 100.
• Practical exam: pass with 95 points out of 127.

These are the currently published passing standards in Michigan's PSI Candidate Information Bulletin. Because the Theory exam has 100 scored questions worth roughly 1 point each, 70 out of 100 corresponds to answering about 70% of scored questions correctly (remember the 10 experimental questions from section 1.2 don't count toward this score). The Practical exam's 127-point scale reflects a rubric spanning multiple hands-on tasks and skill checks rather than a simple question count, which is why its point total and passing threshold look different from Theory's.

The 1-Year Score Window — A Rule Candidates Often Miss

Passing Theory alone, or Practical alone, does not get you licensed — Michigan requires both passing scores, and critically, those two passing scores must fall within 1 year of each other. This rule comes directly from LARA's Cosmetologist Licensing Guide FAQ, revised January 26, 2026. In practice, this means:

• If you pass Theory today, you have up to 1 year to also pass Practical (or vice versa) for both scores to count together toward your license.
• If more than a year passes between your two passing scores, your older passing score expires for licensing purposes, and you'll need to retest that exam again before LARA can issue your license.

This window is a strong argument for scheduling both exams close together once you feel ready, rather than passing one exam and letting months, or even years, go by before attempting the other. If your school or apprenticeship schedule lets you sit for Theory and Practical during the same testing window, that removes the score-expiration risk entirely.

Reciprocity and Out-of-State Licenses

Cosmetologists licensed in another state who want to work in Michigan should not assume their existing license transfers automatically. Michigan evaluates out-of-state applicants through an endorsement and reciprocity review administered by LARA, which typically compares your existing license's training hours, exam history, and standing against Michigan's own requirements. Because reciprocity provisions and the documentation LARA currently requires can change, out-of-state candidates should confirm the up-to-date endorsement process directly with LARA's Board of Cosmetology or the current Cosmetologist Licensing Guide before assuming any specific pathway applies to their situation, rather than relying on informal or outdated summaries.

Before your exam date, reinforce everything from this chapter — licensing requirements, Theory exam structure, fees, and the score window — with free practice questions at /practice/mi-cosmetology.