Amends existing law to revise qualifications for cosmetology licensure.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 547 BY BUSINESS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO THE BARBER AND COSMETOLOGY SERVICES ACT; AMENDING SECTION2 54-5810, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE CERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE3 REGARDING COSMETOLOGISTS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.4

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5

SECTION 1. That Section 54-5810, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6 amended to read as follows:7 54-5810. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE -- INSTRUCTORS -- APPRENTICES8 -- STUDENTS. (1) To qualify for licensure under this chapter, an applicant9 for licensure must:10 (a) Be at least sixteen and one-half (16 1/2) years of age at the time of11 application;12 (b) Have completed at least two (2) years of high school or have at-13 tained an equivalent education as determined by the board;14 (c) Pass an examination for the occupation in which the applicant is15 seeking licensure, which examination shall be conducted or approved by16 the board; and17 (d) Prove to the satisfaction of the board that the applicant has not18 engaged in conduct that would constitute grounds for discipline under19 section 54-5823, Idaho Code.20 (2) Except as otherwise provided, and in addition to the requirements21 listed in subsection (1) of this section, an applicant for licensure:22 (a) As a barber, must have:23 (i) Completed and graduated from a course of instruction of at24 least nine hundred (900) hours in a barber school approved by the25 board; or26 (ii) Completed at least one thousand eight hundred (1,800) hours27 as an apprentice in an apprenticeship that covered all aspects of28 the practice of barbering;29 (b) As a barber-stylist, must have:30 (i) Completed and graduated from a course of instruction of at31 least one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours in a barber school32 approved by the board; or33 (ii) Completed at least three thousand (3,000) hours as an appren-34 tice in an apprenticeship that covered all aspects of the practice35 of barber-styling;36 (c) As a cosmetologist, must have:37 (i) Completed and graduated from a course of instruction of at38 least one thousand six hundred (1,600) one thousand (1,000) hours39 in a cosmetology school approved by the board; or40

2 (ii) Completed at least three thousand two hundred (3,200) two1 thousand (2,000) hours as an apprentice in an apprenticeship that2 covered all aspects of the practice of cosmetology;3 (d) As an electrologist, must have:4 (i) Completed and graduated from a course of instruction of at5 least six hundred (600) hours in a school approved by the board; or6 (ii) Completed at least one thousand two hundred (1,200) hours as7 an apprentice in a cosmetology establishment under the direct per-8 sonal supervision of a licensed electrologist instructor;9 (e) As an esthetician, must have:10 (i) Completed and graduated from a course of instruction of at11 least six hundred (600) hours in a school approved by the board; or12 (ii) Completed at least one thousand two hundred (1,200) hours13 as an apprentice in a cosmetology establishment under the direct14 personal supervision of a licensed cosmetology instructor. Such15 establishment must have at least one (1) licensed esthetician16 on-site in accordance with board rules; and17 (f) As a nail technician, must have:18 (i) Completed and graduated from a course of instruction of at19 least four hundred (400) hours in a school approved by the board;20 or21 (ii) Completed at least eight hundred (800) hours as an apprentice22 in a cosmetology establishment under the direct personal super-23 vision of a licensed cosmetology instructor. Such establishment24 shall have at least one (1) licensed nail technician on-site in ac-25 cordance with board rules.26 (3) To qualify as an instructor of barbering, barber-styling, cosme-27 tology, electrology, esthetics, or nail technology, an applicant must:28 (a) Hold a current license in the profession or closely related profes-29 sion, as determined by the board, for which the applicant seeks to in-30 struct;31 (b) Have worked for at least five (5) of the last seven (7) years as a li-32 censed barber, barber-stylist, cosmetologist, electrologist, estheti-33 cian, or nail technician, or have satisfactorily completed:34 (i) A minimum six (6) month teacher's course of instruction in one35 (1) of the specialties described in this subsection; or36 (ii) A minimum three (3) month teacher's course of instruction in37 a school of one (1) of the specialties described in this subsec-38 tion, if the applicant has at least two (2) years of experience as39 a licensee in one (1) of the specialties described in this subsec-40 tion; and41 (c) Have completed twelve (12) college credit hours or equivalent edu-42 cation, as determined by the board, or pass an examination approved by43 the board.44 (4) To be qualified to hold an apprenticeship for purposes of this chap-45 ter, a person must:46 (a) Meet the qualifications set forth in paragraphs (a), (b), and (d) of47 subsection (1) of this section; and48 (b) Be registered as an apprentice with the board.49

3 (5) To be considered a student for purposes of this chapter, a person1 must:2 (a) Meet the qualifications set forth in paragraph (b) of subsection3 (1) of this section; and4 (b) Be registered as a student in a licensed barber school or cosmetol-5 ogy school.6 (6) A high school student enrolled in a licensed school may be under7 sixteen and one-half (16 1/2) years of age while accruing the course of in-8 struction hours required for licensure.9

SECTION 2. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after Jan-10 uary 1, 2027.11