StateLicensed

Esthetician License Requirements in Mississippi

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
600 hrs
Upfront cost
$50
Exam
Practitioner Licensure Examination (Written and Practical)
Renewal cycle
Every 2 years
Issuing board
Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering (MSBCB)

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Be at least 16 years old, Verified completion of high school, a GED Certificate, a high school equivalency program credentialed by the State Board of Education, or proof of enrollment in a community college.. Per Rule 5.4, a practitioner-license applicant must be at least 16 years old. The Rules describe a 'Fresh Start Act' process (Rule 5.12) under which an individual MAY voluntarily request an advance Board determination of whether their criminal record would disqualify them from licensure, but this is an optional applicant-initiated review, not a described mandatory fingerprint-based or criminal-history-check step applied to every applicant, so backgroundCheck is recorded as false. [1]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 600 hours of training at a state-approved program. 600 hours of school-based training, OR 1,200 hours of apprenticeship training, per Rule 5.2 of the Board's Rules and Regulations (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 73-7-13, 73-7-13.1, 73-7-15, 73-7-18, 73-7-21). Mississippi has a second, higher-tier 'Master' license: a practitioner (including an esthetician) may apply for master status after being a Mississippi licensee in good standing for at least 12 months and completing 16 hours of Board-approved continuing education (Rule 5.7); licenseNames records only the entry-level Esthetician practitioner license. [1]

  3. 3

    Practitioner Licensure Examination (Written and Practical)

    Pass the Practitioner Licensure Examination (Written and Practical). Separate written and hands-on practical portions; a scaled score of at least 70 on each portion is required to pass (Rule 6.2). The Board's fee schedule (Rule 5.20) does not itemize a separate examination fee distinct from the $50 practitioner license fee, so fee is recorded as null rather than guessed; it may be bundled into the license/application fee or billed separately by the Board at scheduling time, which could not be confirmed from published Board documents. [1]

  4. 4

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering (MSBCB). [2]

  5. 5

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering (MSBCB) issues your Esthetician License for Mississippi.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [2] None specified
License fee [2] $50
Renewal fee [2] $50
Practitioner Licensure Examination (Written and Practical) [1] None specified
Reciprocity or UROLA application fee [2] $55
Duplicate license [2] $10

The Board's fee schedule lists a single 'Practitioner license/renewal' fee of $50 that covers both the original license and each renewal — there is no separately itemized 'application' fee distinct from this $50, so 'application' is left null to avoid double-counting. A $50 delinquent renewal penalty also applies to lapsed licenses (60 days to 3 years); licenses lapsed 3+ years require retaking the exam to renew.

Renewal & continuing education

Renew every 2 years.

Renewal is biennial (Rule 5.15). The Board's Continuing Education chapter (Chapter 7) imposes CE requirements only on Instructor licensees (24 hours biennially) and Master licensees (8 hours biennially) — standard practitioner licenses, which cover the entry-level Esthetician license, have no continuing-education requirement, so ceHours is recorded as null to reflect an affirmative no-CE rule rather than an unpublished figure. Licensees 70 or older pay no renewal fee (Rule 5.16).

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.

Per Rule 5.8, a holder of a practitioner license from another state with the same educational requirements as Mississippi may apply for a practitioner license by reciprocity, submitting license copies and a certification of active practice/good standing from every state where they hold a license — but reciprocity applicants must still successfully pass Mississippi's Chapter 6 examination; endorsement does not waive the exam. The reciprocity/UROLA application fee is $55. No interstate esthetics/cosmetology compact was found in the Board's Rules — the Cosmetology Licensure Compact has been enacted in some states but is not yet operational anywhere, including Mississippi, so compacts is recorded as empty.

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

Cost calculator

  • $50
Total$50

Frequently asked questions

How many training hours does Mississippi require for an Esthetician license?

600 hours of school-based training, or 1,200 hours of apprenticeship training.

Who administers Mississippi's esthetician exam?

The Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering administers the exam itself (state-administered, no third-party vendor); a separate written exam and hands-on practical exam are both required, each needing a scaled score of at least 70.

What does a Mississippi Esthetician license cost?

A $50 practitioner license/renewal fee covers both the original license and each biennial renewal; the Board's fee schedule does not list a separate exam fee.

Does Mississippi require continuing education to renew an Esthetician license?

No. Standard practitioner licenses have no CE requirement. Only the optional higher-tier Master license (available after 12 months as a Mississippi licensee) carries a CE requirement — 16 hours to apply, then 8 hours per biennial renewal.

Can an out-of-state esthetician get a Mississippi license without retaking the exam?

No — Mississippi's reciprocity process (for applicants with a practitioner license from a state with equivalent educational requirements) still requires passing Mississippi's written and practical exams.

Sources

  1. [1] msbcb.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MSBCB-Rules-and-Regulations-after-10.21.2025.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
  2. [2] msbcb.ms.gov/fees/ — accessed 2026-07-11