Laser Hair Removal License in Texas: Certificate Levels, Costs, and Renewal

To perform laser hair removal in Texas, you need a certificate from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), and to operate a location that offers it, you need a separate facility registration. The individual laser hair removal license in Texas comes in four levels, starting with Apprentice-in-Training after a 40-hour approved course, and moving up through Technician, Senior Technician, and Professional as you log supervised procedures. Facilities need their own certificate plus a written contract with a consulting physician and a designated Laser Safety Officer before they can legally open the doors.

The Four Certificate Levels and How You Move Up

Texas tiers individual certificates so that each level unlocks more independence. The 100-procedure counts at each step must be completed within a 12-month window.

Apprentice-in-Training. The entry point after you finish a TDLR-accepted 40-hour training program. You work only under direct supervision and cannot see clients alone.
Technician. You qualify after performing 100 laser hair removal procedures within 12 months under the direct supervision of a Senior Technician or Professional.¹
Senior Technician. A Technician must directly supervise at least 100 procedures within 12 months while a Professional audits that supervision. Senior Technicians can then supervise Apprentices and Technicians during sessions.¹
Professional. The top certificate. Applicants must hold a current health professional license or have extensive experience as a Senior Technician. Professionals work without direct supervision under the protocols the facility’s consulting physician has established.²

The Technician-to-Senior-Technician jump is where you stop being supervised and start supervising. That change shapes how facilities staff treatment rooms, because every Apprentice or Technician on the floor needs someone above them watching the work.

What You Need Before You Apply

You must be at least 18 and have completed a TDLR-accepted 40-hour laser hair removal training program.¹ No college degree is required. The course content is set by Texas Administrative Code Section 118.26 and covers skin biology, laser physics, device operation, and emergency response.³ A current CPR certification from a recognized provider also goes in the application package.

You will have to disclose any criminal history, including past convictions and deferred adjudications. TDLR runs a separate background check through the Texas Department of Public Safety on every original and renewal application.⁴ A conviction is not an automatic disqualifier, but TDLR’s Enforcement Division reviews each case individually and certain offenses can lead to denial.

What Each Certificate Costs

Individual fees match on application and renewal:

Apprentice-in-Training: $50 to apply, $50 to renew¹
Technician: $70 to apply, $70 to renew
Senior Technician: $100 to apply, $100 to renew⁵
Professional: $150 to apply, $150 to renew

Facility registration is $900 for a new certificate and $750 to renew every two years.⁶⁷ All fees are non-refundable.

If You’re Opening a Facility

A facility certificate is separate from any individual certificate. Every business location providing laser hair removal needs its own, and each location files its own application.⁸ The application must include a designated Laser Safety Officer qualified under state rules, at least one designated Laser Hair Removal Professional, and a copy of the written contract with a consulting physician.

That consulting physician establishes treatment protocols for the facility, audits its operations, and stays available for emergency consultations. A designated backup physician must be reachable when the consulting physician is not.⁹ The written protocols must be signed and dated by both the physician and the facility operator, then reviewed and re-signed at least once a year.¹⁰

A rule that catches people off guard: you cannot run a laser hair removal facility out of a home. The facility must be completely separated from living quarters by floor-to-ceiling partitioning, with no access between the two.¹¹ A curtain across a spare bedroom does not qualify.

Two exemptions are worth knowing. A physician’s office that uses lasers as part of a broader medical practice does not need a separate facility certificate, and neither does a licensed hospital or a clinic owned by one. A physician-owned facility that performs only laser hair removal and no other medical services does still need the facility certificate.⁸

How to Submit the Application

TDLR handles applications through its online licensing portal, with forms available for download or digital completion on the TDLR website.¹² For an individual certificate, have your training completion certificate, CPR card, and Social Security number ready, along with your criminal history disclosure. For a facility, the consulting physician contract, LSO designation, and Professional designation go in alongside the fee.

Incomplete submissions are the most common reason for delays, and the fees do not come back if your application stalls. TDLR does not publish a firm processing guarantee, though a separately requested Criminal History Evaluation Letter can take up to 90 days.¹³ You can monitor status through the TDLR online license search while you wait.

Keeping the Certificate: Renewal and CE

Every individual certificate level requires 8 hours of continuing education per renewal cycle.¹⁴ Renewal fees mirror the initial application fees. Facility certificates renew every two years at $750 per location, and the consulting physician contract must be current at renewal.⁷ If any certificate lapses, you cannot legally perform or offer laser hair removal until it is reinstated.

Penalties for Working Without the Right Certificate

TDLR classifies unlicensed laser hair removal as a Class C violation, with administrative penalties between $2,000 and $5,000 per violation and possible revocation of any existing certificates. This applies to individuals practicing above their certificate level and to facilities operating without proper registration.¹⁵

Using a laser device to treat an illness, disease, injury, or physical defect without being a physician or acting under a physician’s order crosses into unauthorized practice of medicine, which brings separate penalties under the Texas Occupations Code on top of the TDLR sanctions.¹¹ The exposure stacks fast once two agencies are involved.

1
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Laser Hair Removal – Individuals – Apply for a New Certificate
2
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 401.505 – Certified Laser Hair Removal Professional
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Become an Approved Laser Hair Removal Training Program
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Guidelines for License Applicants with Criminal Convictions
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Laser Hair Removal – Individuals – Renew a Certificate
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Laser Hair Removal Facilities – Apply for a New Certificate
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Laser Hair Removal Facility Certificate of Registration
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Cornell Law Institute. 16 Texas Admin Code 118.30 – Laser Hair Removal Facility Certificate – Requirements and Application
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Texas Public Law. Texas Health and Safety Code 401.519 – Consulting Physician
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Cornell Law Institute. 16 Texas Admin Code 118.60 – Consulting Physician
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Cornell Law Institute. 16 Texas Admin Code 118.20 – Prohibitions
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Laser Hair Removal
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Criminal History Evaluation at a Glance
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Continuing Education Requirements for Laser Hair Removal
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Laser Hair Removal Penalties and Sanctions