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Getting a nail license in Florida

What Florida Board of Cosmetology (DBPR) publishes about getting a nail license, checked on September 7, 2026.

Can the exam be taken in Vietnamese
Florida has no state exam for nail specialists, so there is no exam language to choose. The path is the training hours and then a nail specialty registration application. The exam the Board's FAQ describes is the cosmetology exam, not a nail exam. This is the point most easily misread, so ask the Board directly before enrolling.
Source: Florida Board of Cosmetology - FAQs · Checked September 7, 2026
Required training hours
At least 180 hours in a nail specialty program at a Florida school of cosmetology. After the hours, you send in the nail specialty registration application with the fees, and the registration is issued once the application is approved.
Source: Florida Board of Cosmetology - FAQs · Checked September 7, 2026
Registration, not an exam
The Board's FAQ describes the nail specialist path as finishing the hours and then filing a registration application, and names no state exam for nail specialists. The exam it does describe is the cosmetology exam. Ask the Board directly before enrolling, because this is the point most easily misread.
Source: Florida Board of Cosmetology - FAQs · Checked September 7, 2026
If you are licensed in another state
You may apply by endorsement if you hold a current and active registration or license in another state whose requirements are equal to or greater than Florida's. Apprenticeship licensees are not eligible for endorsement.
Source: Florida Board of Cosmetology - FAQs · Checked September 7, 2026

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The oldest line on this page was checked September 7, 2026

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