Esthetician License Requirements in Indiana
- Training hours
- 700 hrs
- Upfront cost
- $89
- Exam
- Esthetician Licensing Examination
- Renewal cycle
- Every 4 years
- Issuing board
- Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Professional Licensing Agency)
How to get licensed
- 1
Meet the prerequisites
Completed 10th grade or equivalent education, pass a criminal background check. The Board's current licensing-information page lists only an education requirement (10th grade or equivalent) for estheticians in its Preliminary Education Requirements chart, with no explicit numeric minimum age specific to estheticians (unlike barbers, whose chart entry states 18, or 17 with a high school diploma); the codified age requirement in IC 25-8-12.5-4 could not be cleanly extracted from this session's copy of the Board's consolidated Statutes and Rules PDF due to a page-ordering artifact, so minAge is left null rather than guessed. All applicants must disclose any 'Yes' answers to conduct/discipline questions with supporting court documentation; a separate national criminal-history background check applies only to the expedited military-spouse licensure pathway, not standard applicants. [1]
- 2
Complete approved training
Complete 700 hours of training at a state-approved program. 700 hours at a Board-approved beauty culture school, or completion of a U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program. Preliminary education requirement: completion of 10th grade or equivalent. [1]
- 3
Esthetician Licensing Examination
Pass the Esthetician Licensing Examination (fee: $49). Written exam only (no separate practical/skills exam) [2]
- 4
Submit your application
Submit your application to Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Professional Licensing Agency) with the $40 application fee. [1]
- 5
Receive your license
Once your application is approved, Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Professional Licensing Agency) issues your Esthetician for Indiana.
Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee [1] | $40 |
| License fee [1] | None specified |
| Renewal fee [1] | $40 |
| Esthetician Licensing Examination [2] | $49 |
| Reinstatement fee (license expired more than 3 years) [1] | $80 |
No separate license-issuance fee beyond the $40 application fee — examination, reciprocity, provisional, and upgrade-from-provisional applicants all pay the same $40 application fee, and the license is issued upon approval of that application.
Renewal & continuing education
Renew every 4 years.
Licenses expire 4 years after the initial expiration date (IC 25-8-4-17); the renewal fee is $40 every 4 years (820 IAC 7-1-3). Indiana repealed its continuing-education rule (820 IAC Article 6 is now marked 'Repealed'), so no CE hours are required to renew.
Reciprocity
Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.
Indiana calls its out-of-state pathway 'Reciprocity': an applicant must hold a valid license from a jurisdiction imposing 'substantially equal' education-hour and exam-passing (at least 70% written/practical) requirements; if the other jurisdiction's hour requirement is lower, the Board may combine education hours with actual licensed practice (1 year of licensed practice = 100 hours of credit, for applicants with at least 400 hours of esthetics education) to make up the difference. Applicants from jurisdictions that do not issue an esthetics license at all may instead apply for a Provisional License and work under an Indiana-licensed cosmetologist or esthetician. Indiana is not listed as a member of any occupational-licensing compact for esthetics; the Cosmetology Licensure Compact is not operational in any state.
19 state-approved training providers in Indiana — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.
Cost calculator
- $40
- $49
Frequently asked questions
How many training hours does Indiana require for an esthetician license?
700 hours at a Board-approved beauty culture school, or completion of a Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program.
Who administers the Indiana esthetician exam?
PSI Services LLC administers a single $49 written exam; Indiana does not require a separate practical exam for estheticians.
How long does an Indiana esthetician license last, and is continuing education required?
4 years — one of the longest renewal cycles among the states. Indiana repealed its continuing-education rule, so no CE hours are required to renew.
Can I transfer my esthetician license from another state to Indiana?
Yes, through Indiana's Reciprocity pathway, if your issuing state imposes substantially equal education and exam-passing requirements. If your requirements fall short, hours can be combined with years of licensed practice to make up the difference.
What if my home state doesn't license estheticians at all?
You may apply for a Provisional License and work under the supervision of an Indiana-licensed cosmetologist or esthetician while you complete Indiana's requirements.
Sources
- [1] in.gov/pla/professions/cosmetology-and-barber-home/cosmetology-and-barber-licensing-information/ — accessed 2026-07-11
- [2] test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/4316 — accessed 2026-07-11
- [3] in.gov/pla/files/1.1.23-Cosmetology-Statutes-and-Rules.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11