StateLicensed

Esthetician License Requirements in Nevada

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
600 hrs
Upfront cost
$70
Exam
Esthetician Theory Examination, Nevada State Law Examination, Esthetician Practical Examination
Renewal cycle
Every 2 years
Issuing board
Nevada State Board of Cosmetology (NVCOSMO)

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Be at least 18 years old, Completed at least the 10th grade., pass a criminal background check. Per the Board's own Candidate Handbook eligibility table, applicants must be at least 18 years old with at least a 10th-grade education. Nevada cosmetology-board applicants are generally required to submit a complete set of fingerprints and written permission authorizing the Board to forward the fingerprints to the state's Central Repository for criminal history checks (unless already licensed by the Board), per Nevada's occupational-licensing fingerprinting statutes; the specific NRS 644A section text could not be directly fetched (leg.state.nv.us is Cloudflare-blocked for automated fetches). [1]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 600 hours of training at a state-approved program. 600 hours in a licensed cosmetology school, or 1,200 hours in an approved apprenticeship program, per the Board's own Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook eligibility table. Nevada also has a second, higher-tier 'Advanced Esthetician' license requiring an additional 900 hours in a licensed cosmetology school; licenseNames records only the entry-level Esthetician license. [1]

  3. 3

    Esthetician Theory Examination

    Pass the Esthetician Theory Examination. Multiple-choice, computer-based, 75 scored items plus 10 non-scored pretest items, 1 hour 30 minutes, 75% required to pass. Fee not published in the Board's Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook or on the Board's own testing-information pages; the handbook confirms a $125 fee applies specifically to reinstatement candidates retaking all exams, but a distinct fee for first-time theory-exam candidates could not be confirmed, so fee is recorded as null rather than guessed. [1]

  4. 4

    Nevada State Law Examination

    Pass the Nevada State Law Examination. 25-question multiple-choice exam, 75% required to pass. Fee not published in the Board's Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook or on the Board's own testing-information pages, so fee is recorded as null. [2]

  5. 5

    Esthetician Practical Examination

    Pass the Esthetician Practical Examination. Fee not published on the Board's testing-information pages, so fee is recorded as null. [3]

  6. 6

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to Nevada State Board of Cosmetology (NVCOSMO). [4]

  7. 7

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, Nevada State Board of Cosmetology (NVCOSMO) issues your Esthetician License for Nevada.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [4] None specified
License fee [4] $70
Renewal fee [4] $70
Esthetician Theory Examination [1] None specified
Nevada State Law Examination [2] None specified
Esthetician Practical Examination [3] None specified
4-year license option (in place of the 2-year $70 license) [4] $140
Reinstatement application fee (license expired, all exams must be retaken) [4] $125

The Board's fee schedule lists a single 'Esthetics Individual License' fee that the applicant chooses between: $70 for a 2-year term or $140 for a 4-year term; this same fee structure applies at renewal, so 'license' and 'renewal' are both recorded as the 2-year base rate of $70. No separate 'application' fee distinct from this license fee was found, so 'application' is left null. Exam fees (theory, state law, practical) are not published by the Board and are recorded as null in the exams section.

Renewal & continuing education

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

Licensees choose a 2-year or 4-year license term at issuance/renewal (recorded here as 2, the base cycle); licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month. NRS 644A.520 ('Renewal of license or certificate of registration') is titled to cover 'instruction relating to infection control and prevention' as part of renewal — the specific figure of 4 hours of continuing education in infection control and prevention per renewal period is corroborated by multiple secondary sources citing this statute, but the exact hour figure could not be confirmed from the statute's full text directly (leg.state.nv.us is Cloudflare-blocked for automated fetches; only the chapter's section-title index was retrievable via Wayback Machine snapshot).

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.

Nevada offers reciprocity to an esthetician holding an active, good-standing license from another state, DC, US territory, or country. The non-refundable reciprocity application fee is $325. Reciprocity applicants must still pass the 25-question Nevada State Law exam at 75% (additional exams may be required per NRS 644A.640). Some states' license data can be verified online automatically by the Board; applicants from other listed states (including Maryland, Mississippi, and about 20 others) must obtain license certification from their home state BEFORE submitting the Nevada application. No interstate esthetics/cosmetology compact was found — the Cosmetology Licensure Compact has been enacted in some states but is not yet operational anywhere, including Nevada, so compacts is recorded as empty.

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

Cost calculator

  • $70
Total$70

Frequently asked questions

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

600 hours at a licensed cosmetology school, or 1,200 hours in an approved apprenticeship program.

Who administers Nevada's esthetician exams?

Pearson VUE administers the theory exam and the Nevada State Law exam under contract with the Board. The practical exam is administered directly by the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology — at the candidate's own school for Nevada school graduates, or at the Board office for others.

What does a Nevada Esthetician license cost?

$70 for a 2-year license, or $140 for a 4-year license (the candidate chooses the term). Exam fees are not published by the Board.

Does Nevada require continuing education to renew?

Nevada's renewal statute (NRS 644A.520) addresses infection-control-and-prevention instruction as part of renewal; secondary sources describe this as a 4-hour continuing-education requirement per renewal period, though the exact figure could not be confirmed from the statute's full text directly.

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

Nevada offers reciprocity ($325 fee) to applicants with an active, good-standing license from another state, but reciprocity applicants must still pass Nevada's 25-question State Law exam at 75%.

Sources

  1. [1] pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/202900.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
  2. [2] nvcosmo.com/state-law-test — accessed 2026-07-11
  3. [3] nvcosmo.com/practical-test — accessed 2026-07-11
  4. [4] nvcosmo.com/service-fees — accessed 2026-07-11
  5. [5] leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-644A.html — accessed 2026-07-11
  6. [6] nvcosmo.com/transfer-to-nevada — accessed 2026-07-11