Georgia State Board of Cosmetology Rules and Regulations

The Georgia cosmetology rules and regulations set by the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers govern how you train, get licensed, renew, operate a salon, sanitize your tools, classify your workers, and respond if the board disciplines you. The rules are scattered across several chapters of the Georgia Compiled Rules and Regulations and the Official Code of Georgia, and fines start at $25 per infraction and reach $500 for unlicensed practice.¹

Getting Licensed in Georgia

Three paths lead to a Georgia cosmetology license: an approved school, an apprenticeship, or endorsement from another state. All three end at the same PSI-administered written and practical exams, and the board treats graduates of each path identically once they pass.

School Programs

A board-approved school is the most common route. Georgia requires 1,500 clock hours for master cosmetologists, 1,000 hours for estheticians, and 525 hours for nail technicians, with the master cosmetology curriculum running at least nine months.² After school, you pass both exam sections and then submit your application through the board’s GOALS portal or by mail with the fee.

Apprenticeship

The apprenticeship path takes longer. Cosmetology apprentices log 3,000 hours over at least 18 months, esthetician apprentices 2,000 hours over 18 months, and nail technician apprentices 1,050 hours over at least eight months. You must be at least 16, register with the board before starting, and work under a supervisor who has been licensed for at least 36 months (18 months for barbers). The apprentice license is valid for four years, and any change in supervisor or salon requires a new application.³

Endorsement From Another State

If you hold a license elsewhere, the board can license you by endorsement when your training meets or exceeds Georgia’s requirements, often without repeat exams or schooling. You must request verification from every state where you have ever held a license, not just your current one.² Any prior discipline requires a certified copy of the records before the board will process your application.⁴ The endorsement fee is $75.⁵

Renewal Deadlines and Continuing Education

Renewal dates in Georgia are set by license type, not by your birthday, and this catches people out. Master cosmetologist licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years. Hair designer licenses expire September 30 of even-numbered years. Esthetician and nail technician licenses expire August 31 of even-numbered years.⁶ Instructor, school, and shop licenses all expire June 30 of odd-numbered years.⁷

The master cosmetologist renewal fee is $50.⁵ Miss the deadline and you enter a limited late-renewal window with a penalty fee. Miss it by more than six months and the board treats the license as revoked, which means applying for reinstatement, paying a reinstatement fee, and meeting any additional conditions the board imposes, potentially including retaking exams.⁶

Each renewal cycle you must complete five hours of continuing education. Three hours must come from a board-approved health and safety course; the other two can cover industry trends, business management, computer skills, or hands-on technique in your license area. Health and safety courses from accredited colleges, the Technical College System of Georgia, or the American Red Cross are accepted without prior board approval.⁸ Keep your certificates. The board audits at random.

Salon and Facility Rules

Before opening a salon, you need a shop license. The application fee is $75, and the board inspects the facility before issuing the license.⁵ Inspectors can visit any licensed facility during business hours without notice, and refusing to cooperate is grounds for sanctions up to revocation of the shop license.⁹

What Has to Be Posted

Every practitioner working in the salon must display a current license in an open, visible area. The salon must also post its most recent inspection report where customers can see it, along with a copy of the board’s sanitary rules.¹⁰

Home-Based Salons

Home salons are allowed but tightly regulated. The service area must be separated from your living space by tight, ceiling-high partitions, and the salon must have its own restroom, separate from the household’s. Adequate plumbing with hot and cold running water is required.¹⁰

ADA Accessibility

Salons count as “service establishments” under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, so they must be accessible to people with disabilities. Existing facilities must remove barriers to the extent it is “readily achievable”; new construction and significant renovations must fully comply with ADA accessibility standards.¹¹

Sanitation and Safety Protocols

Sanitation is where fines add up fastest and where client safety is most at stake.

Tools and Equipment

Every reusable tool that touches a client must be cleaned of visible debris after use and then fully immersed for at least 10 minutes in an EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant that is bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, and pseudomonacidal. Autoclaving is an acceptable substitute. Solution has to be changed daily or per the manufacturer’s directions, whichever comes first.¹² Clippers, scissors, cuticle nippers, tweezers, combs, brushes, metal drill bits, and reusable nail forms all fall under this rule. Single-use items like emery boards and disposable buffers are thrown out after one client. Workstations get wiped down between clients, and hands get washed before and after every service.

Blood Exposure

When a tool contacts blood or another body fluid, immerse it for at least 10 minutes in an EPA-registered disinfectant effective against HIV-1 and Hepatitis B, or in a tuberculocidal disinfectant. An autoclave can substitute.¹² Gloves are required for any service that carries a risk of blood exposure.

If your salon has employees, OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard also applies. You need a written Exposure Control Plan, and if you use sharp instruments, you must keep a Sharps Injury Log.¹³

Chemicals

Salons using products like color, relaxers, or keratin treatments fall under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. Every hazardous product needs a Safety Data Sheet (sometimes still called an MSDS) available to workers, describing the health hazards and safe-handling practices.¹⁴ Store hazardous products in labeled, closed containers away from heat, and ventilate adequately when chemical services are performed.

Booth Renters and Worker Classification

Calling a stylist an independent contractor doesn’t make her one. The IRS looks at the actual working relationship across three categories: behavioral control (do you dictate how the work gets done?), financial control (do you set prices, reimburse expenses, or supply tools?), and the nature of the relationship (is it ongoing, and is the work core to your business?). No one factor decides it.¹⁵

A booth renter who sets her own hours, brings her own tools, books her own clients, and pays a flat weekly rent looks like a genuine contractor. A stylist who works a set schedule, uses the salon’s products, and follows your pricing looks like an employee, whatever the contract says. Misclassification can trigger back taxes, penalties, and interest from both the IRS and the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Self-employed salon professionals report income on Schedule C and can deduct booth rent, supplies, tools, professional liability insurance, licensing fees, and continuing education. The 2026 IRS standard business mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile.¹⁶ Salon owners with employees must also follow the Fair Labor Standards Act: at least $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and time-and-a-half over 40 hours in a workweek.

Fines and Disciplinary Actions

The board’s fine schedule escalates predictably. For most salon violations, the first offense is $25, the second $75, and any later offense $300. Fines are calculated per rule violated, so a single inspection can produce several separate fines.¹

Penalties for unlicensed practice are higher. An unlicensed practitioner working in your salon costs $500 per person. Employing someone with an expired license is $300 per person.¹⁷ Operating a salon or practicing cosmetology without a license can also be charged as a misdemeanor under Georgia criminal law.¹⁸

For serious or repeated violations, the board can suspend or revoke a license. Common triggers include practicing outside your license scope, repeated sanitation failures, and fraud. When an inspector flags a deficiency during a routine visit, you generally get a set timeframe to fix it before the board escalates to formal discipline.¹⁹

Appealing a Board Decision

If the board issues a citation and fine, you have 30 days from receipt to request a hearing in writing. Miss that window and the fine stands.¹⁹

At the hearing, you can present evidence, bring witnesses, and be represented by an attorney. An administrative law judge presides and issues the decision. If it goes against you, you can appeal to the Superior Court of Georgia under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act. The court reviews the existing record rather than holding a new trial and will not reweigh factual findings, but it can reverse a decision that was arbitrary, unsupported by evidence, or based on an error of law.²⁰ Unless a court grants a stay, you must comply with the board’s sanctions while your appeal is pending.

1
Georgia Secretary of State. Chapter 240-2 Violations and Fines
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Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers FAQ
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Georgia Secretary of State. Chapter 240-5 Apprentices
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Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers. Application for Initial Licensure
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Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers. Fee Schedule
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Cornell Law School. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 130-7-.02 – License/Permit Renewal Fees
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Georgia Secretary of State. Chapter 295-2 Expiration and Renewal Dates
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Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers Continuing Education Requirements
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Cornell Law School. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 240-4-.01 – Requirements of Operating a Facility
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Georgia Secretary of State. Chapter 130-4 Dealing With Establishment
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ADA.gov. ADA Title III Technical Assistance Manual
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Georgia Secretary of State. Chapter 130-5 Sanitation and Health
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention – Standards
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hair Salons – Formaldehyde in Your Products
15
Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?
16
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile
17
Cornell Law School. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 240-2-.03 – Cosmetology School Violations, Fines, and Fining Schedule
18
Justia Law. Georgia Code 43-10-19 – Penalty
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Justia Law. Georgia Code 43-10-15 – Suspension, Revocation, Cancellation, or Restoration of Certificates of Registration; Reprimand of Certificate Holders; Fines
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Justia Law. Georgia Code 45-19-39 – Appeal to Superior Court