StateLicensed

Cosmetologist License Requirements in Ohio

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
1500 hrs
Upfront cost
$125
Exam
Cosmetology/Branch of Cosmetology Initial Examination
Renewal cycle
Every 2 years
Issuing board
Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Meet the eligibility requirements set by the issuing board. No minimum age was confirmed directly from an official Board or statute page during this research (codes.ohio.gov was unreachable from this environment; secondary sources claim 16, but this was not independently verified). Ohio generally restricts occupational licensing boards from denying a license based solely on a prior criminal conviction or incarceration (per Ohio's occupational-licensing reform statutes), and no cosmetology-specific fingerprint/BCI-FBI background check requirement was confirmed on an official Board page, so this is recorded as false pending direct verification. [4]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 1500 hours of training at a state-approved program. Ohio Revised Code 4713.28 requires at least 1,500 hours of board-approved cosmetology training at a school for an initial cosmetologist license (a lower 1,000-hour figure applies only to individuals already licensed as a barber under ORC Chapter 4709 seeking a cosmetology license). This record's live/Wayback fetch of codes.ohio.gov timed out from this research environment; the hours figure is drawn from the statute's own text as surfaced in search results rather than a directly rendered page, so it should be double-checked against codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4713.28 before being marked verified. [1]

  3. 3

    Cosmetology/Branch of Cosmetology Initial Examination

    Pass the Cosmetology/Branch of Cosmetology Initial Examination (fee: $40). Combined written and practical examination. From the Board's own official fee schedule (dated October 28, 2024): Initial Examination fee for Cosmetology/Branch of Cosmetology is $40.00. Retake Examination is $35.00; a No-Show Examination fee of $50.00 applies if a scheduled exam is missed. [2]

  4. 4

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board with the $40 application fee. [3]

  5. 5

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board issues your Cosmetologist License for Ohio.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [3] $40
License fee [3] $45
Renewal fee [3] $65
Cosmetology/Branch of Cosmetology Initial Examination [2] $40
Work permit (temporary, pre-licensure) [3] $15
Retake examination [3] $35
No-show examination fee [3] $50
Reciprocity [3] $70
Late renewal fee [3] $45

From the Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board's official fee schedule (October 28, 2024, accessed via Wayback Machine snapshot dated 2026-01-06 because the live cos.ohio.gov/for-licensees/fees URL currently 404s — the Board appears to have restructured its site under a new /wps/portal/gov/cos/... URL scheme): initial exam $40, new personal license (Cosmetology/Adv. Cos) $45, renewal (Cosmetology/Adv. Cos) $55, reciprocity $70. 'Application' is recorded as the $40 initial exam fee since no separate non-exam application fee was itemized on the Board's schedule. Renewal for every personal licence type the Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board issues — barber, cosmetology, esthetics, hair design, natural hair styling, manicurist and instructor — is $65 per two-year cycle on the Board's current fee chart (last updated 2024-10-28); the $55 figure previously recorded here came from an older capture of that chart. A $45 late fee applies after the deadline, and reciprocity is $70.

Renewal & continuing education

Renew every 2 years. 4 continuing education hours required per cycle.

Per the Board's official Individuals Pamphlet, all cosmetology and branch-of-cosmetology licenses must be renewed by January 31 of each odd-numbered year (a 2-year cycle). Required CE per cycle is 4 hours total: 1 hour of Board Laws & Rules plus 3 hours of Infection Control & Safety. First-time licensees are exempt from CE for their first renewal; licensees 65+ or with 30+ years of Ohio licensure are permanently exempt from CE (renewal fee/application is still required for exempt licensees). The renewal fee is $65 per two-year cycle.

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.

The Board's fee schedule lists a $70 reciprocity fee for out-of-state license holders, confirming a reciprocity pathway exists. Ohio has enacted the Cosmetology Licensure Compact into law (SB 89 and HB 158, both 2024 — shown as 'Enacted' on the compact commission's own official state map), but as of this research the Compact Commission has not yet finished rulemaking or begun issuing multistate licenses, so Ohio's compact membership is enacted but not yet operational. Per this research contract's rule, this is recorded here in notes rather than in the compacts[] array, which is reserved for jurisdictions where the compact is confirmed operational for licensees.

47 state-approved training providers in Ohio — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.

Cost calculator

  • $40
  • $45
  • $40
Total$125

Frequently asked questions

How many training hours does Ohio require for a cosmetologist license?

1,500 hours of board-approved cosmetology training at a school, per Ohio Revised Code 4713.28.

Who administers the Ohio cosmetology exam?

The Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board itself develops and administers both the written and practical exams directly — there is no outside testing vendor like PSI. The initial exam fee is $40.

How often do I renew my Ohio cosmetologist license, and is continuing education required?

Every two years, by January 31 of each odd-numbered year, for a $55 fee. Four hours of continuing education (1 hour laws/rules + 3 hours infection control/safety) are required each cycle, with exemptions for first-time licensees' initial renewal, licensees 65 or older, and licensees with 30+ years of Ohio licensure.

Is Ohio part of the Cosmetology Licensure Compact?

Ohio has enacted the Compact into law, but as of this research the Compact Commission has not yet completed the rulemaking needed to issue multistate licenses, so it is not yet operational for Ohio licensees.

Sources

  1. [1] codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4713.28 — accessed 2026-07-10
  2. [2] cos.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/cos/for-licensees/fees — accessed 2026-07-10
  3. [3] cos.ohio.gov/for-licensees/fees — accessed 2026-07-27
  4. [4] cos.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/cos/pathway-to-licensure — accessed 2026-07-10
  5. [5] cosmetologycompact.gov/compact-commission/ — accessed 2026-07-10