1.1 Exam Format & Current Facts

Exam Format & Current Facts

Quick Answer: Tennessee cosmetology candidates must pass two exams administered by PSI on behalf of the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners: a theory exam of 125 multiple-choice questions (115 scored, 10 unscored experimental) and a practical exam. Both require a 70% score to pass. The live Tennessee PSI guide lists 120 minutes for theory and online or test-center delivery for both portions.

Who Administers the Tennessee Cosmetology Exam

The Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners, housed within the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI), is the state agency that licenses cosmetologists. The Board does not write or grade your exam itself. It contracts with PSI, a national testing company, to develop, deliver, and score both required exams. This distinction matters on test day and on the exam: questions about who administers, schedules, and scores the exam point to PSI, while questions about who issues the license and enforces the law point to the Board.

You will take two separate examinations:

• Theory exam — a computer-based, multiple-choice test of cosmetology knowledge
• Practical exam — a hands-on demonstration of cosmetology skills performed on mannequins under timed conditions

You must pass both. Passing one does not excuse you from the other, and each is scheduled and paid for separately.

Theory Exam Facts at a Glance

The 10 Experimental Questions

Of the 125 questions you answer, only 115 are scored. The remaining 10 are experimental (pretest) questions — items PSI is trying out for future exams to see how candidates perform on them. They look exactly like real questions, they are mixed throughout the exam, and there is no way to identify them. The practical takeaway: never skip a question because it feels oddly worded or unfamiliar. It might be experimental, but it might also be a scored item. Answer every question as if it counts.

Your score is calculated from the 115 scored items only and is reported against the 70% Tennessee passing standard.

Closed-Book Exam and Score Reporting

The theory exam is strictly closed-book. No notes, textbooks, phones, or reference materials are allowed in the testing area, whether you test at a center or remotely. Computer test-center results appear immediately on screen. For online testing, PSI emails the official score report within 24 hours.

Remote Proctoring vs. Test Center

PSI offers the theory exam in two delivery modes. You can test at a physical PSI test center, or you can take the exam from home through remote online proctoring, where a live proctor watches you through your computer camera. Remote proctoring comes with strict environment rules — a private room, a clear desk, and a second camera angle are required — covered in detail in Section 1.3. The practical exam is available either at a PSI practical test center or online with a virtual evaluator. Follow the delivery-specific tutorial in the live PSI portal.

The Practical Exam

The practical exam evaluates whether you can actually perform cosmetology services safely and correctly, not just talk about them. You work through timed service segments — setting up a sanitized workstation, performing chemical and styling procedures on a mannequin, following blood-exposure and safety procedures — while examiners score your technique against standardized criteria. Like the theory exam, the passing score is 70%. Candidates who drilled sanitation, setup, and safety steps until they were automatic tend to outperform candidates who focused only on the glamour services, because safety and infection-control errors are the fastest way to lose points.

Use the Live PSI Guide

The Tennessee portal currently serves a Test Taker Guide revised September 4, 2025. PSI separately identifies August 17, 2026 as the Tennessee effective date for updated national content. Candidates testing on or after that date must reopen the live portal because externally controlled facts such as the outline and practical topic order may change. This guide teaches the full safety and service knowledge base, but the live PSI document controls exam-day details.

Theory Content Domains

The current outline has ten weighted domains:

Safety and Infection Control is the largest domain. It includes labels and SDS, hand hygiene, client protection, pathogens, cleaning and disinfection, storage, Standard Precautions, and injury response. Analysis and Chemical Services are next at 15% each, followed by Nails at 13% and Haircutting at 12%. The smaller domains still matter and should not be skipped.

Why This Matters for Your Study Plan

The weights are a budgeting tool. Use the published weights as a study budget: one quarter of review time belongs to safety and infection control, while analysis and chemical services together account for another 30%. A candidate who memorizes styling details but cannot apply Standard Precautions is studying backwards. Connect every hour you study to a domain weight, and never let a small domain crowd out a big one.

An exam scenario that ties this together: a question describes a client requesting a permanent wave after a recent relaxer. Answering it correctly blends analysis, chemical-service precautions, and client consultation. The outline separates domains for weighting, but real questions often combine them.