Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: Can the exam be taken in Vietnamese

The Board does not say. Its page sends candidates to PearsonVue for all examination information and never states what languages the theory exam comes in. One thing the Board does state: its own phone line has language interpreters, on 1-833-DOS-BPOA, Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. An interpreter on the Board's phone line is not the same thing as an exam in Vietnamese, so do not read it as one.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: Required training hours

200 hours of instruction in nail technology at a licensed cosmetology school. A 10th grade education or equivalent is required, unless the applicant is over 35 or a veteran.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: Fees

$119 for the initial license, made up of a $26 application fee and a $93 testing fee. Renewal is $97 on a two-year cycle.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: What the exam covers

One Board examination, covering state theory and procedure. Pennsylvania requires no continuing education to renew the license.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: If you are licensed in another state

The reciprocity fee is $89. Under Act 41, an active licensee in good standing from a state with substantially equivalent requirements, with no discipline or criminal conviction, may be licensed by endorsement. There is also a path using employment certification showing at least two years of licensed work experience.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: Services the Board has ruled you may NOT do in the salon

The Board publishes a Cases of Interest list of decided matters, and it is the clearest statement anywhere of where the trade's line sits. On April 25, 2025 (case 24-45-004876) the Board ruled that applying permanent makeup is OUTSIDE the scope of cosmetology, and that doing it inside a cosmetology salon violates 49 Pa. Code section 7.77 (use of salon for other purposes prohibited). The same conclusion has been reached for: tattooing and piercing (24-45-016203, February 24, 2025); microblading and dermaplaning (24-45-004648, February 24, 2025, and 17-45-06196, November 5, 2018); dermaplaning, hydro-dermabrasion and oxygen therapy (22-45-004143, August 12, 2024); milia removal and dermaplaning (24-45-005410, August 12, 2024); and Botox, face fillers and microneedling (23-45-001948, September 25, 2023). The Board adds on the same page that Bureau inspectors will inspect the ENTIRETY of your salon for compliance with 49 Pa. Code section 7.77 and all other relevant regulations. In plain terms: one extra service for a regular customer is enough to cost a salon its license.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania: The eight states Pennsylvania has NO reciprocal agreement with

The Board writes that currently the State Board of Cosmetology has a reciprocal agreement with EVERY state EXCEPT Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Utah. The attached condition: you must currently hold a license in one of the states Pennsylvania has an understanding of reciprocity with, and have at least two or more years of licensed work experience. To keep processing short, the Board advises enclosing a recent Criminal History Records Check from the state police or equivalent agency for EVERY state in which you have lived, worked or completed professional training in the past 5 years, dated within 180 days of the date the application is submitted; in Pennsylvania you get one at epatch.pa.gov, and a volunteer record check will NOT be accepted. IMPORTANT CAVEAT: the Board publishes the eight-state sentence on its guide for COSMETOLOGISTS, not on the nail technician snapshot. The sentence is framed as an agreement of the State Board of Cosmetology, which is the same board that licenses nail technicians, but the Board has not repeated it on the nail page, so ring the Board on 1-833-DOS-BPOA to confirm before you send money.

Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania

What Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology publishes about getting a nail license, checked on September 7, 2026.

Can the exam be taken in Vietnamese: The Board does not say. Its page sends candidates to PearsonVue for all examination information and never states what languages the theory exam comes in. One thing the Board does state: its own phone line has language interpreters, on 1-833-DOS-BPOA, Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. An interpreter on the Board's phone line is not the same thing as an exam in Vietnamese, so do not read it as one.; Source: Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology - Board home page · Checked September 10, 2026
Required training hours: 200 hours of instruction in nail technology at a licensed cosmetology school. A 10th grade education or equivalent is required, unless the applicant is over 35 or a veteran.; Source: Pennsylvania Department of State - Nail Technician Licensure Snapshot · Checked September 7, 2026
Fees: $119 for the initial license, made up of a $26 application fee and a $93 testing fee. Renewal is $97 on a two-year cycle.; Source: Pennsylvania Department of State - Nail Technician Licensure Snapshot · Checked September 7, 2026
What the exam covers: One Board examination, covering state theory and procedure. Pennsylvania requires no continuing education to renew the license.; Source: Pennsylvania Department of State - Nail Technician Licensure Snapshot · Checked September 7, 2026
If you are licensed in another state: The reciprocity fee is $89. Under Act 41, an active licensee in good standing from a state with substantially equivalent requirements, with no discipline or criminal conviction, may be licensed by endorsement. There is also a path using employment certification showing at least two years of licensed work experience.; Source: Pennsylvania Department of State - Nail Technician Licensure Snapshot · Checked September 7, 2026
Services the Board has ruled you may NOT do in the salon: The Board publishes a Cases of Interest list of decided matters, and it is the clearest statement anywhere of where the trade's line sits. On April 25, 2025 (case 24-45-004876) the Board ruled that applying permanent makeup is OUTSIDE the scope of cosmetology, and that doing it inside a cosmetology salon violates 49 Pa. Code section 7.77 (use of salon for other purposes prohibited). The same conclusion has been reached for: tattooing and piercing (24-45-016203, February 24, 2025); microblading and dermaplaning (24-45-004648, February 24, 2025, and 17-45-06196, November 5, 2018); dermaplaning, hydro-dermabrasion and oxygen therapy (22-45-004143, August 12, 2024); milia removal and dermaplaning (24-45-005410, August 12, 2024); and Botox, face fillers and microneedling (23-45-001948, September 25, 2023). The Board adds on the same page that Bureau inspectors will inspect the ENTIRETY of your salon for compliance with 49 Pa. Code section 7.77 and all other relevant regulations. In plain terms: one extra service for a regular customer is enough to cost a salon its license.; Source: Pennsylvania Department of State - State Board of Cosmetology · Checked September 21, 2026
The eight states Pennsylvania has NO reciprocal agreement with: The Board writes that currently the State Board of Cosmetology has a reciprocal agreement with EVERY state EXCEPT Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Utah. The attached condition: you must currently hold a license in one of the states Pennsylvania has an understanding of reciprocity with, and have at least two or more years of licensed work experience. To keep processing short, the Board advises enclosing a recent Criminal History Records Check from the state police or equivalent agency for EVERY state in which you have lived, worked or completed professional training in the past 5 years, dated within 180 days of the date the application is submitted; in Pennsylvania you get one at epatch.pa.gov, and a volunteer record check will NOT be accepted. IMPORTANT CAVEAT: the Board publishes the eight-state sentence on its guide for COSMETOLOGISTS, not on the nail technician snapshot. The sentence is framed as an agreement of the State Board of Cosmetology, which is the same board that licenses nail technicians, but the Board has not repeated it on the nail page, so ring the Board on 1-833-DOS-BPOA to confirm before you send money.; Source: Pennsylvania Department of State - Cosmetology licensure guide · Checked September 21, 2026

Every line carries its own check date, because a page is only as trustworthy as its oldest line.

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

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Getting a nail license in Pennsylvania

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