1.1 Minnesota Nail Tech Licensing Framework & The Three PSI Exams

Minnesota Nail Tech Licensing Framework & The Three PSI Exams

Nail technology in Minnesota is regulated by the Minnesota Board of Cosmetology under Minnesota Statutes chapter 155A and Minnesota Rules chapters 2105 (practitioners and salons) and 2110 (schools). Until 2026 the statute called the agency the Board of Cosmetologist Examiners. Laws 2026, chapter 119, article 4 directs the revisor to change that name to "Board of Cosmetology" throughout the statutes, and the Board and PSI already use the new name. Older textbooks and rule text published before the revisor's update still show the old name; both names refer to the same board.

Minn. Stat. § 155A.23, subd. 7 defines a nail technician as "any person who, for compensation, performs personal services for the cosmetic care of the hands, feet, and nails only." Anyone who does that work for pay needs an individual nail technician license (§ 155A.27, subd. 1), and the services must be provided by a licensee in a licensed salon unless the law provides otherwise (§ 155A.29, subd. 1).

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1. Who Can Apply: Minn. R. 2105.0145

An applicant who has never been licensed in another state must:

1. Be at least 17 years old.
2. Complete 350 hours of nail technician training at a Minnesota-licensed cosmetology school and submit the original course completion certificate with the notarized signature of the school manager or owner. If the training is more than five years old, a skills course certificate no more than one year old must also be submitted.
3. Submit original passing results no more than one year old for three board-approved tests: the general theory test, the written practical test, and the test on Minnesota laws and rules.
4. Pay the fees in Minn. Stat. § 155A.25: $195 for an initial practitioner license ($155 license fee plus a $40 application fee).

The rule does not require a high-school diploma for a nail technician license. A graduate of an out-of-state program that equals Minnesota's curriculum and hours submits a board form from that school. If the program falls short, the applicant enrolls at a Minnesota school as a transfer student (Minn. R. 2110.0705) and completes the missing training before applying.

What the 350 Hours Contain (Minn. R. 2110.0530)

The School's Practical Skills Test

Minnesota has no hands-on board exam at a PSI testing center. The Board publishes a Practical Skills Test that licensed instructors administer at the school, scored on the Board's Practical Skills Test Results Form; completion is documented on the course completion certificate. PSI's written practical exam is a separate, computer-based test of procedural knowledge. Do not confuse the two: the hands-on test happens at school, and all three PSI exams are written.

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2. The Three PSI Exams (Candidate Information Bulletin effective 6/5/26)

You can buy the three exams as a combination or pay for and schedule each one separately. If you take the combo and pass only one exam, you retake only the exams you failed, and you pay that exam's fee each time you retake it. The exams are offered in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and the language cannot be changed on test day. Experimental items are unscored and look exactly like scored items, so answer every question.

Official Content Outlines and Weights

General Theory (60 scored items):

State exam (30 scored items): General Information 15% (definitions, Board purpose and responsibilities, scope of practice) · Licensing 25% (maintaining individual licenses, renewal, continuing education, salon types and salon licenses, licensed services outside a licensed salon) · Practice Requirements 45% (salon physical and operational requirements, infection control, salon prohibitions, intoxicants and controlled substances, general practice requirements) · Enforcement 15% (penalties, inspections, display of license, advertising).

Written Practical (45 scored items): Safety and Infection Control 29% · Nail Analysis 15% · Basic Manicure and Pedicure 29% · Nail Enhancements 27% (tips, resins, acrylic, gel).

PSI lists three references for the theory and written practical exams: Milady Standard Nail Technology (8th edition, 2021), Pivot Point Fundamentals: Nails (1st edition, 2022), and the Tammy Taylor Nail Institute Guide to Manicuring & Advanced Nail Technology (2023). Practice Requirements alone is 45% of the state exam, so the salon and infection-control rules in Chapters 1, 2, and 4 deserve as much study time as nail science.

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3. Test-Day Logistics

• Scheduling: online through PSI's Minnesota cosmetology page or by phone. Cancel or reschedule at least 2 days before the appointment to keep your fee. Missing the appointment, arriving after the start time, or lacking proper ID forfeits the fee.
• Modality: testing center or remote proctoring. If you split modalities, schedule the testing-center exam first.
• Arrival: at least 30 minutes early. PSI takes a fingerprint at check-in.
• Identification: two valid, unexpired, signature-bearing IDs whose names match your registration. Primary (with photo): driver's license, state ID card, passport, U.S. military ID, alien registration card, Canadian government ID, or consular ID. Secondary: signed credit or debit card, Social Security card, or U.S. birth certificate with a raised seal. Student IDs and employment IDs are not accepted, and a military ID cannot be used to test online.
• Tutorial: up to 15 minutes before the exam, not counted against your time.
• Scores: shown on screen immediately, with an official report printed at the site. Failing candidates receive a diagnostic report of strengths and weaknesses. Score reports from remote tests are emailed within 48 hours.

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4. The One-Year Clock

Minn. R. 2105.0145 requires passing results "no more than one year old," and the PSI bulletin adds that if the exams were passed on different dates, the one-year period begins from the earlier examination date. The first exam you pass therefore starts the clock for the whole application.

Pass first exam ──► 12 months to pass any remaining exams AND file the complete license application
                    Miss the date ──► the oldest passing result expires and must be retaken

The school rules add an outer limit: a student must be licensed within five years of completing training or complete a skills course before applying (Minn. R. 2110.0690).

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5. Pacing and Passing Math

You can return to any question and change an answer while time remains. Unanswered items simply score as wrong, so never leave one blank.

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Candidate Scenario

Scenario: Alicia finishes her 350-hour program on May 15, 2026, and passes her school's Practical Skills Test. On June 1, 2026, she takes the $85 combo. She passes General Theory (49 of 60) and the Written Practical (39 of 45) but gets only 21 of 30 (70%) on the state exam, two items short of the 23 she needed.

Analysis: She retakes only the state exam and pays its $24 fee. Her one-year window runs from June 1, 2026, the date of her earliest passing results, so she must pass the state exam and file a complete license application with the $195 fee before June 1, 2027. If she misses that date, her theory and written practical results expire and must be retaken too.