Minnesota cosmetology laws and rules are set out in Chapter 155A of the Minnesota Statutes and Chapter 2105 of the Administrative Rules, and they are enforced by the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners.1Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners. About the Board They tell you which license covers which services, how many training hours you need, what a salon has to look like before it opens, what you can’t have on the premises, how often you renew, and what each violation costs. The rules apply any time these services are performed for compensation.
The Four License Types
Minnesota issues four individual practitioner licenses, and each has a defined scope.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 155A.23 – Definitions
- Cosmetologist — hair, nails, and skin on the head, scalp, face, arms, hands, legs, feet, and trunk.
- Esthetician — skin care only.
- Nail technician — hands, feet, and nails only.
- Eyelash technician — eyelash extension services.
A cosmetologist can do what an esthetician or nail technician does, but not the reverse. An esthetician cannot do nails, and a nail technician cannot do skin care on areas beyond the hands and feet. A salon that lets a practitioner work outside their license type is fined $500 per occurrence.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 155A.25 – Fees
Getting Your First License
You must be at least 17, complete the required training hours at a Minnesota-licensed cosmetology school, and pass three Board-approved written exams. There is no high school diploma or GED requirement in the rules.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0145 – Applicants for Individual Licenses
Minimum training hours by license:
- Cosmetologist — 1,550 hours
- Esthetician — 600 hours
- Nail technician — 350 hours
- Eyelash technician — 14 hours
Submit the original course completion certificate with notarized signatures from the school manager or owner. If your training is more than five years old, add a skills course certificate from a Minnesota-licensed school dated within the past year.
The three exams are the general theory test, the written practical test, and the Minnesota laws and rules test, administered through PSI Services. Passing scores must be less than one year old when you file your application.
Licenses from Another State
Minnesota does not offer automatic reciprocity. If your out-of-state program met Minnesota’s hour and curriculum requirements, you submit a notarized board form from your original school documenting the hours completed. If it fell short, you enroll in a Minnesota-licensed school as a transfer student and finish the missing hours. Either way, you still have to pass all three Minnesota exams. Applicants trained outside the United States follow a separate process under Rule 2105.0183.
Opening a Salon
A salon license is separate from any individual license. Applicants must meet the requirements in Rules 2105.0310, 2105.0360, and 2105.0370 before the Board will issue one.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0310 – Salon Licensure Application
Insurance
Every salon must carry professional liability insurance of at least $25,000 per claim and $50,000 in total coverage per policy year for each operator, and a current Certificate of Insurance has to accompany the application.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 155A.29 – Salons Workers’ compensation coverage is required where it applies under state law.
Physical Space
Each practitioner on duty needs a separate work station with a chair, storage, and a mirror. Shampoos must be done at a bowl plumbed with hot and cold water. Service-area furniture needs a washable covering and must stay in good repair. The salon must keep a fire extinguisher meeting state fire code, first aid supplies, and proper waste receptacles at each station.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0370 – Salon Fixtures, Furniture, and Equipment Caustic supplies must be labeled and stored out of client reach. Clean linens go in closed cabinets; soiled towels in a covered receptacle that stays closed.
Designated Licensed Salon Manager
Every salon must appoint a Designated Licensed Salon Manager and register that person with the Board. The DLSM doesn’t have to be present every open hour, but they and the owner are both legally accountable for making sure every practitioner holds a current license for the services performed.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Administrative Rules Chapter 2105 – Section 2105.0305 A DLSM generally cannot manage more than one salon unless the locations have non-overlapping hours and attest to that in writing. When a DLSM leaves, the owner has ten business days to notify the Board and 60 days to register a replacement. A DLSM who resigns without written notice to the Board stays liable until the Board receives notice.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0322 – Maintaining Salon License
Infection Control and Prohibited Items
Infection control is the most detailed section of the code and the most common source of violations. Multi-use tools must be cleaned and then fully submerged in a hospital-level, EPA-registered disinfectant labeled bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal. The tool stays in a covered container for the full contact time stated by the manufacturer, and every surface, handles included, must be disinfected. Handwashing with soap and water is required before every service and after any interruption that could contaminate hands.10Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0375 – Infection Control Requirements The owner and the DLSM share responsibility for enforcement.
Separate from disinfection standards, Rule 2105.0380 bans certain items from being present at all. Skin-cutting equipment such as razor-type callus shavers, credo blades, rasps, and graters is prohibited because it cuts below the skin surface. Methyl methacrylate liquid monomers (MMA) and fumigants such as formalin tablets and formalin liquids may not be used or stored in a salon.11Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0380 – Operational Requirements for Salons Inspectors look for presence, not just use. Prohibited callus shavers carry a $500 penalty, and so does failure to properly dispose of single-use equipment.
No Independent Contractors
Minnesota explicitly penalizes independent contractor arrangements in salons. The owner is fined $200 and the operator $100 when a practitioner works as an independent contractor rather than an employee.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 155A.25 – Fees Traditional booth rental, where a stylist rents space and operates as a self-employed business inside someone else’s salon, runs afoul of this rule.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Individual licenses run on a three-year cycle and expire on the last day of your birth month in the renewal year. The Board does not send reminders. You track your own date.12Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 2105.0200 – License Renewal for Individuals
Renewal requires eight hours of continuing education from Board-approved providers in the three years before your renewal date:
- Four core hours: one hour on Minnesota cosmetology laws and rules, plus three hours on health, safety, and infection control.
- Four professional practice hours within your scope, such as product chemistry, use of machines and instruments, business management and ethics, or techniques for your license type.
Keep your completion certificates for the whole cycle in case of audit. If more than three years pass after expiration without renewal, you can no longer use the standard renewal process and must follow the reinstatement rules in Rule 2105.0215.
Fees
Fees are set by statute and cover a three-year cycle:3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 155A.25 – Fees
- Initial practitioner, manager, or instructor license: $195 ($155 license + $40 application)
- Practitioner renewal: $115 ($100 + $15)
- Manager or instructor renewal: $145 ($130 + $15)
- Initial salon license: $350 ($250 + $100)
- Salon renewal: $225 ($175 + $50)
- Expedited initial individual license: $150 additional
- Expedited initial salon license: $300 additional
- Late renewal: $45 for practitioners, $50 for salons or schools
Applications go through the Board’s online portal or by mail to the St. Paul office.
Penalties
Inspections are unannounced and happen during business hours. Refusing to cooperate with an inspector is a $500 penalty. Scheduled fines for common findings include:
- Expired practitioner or instructor found on inspection: $200
- Manager or owner with an expired practitioner license found on inspection: $150 each
- Expired salon found on inspection: $500
- Failure to display a current license: $100
- Failure to properly dispose of single-use items: $500
- Use of prohibited callus shavers or similar tools: $500
- Services performed outside license scope: $500
- Owner or manager allowing an operator to work as an independent contractor: $200
- Operator working as an independent contractor: $100
Beyond the scheduled amounts, the Board may impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation for any breach of the statutes or rules it enforces. It can also seek injunctions, issue cease-and-desist orders, and deny, suspend, or revoke a license. Any violation of the cosmetology statutes is a misdemeanor under Minnesota criminal law.13Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 155A – Sections 155A.33 and 155A.36
Federal Rules That Also Apply
State cosmetology rules are not the whole picture for a salon with employees. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard requires a written hazard communication program and Safety Data Sheets for every chemical product used in the salon when workers may be exposed. A sole operator working alone in a home salon is generally not covered because there is no employer-employee relationship.14Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Clarification of OSHA Hazard Communication Standard as Applied to Beauty Salons
Hair smoothing products that contain or release formaldehyde trigger OSHA’s formaldehyde standard, which requires air testing, protective equipment, and worker training. OSHA’s short-term exposure limit is 2 parts per million over 15 minutes, and OSHA has cited salons that failed to monitor air quality when using these products.15Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hair Salons – Facts About Formaldehyde in Hair Products The standard reaches products that release formaldehyde when heated, including some marketed as “formaldehyde-free.”
Salons where employees have reasonably anticipated exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials fall under OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. Covered employers must maintain a written Exposure Control Plan identifying at-risk tasks, precautions to reduce exposure, and procedures for handling exposure incidents. Much of the day-to-day practice overlaps with the state infection control rules you are already following.