2.2 Board Inspections, Prohibited Acts, Fines & Discipline
Key Takeaways
- OAC 4713-1-10 requires salons to be inspected at least once every two years, without prior notice, with a follow-up inspection whenever violations are found.
- Where a salon is open for business or posts no hours, an inspector may proceed whether the doors are locked or unlocked.
- ORC 4713.14(C) prohibits practising a branch of cosmetology "for pay, free, or otherwise" without a current valid licence, permit or registration; 4713.14(D) prohibits employing someone who holds none.
- ORC 4713.64(E)(1) escalates fines by repeat offence: up to $250 first, up to $500 for a second identical offence and up to $1,000 for a third, with additional violations in the same inspection capped at $100, $200 and $300 respectively.
- The Board conducted 16,504 inspections and found 1,296 violations in FY2025, with OAC 4713-15-03(B) — reuse of natural-bristle porous implements — among its published top-ten citations.
Board Inspections, Prohibited Acts, Fines and Discipline
Ohio State Board Exam Alert: Learn Ohio's fine structure the way the statute is written. It escalates by how many times you have been fined for the same offence, not by how "serious" an inspector judges a violation to be. Candidates who memorise an invented minor/major/critical schedule get these items wrong.
1. Who Inspects, and When (OAC 4713-1-10)
The Board may inspect or investigate any salon, barber shop, school, tanning facility or continuing-education provider, any licensee or registration holder, and any person acting as a licensee. The operative rules:
- Inspections happen without prior notice.
- Salons, barber shops, schools and tanning facilities are inspected at least once every two years.
- Where an inspector finds violations, the inspector shall do a follow-up inspection to confirm the violations were corrected.
- Facilities to inspect are randomly chosen, with assignments made under board policy.
- Inspections take place during normal business hours or wherever the practice is being carried on, demonstrated or taught.
- If the facility is open for business, or has no posted hours, the inspector may inspect "whether the doors are locked or unlocked."
- When a complaint is filed, an inspector is assigned to investigate it.
The Board's own FY2025 figures show what this looks like in practice: 16,504 inspections (11,894 routine, 1,222 initial, 668 complaint-driven and 592 follow-up), 1,296 violations, and 1,482 complaints received. Its annual report also notes the statutory triggers to inspect: within 90 days of a new business opening, in response to a complaint, and at least once every two years.
2. The Inspection Report (OAC 4713-1-10(D))
After any inspection or investigation the inspector issues a report on a board form and signs it. The owner, manager or an authorised individual also signs. A copy is left with, or emailed to, that person at the address of record. If the inspector finds violations committed by individuals working in the facility, those individuals receive their own separate report — the facility's report does not absorb them. This is why one visit can generate citations against both the salon owner and an individual technician.
3. Prohibited Acts — Two Different Lists
Ohio splits misconduct across a statute and a rule, and the examination expects you to know both.
ORC 4713.14 — statutory prohibited acts
No individual shall:
- (A) use fraud or deceit in obtaining or applying for a licence, permit or registration;
- (B) aid or abet another in violating the chapter, obtaining a licence fraudulently, or falsely pretending to hold a current valid licence;
- (C) practise a branch of cosmetology, for pay, free, or otherwise, without a current valid licence under ORC 4713.28, 4713.30 or 4713.34, a temporary pre-examination work permit under 4713.22, a temporary special occasion work permit under 4713.37, or a registration under 4713.69;
- (D) employ an individual to practise a branch of cosmetology who holds none of those authorisations.
Read (C) carefully: "for pay, free, or otherwise." Doing a friend's nails without charging, on an expired licence, is still unlicensed practice. In FY2025 the Board's top-ten violation list was led by ORC 4713.14(B)(1) and 4713.14(C).
OAC 4713-1-07 — administrative grounds for fine, suspension, revocation or denial
- (A) conviction of a felony or misdemeanour committed in a licensed facility;
- (B) unprofessional conduct;
- (C) obtaining money or anything of value by fraudulent misrepresentation in the course of practice;
- (D) failure to produce a current government-issued photo ID upon inspection or request while practising;
- (E) interfering with an inspector identifying someone believed to be working unlicensed or performing a service they are not licensed for;
- (F) an unsatisfied final judgment or lien related to the licence;
- (G) performing services outside the scope of the licence, including but not limited to: (1) use of a bladed implement to remove skin cells below the stratum corneum, including dermaplaning and skin levelling; (2) practising reflexology; (3) performing lymphatic drainage; (4) tattoo removal;
- (H) not being in good standing with the Board.
Paragraph (G) is the single most important rule in this chapter for a nail technician. It is the provision that puts callus razors, "detox" lymphatic foot treatments and reflexology outside a manicurist's licence — and note that reflexology is prohibited outright, not merely prohibited when advertised as curative.
4. The Fine Schedule (ORC 4713.64(E)(1))
Ohio's fine ceilings escalate with repetition of the same offence:
| Situation | Maximum fine |
|---|---|
| First fine for a violation, no previous fine for that offence | $250 |
| Each additional violation found during that same inspection | $100 each |
| The violator has been fined for the same offence once before | $500 |
| Each additional violation found during that second inspection | $200 each |
| The violator has been fined for the same offence twice or more before | $1,000 |
| Each additional violation found during that third inspection | $300 each |
Two mechanical points follow the amounts:
- Payment timing. The Board's order specifies a due date less than forty-five days after issue (ORC 4713.64(E)(2)); OAC 4713-1-15(B) sets payment at thirty days from the date of mailing, extendable up to ninety days on evidence of unusual hardship such as job loss, unforeseen illness or catastrophic property loss.
- Day 91. If the fine is unpaid on the ninety-first day, the amount is certified to the Ohio Attorney General for collection, and the AG may add collection costs (ORC 4713.64(E)(4); OAC 4713-1-15(C)).
A separate mandatory fine applies to tanning-facility offences under ORC 4713.50: $500 for a first offence.
5. Adjudication Under Chapter 119
Discipline follows Ohio's Administrative Procedure Act. The Board issues a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing; a consent agreement is included with every notice letter. If a hearing is requested, an independent hearing officer conducts it and files a report and recommendation for the Board's final determination. If no hearing is requested, the Board may issue a default order and impose the fine. Under ORC 4713.64(G), the Board notifies both the licensee and the salon owner where the conditions were found, and both may request a hearing.
In FY2025 the Board issued 997 orders: 103 after formal Chapter 119 hearings, 568 by default where no hearing was requested, and 325 based on executed consent agreements. A further 174 adjudications were closed with warnings where the party demonstrated timely compliance — evidence that fixing a violation quickly genuinely changes the outcome.
6. What Inspectors Actually Cite
The Board's published FY2025 top-ten violation list is a free study guide. Alongside the unlicensed-practice provisions it includes two infection-control rules that bear directly on nail work:
- OAC 4713-15-03(B) — porous implements, including all types of brushes with natural bristles, shall be discarded after each use and shall not be cleaned or disinfected for reuse.
- OAC 4713-15-01 — the facility shall be clean and maintained per the chapter's infection-control procedures at all times except while performing a service and preparing the area for the next patron, and used or unclean equipment shall be stored separately from clean items.
If you remember nothing else about Ohio inspections: natural-bristle brushes are single use, and dirty tools may never share a container with clean ones.
An Ohio salon is fined $250 for reusing a natural-bristle brush. Eighteen months later the same salon is cited for the identical offence, plus two other violations found during that second inspection. What is the maximum the Board may impose under ORC 4713.64(E)(1)?
Under OAC 4713-1-07(G), which of the following is expressly listed as performing a service outside a cosmetology licence?
A nail salon has no posted hours of operation but is clearly open, with clients in chairs, when a Board inspector arrives and finds the front door locked. What does OAC 4713-1-10 permit?