21.1 Board Structure and License Types

Who issues this license

The credential this exam leads to is a cosmetologist-hairstylist license issued by the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling. The Board is a professional board inside the Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of Law and Public Safety. Public Board pages list the Division's Newark location at 124 Halsey Street. Exam items that ask "who licenses you" want the Board's full name, not a school, not Prometric, and not a county health department.

New Jersey uses two layers of law. The statute is N.J.S.A. 45:5B, the Cosmetology and Hairstyling Act of 1984, including amendments in P.L. 2025, c.18 (approved February 3, 2025). The administrative code is N.J.A.C. 13:28, the Board's rulebook. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1 lists practicing licenses and the education each one requires. N.J.A.C. 13:28-5.1 is the Board fee schedule. When the Board FAQ (last modified May 2, 2025) and a newer statute describe permits differently, later sections of this chapter teach both sources without collapsing them into one fake rule.

A C-H license is a personal practicing license. It is not a shop license, not an experienced practicing licensee (EPL) designation, and not permission to ignore sanitation or premises rules. Shop licenses, EPL presence, mini-suites, booth rental, the 350-square-foot shop standard, and the prohibited-practice list in N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.15 are real New Jersey law. They are Chapter 22 topics. Mention them so you know they exist; do not treat this section as a substitute for that chapter.

Practicing licenses, teacher licenses, and shop licenses

N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(a) states that practicing licenses are available from the Board. The Act's definition of practicing licensee is a person licensed to practice barbering, beauty culture, cosmetology and hairstyling, manicuring, or as a skin care specialist (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(n)). That list is the comparison set for this exam: C-H versus beautician versus barber versus manicurist versus skin care specialist.

A teacher is defined separately (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(u)) as a person licensed to give instruction or training in theory or practice. Holding a teacher license is not a way to skip the C-H exam, and N.J.S.A. 45:5B-26 states that no temporary permit is issued to applicants awaiting the teacher examination.

A shop is a premises credential under N.J.S.A. 45:5B-9: no person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity may operate, maintain, or use premises for these services without a shop license. The shop owner also may not let an employee, a person under the owner's control, or an independent contractor practice without the appropriate Board license or registration. Board FAQ item 6 is a frequent trap: you are not required to hold a C-H license yourself in order to open a beauty shop if you hire a manager with at least three years of experience as a licensed cosmetologist-hairstylist and you apply for the shop license. FAQ item 5: a manicurist may operate a shop, but must apply for a shop license, hold a current New Jersey manicurist license, and have at least three years of work experience as a licensed manicurist or cosmetologist. Those shop-manager details belong with Chapter 22's EPL rules; the exam point here is that shop is not another personal C-H title.

The Act also defines a hair braider or hair braiding specialist (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(aa)–(bb)). That is a statutory limited license, not an invented type. This chapter does not assign it a training-hour number because the Board's licensing-requirements page (last modified August 12, 2026) publishes hour counts for C-H, manicurist, skin care specialist, and teacher, not a hair-braiding hour figure next to those lists.

Age, education, and hours for each type

Cosmetologist-hairstylist — this exam. The Board licensing-requirements page states you must be at least 17, prove high school or equivalent, prove 1,200 hours of instruction in cosmetology and hairstyling at an approved school in New Jersey, another state, or a foreign country, and take and pass an examination administered by the Board. Training from another state or country must be substantially similar, in the Board's opinion, to licensed New Jersey school training. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(e)1i ties the 1,200-hour course to N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.29. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(d) accepts a diploma, a certified transcript, or a GED Testing Service transcript. This is the broadest practicing license: hair including shaving, skin services, and nails, as Section 21.2 maps from N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(a)1 and N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(j).

Beautician. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(e)1ii requires an 1,100-hour beauty-culture course consistent with N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.29A. A beautician is licensed to engage in beauty culture (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(c)–(d)): shampooing, cutting, arranging, dressing, relaxing, curling, permanent waving or styling; singeing, dyeing, tinting, coloring, bleaching; cosmetic preparations and makeup to hair, scalp, face, neck, or upper body; massage, cleansing, or stimulating face, scalp, neck, or upper body; superfluous-hair removal by depilatory, wax, or tweezers but not electrolysis; manicuring, nail sculpturing, or pedicuring; and cutting, fitting, coloring, or styling hairpieces or wigs while worn. Beauty culture is described as performed primarily for female customers. It does not list shaving or trimming the beard, mustache, or other facial hair. Do not treat "beautician" as a casual synonym for C-H.

Barber. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(e)1iii requires a 900-hour barbering course consistent with N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.29B. Barbering (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(a)–(b)) includes shaving or trimming beard, mustache, or other facial hair; shampooing, cutting, arranging, relaxing, or styling hair; singeing, dyeing, tinting, coloring, bleaching; applying cosmetic preparations to hair, scalp, face, or neck; massaging, cleansing, or stimulating face, neck, or scalp; and worn-wig work. It is described as performed primarily for male customers. The statutory barbering list does not include manicuring, pedicuring, nail sculpturing, or superfluous-hair removal from arms, legs, or abdomen.

Manicurist. The Board page requires age 17, high school or equivalent, 300 hours of manicuring instruction, and the Board exam. Manicuring (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(k)–(l)) is fingernails, toenails, nail sculpturing, and superfluous-hair removal by depilatory, wax, or tweezers — not electrolysis. A manicurist is licensed to engage in only that practice.

Skin care specialist. The Board page requires age 17, high school or equivalent, a 600-hour course, and the Board exam. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(e)1iv points to N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.34. Skin care specialty (N.J.S.A. 45:5B-3(x)–(y)) is applying cosmetic preparations to scalp, face, or neck; massaging, cleansing, or stimulating face, neck, or upper body; and superfluous-hair removal without electrolysis. It does not include haircutting, coloring, permanent waving, shaving, or nail services.

Teacher of cosmetology and hairstyling. The Board page requires age 18; high school or equivalent; a Board cosmetologist-hairstylist license; a 500-hour teacher-training course at an approved New Jersey school; a 30-hour teaching-methods course conducted by a college approved by the State Board of Higher Education or a substantially equivalent course; proof of six months of employment in a licensed shop in this state; and the Board exam. FAQ item 12: a beautician is required to take the shaving test only if pursuing teacher licensure — another reminder that teacher is built on C-H, not on a limited license.

Fees, the 75 percent theory gate, citizenship, and CE

N.J.A.C. 13:28-5.1 charges $5 for a student permit, $5 for a student registration card, $20 for a temporary permit, $50 for the Board examination fee (includes the application), $90 for an initial individual license paid during year 1 of a renewal cycle or $45 during year 2, $90 for biennial individual renewal, $30 late fee, $50 reinstatement, $100 endorsement (plus the license fee), $50 duplicate license, and $25 license verification. Shop application (includes inspection) is $150; initial shop license is $200 or $100 by cycle year; biennial shop renewal is $200. Those shop dollars matter for owners; they do not replace the personal C-H fee.

Prometric's written fee is separate: $53 for the written exam and $53 to retake (effective December 1, 2023). N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.2 makes the exam two parts, practical and theory, and requires a score of not less than 75 percent on theory before the practical. Prometric's New Jersey program page as used for this guide listed written fees only. Do not invent a practical dollar amount. Pay the current Prometric practical fee published when you schedule.

Citizenship is not required. Board FAQ question 1 states that New Jersey law allows a professional or occupational license regardless of citizenship status if all licensure requirements are met, that individuals with undocumented status are eligible, and that a Social Security number is not required.

The Board does not currently publish a continuing-education hour requirement for practicing-license renewal. Do not memorize a made-up CE number. Biennial renewal, the 60-day notice, the 30-day late window, suspension without a hearing after that window, and re-examination after more than five years of suspension are in N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(h)–(k) and are taught with discipline in Chapter 22.

Endorsement on the Board licensing-requirements page is offered to C-H applicants who satisfy C-H requirements and presently hold a current license as a barber and beautician in another state or foreign country. FAQ items 3–4: you cannot work in New Jersey on another state's beautician or barber license, or on a foreign hairstylist credential, without a New Jersey license. Out-of-state and out-of-country applicants request those applications in writing, submit the required documentation, and pass the Board's examination.

The teacher row's 500 hours are the teacher-training course, not a second C-H curriculum. The teacher still needs an existing C-H license and six months of licensed-shop employment in this state.