StateLicensed

Esthetician License Requirements in North Dakota

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
600 hrs
Upfront cost
$50
Exam
NIC Written Theory Examination, NIC Practical Examination, North Dakota Written State Law Examination
Renewal cycle
Every 1 year
Issuing board
North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Completion of a board-approved 600-hour esthetician training program at a licensed cosmetology school, or completion of a board-registered esthetics apprenticeship program (2,000 hours), followed by passing all required exams.. No minimum-age requirement for individual esthetician licensure was found in N.D.C.C. chapter 43-11 or N.D. Admin. Code Title 32; the only age floor found in the statute (16 years) applies to the 'apprentice' definition (N.D.C.C. 43-11-01(4)), not to the esthetician license generally. No formal fingerprint/criminal-history background-check process is described; instead, N.D.C.C. 43-11-31(2) gives the Board discretion to deny licensure or discipline a licensee for 'conviction of an offense determined by the board to have a direct bearing upon an individual's ability to serve the public,' which is a suitability standard applied at the Board's discretion rather than a mandatory background-check requirement, so backgroundCheck is recorded as false. [5]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 600 hours of training (including 290 clinical hours) at a state-approved program. N.D. Admin. Code 32-04-01-27 sets the esthetician program curriculum at 600 total hours at a board-licensed school (Cleaning/disinfecting/safety 75 hrs, Facials 215 hrs, Hair removal 85 hrs, Make-up 65 hrs, Additional subjects/law 50 hrs, Professionalism/ethics 25 hrs, Business 35 hrs, Enrichment 50 hrs). Of those, 290 hours are explicitly labeled 'practical' within the rule's didactic/practical breakdown; the 50-hour 'Enrichment' block is not split, so clinicalHours may understate the true hands-on total. This 600-hour figure reflects the rule text effective January 1, 2026 (HB 1126, 2025) and is NOT the older cosmetology figure (1,500 hours) that some non-official sites carry over by mistake. North Dakota also allows a registered esthetics apprenticeship pathway (2,000 hours) as an alternative to school-based training, and offers a separate, higher 'Advanced Esthetician' tier (1,100 hours total, building on the 600-hour fundamental curriculum) that is not the entry-level license recorded here. [1]

  3. 3

    NIC Written Theory Examination

    Pass the NIC Written Theory Examination. Computer-based, at a designated testing center or remote/at-home proctoring Per N.D.C.C. 43-11-28(3), 'the examination administrator shall set and collect examination fees,' so the fee is not published on the Board's own site; it is recorded as null rather than guessed. Candidates register directly with Prov Exams (1-801-733-4455, provexam.com/register). [2]

  4. 4

    NIC Practical Examination

    Pass the NIC Practical Examination. Hands-on practical, performed entirely on mannequins (no live models permitted); candidates supply their own simulated wax product in labeled containers Fee is set/collected by the exam administrator per N.D.C.C. 43-11-28(3) and is not published, so it is recorded as null. [2]

  5. 5

    North Dakota Written State Law Examination

    Pass the North Dakota Written State Law Examination. Computer-based, at a designated testing center or remote/at-home proctoring Covers North Dakota-specific cosmetology/esthetics laws, rules, and regulations. Fee not published by the Board (set by the exam administrator per N.D.C.C. 43-11-28(3)); recorded as null. [2]

  6. 6

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology. [3]

  7. 7

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology issues your Esthetician License for North Dakota.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [3] None specified
License fee [3] $50
Renewal fee [3] $50
NIC Written Theory Examination [2] None specified
NIC Practical Examination [2] None specified
North Dakota Written State Law Examination [2] None specified
Reciprocity (endorsement) fee [3] $105
Duplicate license [3] $20
Late renewal, within 1 year [3] $50
Late renewal, 1-5 years [3] $150

From the Board's official 'NEW FEE SCHEDULE' (HB 1126, signed into law 2025, effective January 1, 2026 — the state's first fee increase since 2003): original Esthetician license fee $50, annual renewal $50. No separate 'application fee' distinct from the original license fee is itemized on the schedule, so it is recorded as null rather than assumed equal to the license fee. The schedule lists 'Esthetician/Master Esthetician' together at $50 for both original and renewal; Master Esthetician is a supervised-practice-hours upgrade (N.D.C.C. 43-11-26), not the entry-level license recorded here.

Renewal & continuing education

Renew every 1 year.

N.D. Admin. Code 32-05-01-01(2) requires every license to be renewed on or before December 31 each year (annual cycle), for the $50 renewal fee. Continuing education is not yet required for the current renewal cycle: 32-05-01-01(7) requires at least 4 hours of board-approved CE annually for licensees generally, but only 'commencing with the 2028 license renewal cycle, and for all renewal cycles occurring thereafter' — so ceHours is recorded as null for now, with the upcoming 2028 requirement (4 hrs/year) noted here. (Advanced Estheticians, a separate higher tier not covered by this record, already have an 8-hour annual CE requirement in effect.)

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.

N.D.C.C. 43-11-25 (Licensure by endorsement) lets the Board issue a license without examination to an out-of-state applicant licensed by another jurisdiction with substantially similar/equivalent standards, in good standing for at least one year, with no revoked/surrendered-under-investigation license and no unresolved discipline. Applicants who don't qualify for the without-examination path can still endorse by proving completed curriculum hours or substantially equal work experience (1,000 work hours = 100 curriculum hours, capped at 500 hours if earned within the prior 3 years); the Board notifies applicants if any exam is still required. The Board's fee schedule lists a $105 endorsement/reciprocity fee plus the $50 original license fee. The Cosmetology Licensure Compact is not operational in any state (regardless of individual-state enactment status), and North Dakota is not listed as a member on the compact commission's own site, so compacts is recorded as an empty list.

3 state-approved training providers in North Dakota — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.

Cost calculator

  • $50
Total$50

Frequently asked questions

How many training hours does North Dakota require for an esthetician license?

600 hours of school training at a board-licensed esthetics program, per N.D. Admin. Code 32-04-01-27, or 2,000 hours through a board-registered apprenticeship. This is the current figure effective January 1, 2026 under HB 1126 — not the older cosmetology hour count.

What exams do I need to pass to become licensed?

The NIC Written Theory Examination, the NIC Practical Examination (administered at the Board's office on mannequins only), and the North Dakota Written State Law Examination, per the Board's Exams page.

How often do I renew my North Dakota esthetician license, and is continuing education required?

Annually, by December 31, for a $50 fee. Continuing education is not yet required — a 4-hour annual CE requirement begins with the 2028 renewal cycle under N.D. Admin. Code 32-05-01-01(7).

What is the difference between an Esthetician and an Advanced Esthetician license?

The Esthetician license (600 hours) is the entry-level credential covering standard facials, hair removal, and make-up services. The Advanced Esthetician license, newly created effective January 1, 2026, requires 1,100 total hours and authorizes procedures like microneedling, advanced/combination chemical peels, and nonablative laser treatments, several of which require certification and health-care-provider supervision.

Can I transfer my esthetician license from another state to North Dakota?

Yes, through licensure by endorsement under N.D.C.C. 43-11-25. If your issuing state has substantially similar standards and you've held the license in good standing for at least a year, North Dakota can issue a license without a new exam; a $105 endorsement fee plus the $50 original license fee applies.

Sources

  1. [1] ndlegis.gov/prod/acdata/pdf/32-04-01.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
  2. [2] ndcosmetology.com/exams.aspx — accessed 2026-07-11
  3. [3] ndcosmetology.com/Document.aspx — accessed 2026-07-11
  4. [4] ndlegis.gov/prod/acdata/pdf/32-05-01.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
  5. [5] ndlegis.gov/cencode/t43c11.pdf — accessed 2026-07-11
  6. [6] ndcosmetology.com/out-of-state.aspx — accessed 2026-07-11