1.2 Missouri Board Rules: Sanitation, Prohibited Practices & Establishment Compliance

The NIC written examination tests national infection-control principles, but a Missouri inspector enforces Missouri's exact rules. This section translates the rules you will be held to in a Missouri salon into what they mean at your nail table. The disinfection science behind these rules is covered in Chapter 2.

Where the Rules Live

Establishment Licensing and Inspections

• Every establishment needs a license. Under RSMo 329.045 and 20 CSR 2085-10.010, anyone opening a nail salon must apply at least 30 days before opening. The application includes a floor plan with dimensions and square footage, the minimum equipment required, and the establishment fee.
• No opening before approval. A salon may not open until the Board has the completed application and fee, the salon passes a Board inspection, and the Board approves it. Opening early adds a delinquent fee.
• Booth and chair renters need their own establishment license for the rented space in addition to their operator license.
• Changes: after a change of ownership or location, the owner must apply for a new establishment license within 45 days. A name change requires a new license before services are offered under the new name.
• Operator count: the basic establishment fee covers up to three operators, including apprentices and students with temporary permits. Each additional operator costs $10 (20 CSR 2085-10.050 and 3.010).
• Inspections: every establishment must be open to inspection by Board members, representatives, or inspectors during normal working hours (20 CSR 2085-4.060).
• Only licensed people may do the work. No one without a Missouri license may manicure inside a licensed establishment, even for free (20 CSR 2085-10.060).

License Display and Identification

• The establishment license must be posted in plain view.
• Operator licenses must be posted either at each person's work station or together in one conspicuous, central location (20 CSR 2085-10.010(3)(A)).
• A 2" × 2" photograph taken within the last five years must be attached to each operator license, apprentice license, and student temporary permit (20 CSR 2085-10.010(3)(B)).
• A photocopied or reproduced license may not be posted. Duplicate licenses come only from the Board (20 CSR 2085-4.030).
• Carry a driver's license or Missouri identification card while working (20 CSR 2085-4.040).

The Cosmetology Sanitation Rule: 20 CSR 2085-11.020

The Two Explicit Prohibited Practices

Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) Liquid Monomer

Rule 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(J) states that no licensee may provide services "that involve the use of any liquid product containing methyl methacrylate (MMA)." Licensees are personally responsible for making sure their nail products do not contain MMA as a monomer. The rule specifically says products containing ethyl or butyl methacrylate are acceptable. At the federal level, the FDA investigated MMA injury complaints in the 1970s and took court action to remove 100% liquid MMA products from the market, but it has no regulation specifically banning MMA. In Missouri, the ban comes from the Board rule. Section 8.2 explains why MMA damages nails.

Razor-Type Callus Shavers (Credo Blades)

Under 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(L), a licensee may not use, offer to use, or possess on the premises "any razor-type callus shaver designed or intended to cut growths of skin on hands or feet such as corns and calluses," including a credo blade.

• Using one is treated as providing services in an unsafe and unsanitary manner.
• Establishment license holders must make sure no razor-type callus shavers are located or used on the premises.
• Every cosmetology establishment and school must post the Board's flyer prohibiting razor-type callus shavers in plain view of the public.
• A violation is grounds for discipline under RSMo 329.140.2(15), the provision for failing to guard against contagious, infectious, or communicable disease.

Callus care in Missouri therefore means softening and gently smoothing with foot files or other abrasives, as described in Section 7.2 — never cutting.

Discipline and Penalties

RSMo 329.140.2 lists grounds for discipline. The ones that matter most at a nail table include:

• incompetence, misconduct, gross negligence, fraud, or dishonesty in your work;
• violating Chapter 329 or any Board rule;
• helping an unlicensed person practice;
• failing to display a license when required;
• failing to guard against the spread of contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases.

After the Administrative Hearing Commission finds grounds, the Board may censure, place a license on probation for up to five years, suspend it for up to three years, or revoke it. Violating Chapter 329 — including practicing without a required license — is a class C misdemeanor under RSMo 329.250.

Services Outside the Salon

Cosmetology services must be provided in a licensed establishment. A licensee may occasionally provide services elsewhere (not at their principal place of work) if they give the client a completed certificate of identification before the service (20 CSR 2085-7.020). The certificate lists the licensee's name, signature, license number, license expiration date, the client's name and address, and the date. Supplies travel in an airtight container, and implements must be sterilized and wrapped or stored in individual plastic containers.

Scenario: An Inspection at a Kansas City Nail Bar

During a routine visit, an inspector finds:

1. a credo blade in a pedicure cart drawer that "nobody uses";
2. a technician's license posted without a photograph;
3. nippers stored loose on an open towel after being sprayed with disinfectant;
4. an uncovered trash can full of nail clippings.

Each finding violates a specific rule. Possessing the credo blade violates 11.020(2)(L) even though it was not used. The license display violates 10.010(3)(B). Spraying the nippers does not meet the immersion and covered-storage requirements of 11.020(2)(D). The uncovered trash violates 11.020(2)(I). To fix them, the owner removes the blade, attaches a current photo to the license, cleans and immerses implements for at least five minutes before storing them in a covered container, and uses lidded waste receptacles at every station.