1.2 License Types, Renewals & Continuing Education Requirements

License Types, Renewals & Continuing Education Requirements

Passing the PSI exams gets you a license, but keeping it means following Minnesota's license cycle, continuing education rules, and change-reporting deadlines. The state exam's Licensing domain (25%) tests exactly these rules.

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1. Minnesota Individual Licenses

Minn. Stat. § 155A.27, subd. 1 requires an individual license to practice as a cosmetologist, esthetician, hair technician, nail technician, eyelash technician, advanced practice esthetician, manager, or instructor. An operator license is the standard practitioner license, as opposed to a manager license (Minn. R. 2105.0010, subp. 11e).

There are no "endorsements" that let a nail technician wax, tint lashes, or give facials; those services require an esthetician or cosmetologist license. An active cosmetologist does not need a separate nail technician license but may obtain one (Minn. R. 2105.0145, subp. 5). A licensee who adds a second field does not retake the Minnesota laws and rules test (subp. 5, item C) but pays the full license and application fee for the second category, and after the 2026 amendments pays a renewal and application fee for each license maintained (§ 155A.25, subd. 3).

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2. Salon Managers and the DLSM

Salon Manager License (Minn. R. 2105.0145, subp. 2)

• Hold an active Minnesota operator license, or apply for the operator and salon manager licenses at the same time.
• Submit original passing results, no more than one year old, of the salon manager test (PSI: 30 items, 25 scored, 1 hour, $48, 75% to pass).
• Pay the fees: $195 initial; $145 to renew a manager license ($130 + $15).

The rule sets no work-experience hours for a salon manager. The requirement to document 2,700 hours of licensed practice within the three years before applying belongs to the instructor license (subp. 4), which also requires an instructor course and instructor tests.

Designated Licensed Salon Manager (Minn. Stat. § 155A.23, subd. 15; Minn. R. 2105.0305 and 2105.0390)

• Every salon owner must appoint one DLSM, a licensed manager registered with the Board, who shares responsibility with the owner for salon and practitioner compliance.
• The owner and DLSM are responsible at all times, even when not at the salon. The DLSM does not have to be present during all business hours.
• A DLSM may not be responsible for more than one salon unless the salons are never open at the same time and the business hours are attested in writing.
• A departing DLSM must notify the Board in writing; until the Board receives notice, the DLSM stays liable. The owner must inform the Board within 10 business days of the DLSM's departure, and the salon has 60 days to register a new DLSM (Minn. R. 2105.0322, subp. 10).
• The owner and DLSM keep work-time records for licensed employees on the premises, and a salon that leases space must give lessees a way to record hours and keep those records for four years (Minn. R. 2105.0390).

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3. The Three-Year License Cycle

Licenses last three years (Minn. Stat. § 155A.27, subd. 6). Individual licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month in the year due (§ 155A.25, subd. 4; Minn. R. 2105.0200, subp. 1). Under Minn. R. 2105.0520, the first year of the cycle may be shorter than 12 months: it begins on the issuance date and ends on the last day of the birth month, and the second and third years are 12 months each.

• Example: A nail technician born August 14 is licensed January 10, 2026. Year one ends August 31, 2026, year two ends August 31, 2027, and the license expires August 31, 2028.
• The licensee must renew without notice from the Board.
• Fees: $115 practitioner renewal ($100 + $15 application fee). A $45 late fee applies when the renewal or a resubmitted application arrives after expiration.
• If the renewed license has not been issued by the end of the business day on the expiration date, the licensee may not practice until it is issued. Practice in that gap is subject to inspection penalties and discipline.
• The Board must issue, deny, or flag a complete application for additional review within 15 working days (§ 155A.25, subd. 5).
• Changes: report a legal name change within 30 days with documentation and the $20 fee (the old-name license is invalid on day 31) and update your mailing address within 30 days (Minn. R. 2105.0190, subps. 2 and 2a).

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4. Continuing Education (Minn. Stat. § 155A.271; Minn. R. 2105.0200, subp. 2)

Before renewing, a nail technician must complete 8 hours of CE from board-approved providers within the three years before the renewal date.

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    NAIL TECHNICIAN RENEWAL: 8 CE HOURS                │
├──────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┤
│         4 CORE HOURS             │     4 PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE HOURS  │
│  1 hr  Minnesota laws and rules  │  Any of: product chemistry and     │
│  3 hrs health, safety, and       │  chemical interaction; machines    │
│        infection control         │  and instruments; business,        │
│        (OSHA-consistent)         │  ethics, and human relations;      │
│                                  │  techniques for your license type  │
├──────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Providers: board-licensed school,│ Providers: board-licensed school,  │
│ postsecondary institution, or    │ board-recognized professional      │
│ board-recognized professional    │ association, or board-licensed     │
│ association                      │ salon                              │
└──────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

• Professional practice hours must not duplicate the core hours.
• Business management, professional ethics, and human relations is an approved professional practice topic.
• The marketing or sale of any product is prohibited during a CE class that earns credit (§ 155A.271, subd. 1a). A manufacturer's sales demo at a trade show is not board-approved CE.
• Credits are valid for one renewal and may be applied to every license the practitioner holds if completed within the three years before that renewal.
• Eyelash technicians need only the 4 core hours; instructors need 45 hours. CE rules do not apply to inactive licenses.

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5. Proof of CE and Audits

• Keep proof for four years after the date of each class (Minn. R. 2105.0200, subp. 5, item B). The statute says the same thing another way: one year beyond the credit's three-year validity (§ 155A.271, subd. 3).
• The Board conducts random audits. An audited licensee must send proof within 30 days of the request (§ 155A.271, subd. 4).
• If the licensee cannot produce proof and the Board cannot verify the credits through the provider, the Board must rescind the renewal. The licensee may not practice until a new license is issued, and fraudulent reporting can lead to discipline up to revocation.

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6. Expired Licenses (Minn. R. 2105.0215)

Practicing on an expired license carries inspection penalties of up to $200 for the practitioner and up to $150 each for the owner and manager (§ 155A.25, subd. 1a). The Board may also discipline and impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation (§ 155A.33, subd. 6), and any violation of sections 155A.21 to 155A.36 is a misdemeanor (§ 155A.36).

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Compliance Scenario

Scenario: Marcus, a nail technician born November 12, renews online on November 10, 2026, and attests that his 8 CE hours are complete. In March 2027 the Board audits him and gives him 30 days to send proof. His records show 3 hours of infection control from a board-licensed school, 4 hours of nail-art "education" at a distributor's trade-show booth, and 1 hour of accounting-software training from a software vendor. He has no Minnesota laws and rules certificate.

Analysis: Only the 3 infection-control hours count. The trade-show booth and the software vendor are not board-approved providers, so all 4 professional practice hours are missing. Note that business management is an approved topic; the accounting hour failed because of the provider, not the subject. He is also missing the 1 core laws and rules hour. If he cannot produce valid proof within 30 days and the Board cannot verify the credits, the Board must rescind the renewal. He cannot practice until he completes approved CE and a new license is issued, and the false attestation exposes him to discipline.