Texas TDLR Administrative Penalties for Cosmetology Violations

Penalties for Texas cosmetology violations run from $500 to $5,000 per day for each violation, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) can pair those fines with a reprimand, probation, license suspension of up to a year, or outright revocation. Where a given violation lands depends on which of four classes it falls into, your prior disciplinary history, and how quickly the problem gets fixed. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense under Texas Occupations Code Section 51.302, so a single ongoing problem can multiply fast.¹

The Four Violation Classes and Their Fine Ranges

TDLR sorts cosmetology violations into four tiers based on the risk they pose to public health, and each tier has a set fine range and a set of available license sanctions.²

Class A ($500 to $1,500): Administrative and record-keeping errors, such as missing signage, incomplete contractor records, or minor documentation failures. No automatic license consequences at this level.
Class B ($1,000 to $3,500): Sanitation violations with a more direct risk to clients. Penalties can include a license suspension of up to one year on top of the fine.
Class C ($2,000 to $5,000): Public health violations with serious risk of harm. Revocation is available at this tier.
Class D ($3,500 to $5,000): The most serious infractions, including working while knowingly suffering from an infectious or communicable disease not covered by ADA protections. Revocation is on the table.

How TDLR Sets the Actual Dollar Amount

Two practitioners committing the same violation won’t necessarily pay the same fine. Section 51.302 of the Occupations Code requires the department to weigh five factors when picking a number inside the range:

The seriousness of the violation. A missing sign is treated differently from a contaminated pedicure basin.
Your history of previous violations. A clean record pulls the penalty down; repeat offenders get pushed toward the top of the range. TDLR counts a prior complaint as a “previous violation” only if it resulted in a formal disciplinary action such as an agreed order, final order, or reprimand.
Deterrence. The penalty has to be high enough to discourage repeating the conduct.
Corrective efforts. Fixing the problem immediately after it’s identified can lower the penalty.
Any other matter that justice requires, a catch-all giving the department discretion for unusual circumstances.

Where a sanction schedule authorizes revocation, TDLR reads that authority to also cover denial of an original license application or a renewal.³

License Sanctions Beyond the Fine

The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation can deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a license, or issue a formal reprimand, for any violation of the cosmetology statutes or commission rules.⁴ These non-monetary sanctions often matter more than the fine.

A reprimand is a formal, public record of the violation. It stays on file and counts against you if another violation comes up later.
Probation lets a practitioner keep working under conditions when a suspension has been probated. Conditions can include regular reporting to TDLR, restrictions on services performed, or mandatory continuing education.
Suspension is a set period during which you cannot legally work. For Class B violations, suspension can run up to one year.
Revocation is a permanent loss of the right to practice, reserved for the most serious or repetitive violations, particularly at Class C and Class D.

Sanctions stack with fines. A Class C violation, for example, could bring both a $4,000 penalty and license revocation.²

What Actually Triggers These Penalties

TDLR’s cosmetology rules focus on preventing cuts, burns, infections, and the transmission of contagious diseases.⁵ The conduct that most often turns into an enforcement action falls into a handful of categories:

Sanitation failures, including not properly disinfecting tools between clients, failing to maintain a wet disinfectant soaking container, reusing single-use items, or not following foot spa cleaning protocols. Foot spa cleaning records must be kept for at least 60 days.
Unlicensed activity, meaning operating a salon without a valid facility license, practicing on an expired individual license, or allowing unlicensed workers to perform services.
Scope-of-practice violations, such as an esthetician performing hair services or a manicurist performing esthetician services.
Using prohibited products, including razor-type callus shavers, credo blades, and products containing MMA or formalin.
Missing signage or records, including the TDLR establishment license, the consumer complaint notice, the human trafficking awareness sign, and current booth-renter records showing each contractor’s name, license number, and expiration date.

Minor paperwork problems sometimes end in a warning. Anything involving a direct health risk to clients tends to trigger formal enforcement.⁶

What Happens After a Notice of Alleged Violation

The formal process starts when TDLR sends a Notice of Alleged Violation (NOAV). The NOAV spells out the specific violations, the applicable statutes or rules, and the proposed penalties, and it includes a settlement offer from the TDLR prosecutor.⁷

You have 20 days to either accept the settlement or request a hearing. Accepting the settlement produces an agreed order issued by the TDLR Executive Director. Agreed orders typically require paying an administrative penalty, providing restitution, completing additional education, or submitting documentation to TDLR.

Rejecting the settlement sends the case to a formal hearing before an administrative law judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). Both sides present evidence and arguments, and the judge issues a Proposal for Decision with proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a recommended outcome. That proposal is not final. The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation reviews it at a public meeting, hears from both sides again, and then issues a Final Order, either adopting the proposal as written or amending it.

Ignoring the NOAV is the worst move. If you neither accept the settlement nor request a hearing within the deadline, the Commission enters a default order that treats the alleged violations as admitted and imposes the proposed penalties with no opportunity to contest them.

Appealing a Final Order

A Final Order you disagree with can be challenged, but the deadlines are unforgiving. The first step is filing a motion for rehearing with the Commission. If that motion is denied, you have 30 days from the denial to file a petition for judicial review in Travis County District Court.⁸ Once the case reaches district court, the Texas Attorney General’s office represents TDLR.

Under Texas Government Code Section 2001.176, the petition must be filed no later than the 30th day after the decision becomes final and appealable, and a copy must be served on TDLR and every other party of record.⁹ Miss that deadline and you lose the right to judicial review.

Every Enforcement Order Is Public

TDLR publishes enforcement orders in a searchable online database that anyone can query by license program, license number, name, company, city, or county. The database covers the current fiscal year and the two most recent prior years.¹⁰

That has two practical effects. Clients and potential employers can see your disciplinary history. And because prior formal disciplinary actions count as “previous violations” when TDLR calculates penalties, a public record of past enforcement directly raises the fine you’ll face on any future violation.³

1
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 51-302 – Amount of Penalty
2
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Penalties and Sanctions for Practitioners and Establishments
3
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Enforcement
4
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code Chapter 51
5
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Barbering and Cosmetology
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Inspections Guide for Barbering and Cosmetology
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. How TDLR Handles Consumer Complaints
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Complaint Investigation and Resolution
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Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code 2001-176 – Petition Initiating Judicial Review
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Administrative Orders – Search