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

Yes, and there is a required step people miss. On TDLR's exam page the candidate information bulletin for the Manicurist exam is published in Vietnamese as well as English and Spanish; the combined Manicurist/Esthetician exam has English and Spanish only. To be exact: what TDLR publishes in Vietnamese is the information bulletin, not the exam paper. The exam-language rule is PSI's, the company TDLR contracts to run the exams, and its Vietnamese bulletin says exams are administered in English but some may be taken in Vietnamese at no additional fee, and that to do so you must state your preferred language when you schedule. The bulletin does not name which exams those are, so TDLR publishing a Vietnamese bulletin for the Manicurist exam specifically is the strongest signal available. On dictionaries, read this closely because it can end your exam day: the bulletin allows one bound word-to-word translation dictionary with no images and no definitions, but highlighting, underlining, indexing or marking the dictionary before or during the exam is prohibited, and the stated consequence is that the dictionary is confiscated, the examination is terminated and the incident is reported to TDLR. A well-used dictionary with underlining in it is the easiest way to trip this.

Getting a nail license in Texas: Required training hours

600 hours of instruction at a barbering or cosmetology school licensed in Texas. You must be at least 17 years old to apply. For the combined Manicurist/Esthetician license there are two routes: an 800 hour combined course, or 600 hours of manicurist instruction plus 750 hours of esthetician instruction. If you trained outside Texas the route is different, see below.

Getting a nail license in Texas: Application fee

$50, non-refundable. That is the application fee, paid to TDLR. The examination fees are separate and paid to PSI, and the candidate information bulletin gives $55 for the written exam and $76 for the practical.

Getting a nail license in Texas: What the exam covers

You must pass both the written and the practical licensing exams to be issued a Manicurist license.

Getting a nail license in Texas: A temporary license can let you start sooner

TDLR's page says students who pass the practical examination can be issued a temporary license immediately by PSI, printed with the score report, and can begin work that day. The temporary license is good for 60 days while TDLR posts the two-year license. But that only happens if the steps are in the right order: you must apply and pay after being notified you are eligible for the written exam and before you sit it. Apply after passing both exams and you still get licensed, but no temporary license prints immediately. There is a step before all of it too: the page says you must complete the hour requirement and pass the background check before TDLR sends your practical examination eligibility record to PSI.

Getting a nail license in Texas: How long the license lasts

Two years from the date of issue, then it must be renewed.

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

For people who currently hold a license in another US state. TDLR's page is titled Apply for a Cosmetology or Barbering License by Equivalence, and opens by saying that if you are currently licensed in another US state you may be able to use that license as proof of your training and experience. It gives no single answer: it asks five things first, namely where the license was issued (every other US state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the territories, plus an option for foreign countries), its status, its type (Manicurist and Manicurist/Esthetician are both listed), how you obtained your training, and how long you have held it. The number of years changes the answer, so do not read someone else's experience as yours. When the page routes you to reciprocity, the form is the License by Reciprocity application (BAC-LIC-003), the fee is $100 non-refundable, and the page says it must be paid by money order or cashier's check. The form adds that every requirement must be met within 12 months of the filing date or a new application and fee are required. One detail the page asks about and that is worth real money: military service members, veterans and their spouses are exempted from the initial application fee.

Getting a nail license in Texas: Licensed in Vietnam or another country: a different route

This is the question many readers of this page actually have, and the answer is not the reciprocity route above. On the equivalence page, choosing a foreign country branches away at the very first step and answers: "Possibly." You may be eligible if the country or territory where you were licensed has education requirements substantially equivalent to Texas requirements, and the page says plainly that you will also need to pass both the written and the practical examinations. The paperwork is heavier than the US-state route. The page requires a foreign credential evaluator that is a member of NACES or AICE, a course-by-course evaluation rather than a general transcript, and it states that a general transcript is not acceptable; two certified reports, one of which must arrive sealed in an un-opened envelope. The forms differ too: a Transcript Evaluation Form (BAC-LIC-018) and an Application by Examination (BAC-LIC-002), not the BAC-LIC-003 used for reciprocity. Put plainly: holding a nail license in Vietnam does not open the $100 route above. It opens a longer one, with a credential evaluation and exams.

Getting a nail license in Texas

What Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) publishes about getting a nail license, checked on September 30, 2026.

Can the exam be taken in Vietnamese: Yes, and there is a required step people miss. On TDLR's exam page the candidate information bulletin for the Manicurist exam is published in Vietnamese as well as English and Spanish; the combined Manicurist/Esthetician exam has English and Spanish only. To be exact: what TDLR publishes in Vietnamese is the information bulletin, not the exam paper. The exam-language rule is PSI's, the company TDLR contracts to run the exams, and its Vietnamese bulletin says exams are administered in English but some may be taken in Vietnamese at no additional fee, and that to do so you must state your preferred language when you schedule. The bulletin does not name which exams those are, so TDLR publishing a Vietnamese bulletin for the Manicurist exam specifically is the strongest signal available. On dictionaries, read this closely because it can end your exam day: the bulletin allows one bound word-to-word translation dictionary with no images and no definitions, but highlighting, underlining, indexing or marking the dictionary before or during the exam is prohibited, and the stated consequence is that the dictionary is confiscated, the examination is terminated and the incident is reported to TDLR. A well-used dictionary with underlining in it is the easiest way to trip this.; Source: TDLR - Exam information for barbers and cosmetologists · Checked September 30, 2026
Required training hours: 600 hours of instruction at a barbering or cosmetology school licensed in Texas. You must be at least 17 years old to apply. For the combined Manicurist/Esthetician license there are two routes: an 800 hour combined course, or 600 hours of manicurist instruction plus 750 hours of esthetician instruction. If you trained outside Texas the route is different, see below.; Source: TDLR - Apply for a Manicurist License · Checked September 30, 2026
Application fee: $50, non-refundable. That is the application fee, paid to TDLR. The examination fees are separate and paid to PSI, and the candidate information bulletin gives $55 for the written exam and $76 for the practical.; Source: Texas TDLR, the manicurist application page and the exam information page · Checked September 30, 2026
What the exam covers: You must pass both the written and the practical licensing exams to be issued a Manicurist license.; Source: TDLR - Apply for a Manicurist License · Checked September 30, 2026
A temporary license can let you start sooner: TDLR's page says students who pass the practical examination can be issued a temporary license immediately by PSI, printed with the score report, and can begin work that day. The temporary license is good for 60 days while TDLR posts the two-year license. But that only happens if the steps are in the right order: you must apply and pay after being notified you are eligible for the written exam and before you sit it. Apply after passing both exams and you still get licensed, but no temporary license prints immediately. There is a step before all of it too: the page says you must complete the hour requirement and pass the background check before TDLR sends your practical examination eligibility record to PSI.; Source: Texas TDLR, Apply for a Manicurist License · Checked September 30, 2026
How long the license lasts: Two years from the date of issue, then it must be renewed.; Source: TDLR - Apply for a Manicurist License · Checked September 30, 2026
If you are licensed in another state: For people who currently hold a license in another US state. TDLR's page is titled Apply for a Cosmetology or Barbering License by Equivalence, and opens by saying that if you are currently licensed in another US state you may be able to use that license as proof of your training and experience. It gives no single answer: it asks five things first, namely where the license was issued (every other US state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the territories, plus an option for foreign countries), its status, its type (Manicurist and Manicurist/Esthetician are both listed), how you obtained your training, and how long you have held it. The number of years changes the answer, so do not read someone else's experience as yours. When the page routes you to reciprocity, the form is the License by Reciprocity application (BAC-LIC-003), the fee is $100 non-refundable, and the page says it must be paid by money order or cashier's check. The form adds that every requirement must be met within 12 months of the filing date or a new application and fee are required. One detail the page asks about and that is worth real money: military service members, veterans and their spouses are exempted from the initial application fee.; Source: Texas TDLR, Apply for a License by Equivalence, and the License by Reciprocity form · Checked September 30, 2026
Licensed in Vietnam or another country: a different route: This is the question many readers of this page actually have, and the answer is not the reciprocity route above. On the equivalence page, choosing a foreign country branches away at the very first step and answers: "Possibly." You may be eligible if the country or territory where you were licensed has education requirements substantially equivalent to Texas requirements, and the page says plainly that you will also need to pass both the written and the practical examinations. The paperwork is heavier than the US-state route. The page requires a foreign credential evaluator that is a member of NACES or AICE, a course-by-course evaluation rather than a general transcript, and it states that a general transcript is not acceptable; two certified reports, one of which must arrive sealed in an un-opened envelope. The forms differ too: a Transcript Evaluation Form (BAC-LIC-018) and an Application by Examination (BAC-LIC-002), not the BAC-LIC-003 used for reciprocity. Put plainly: holding a nail license in Vietnam does not open the $100 route above. It opens a longer one, with a credential evaluation and exams.; Source: Texas TDLR, Apply for a License by Equivalence, the foreign-license branch · Checked September 30, 2026

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The oldest line on this page was checked September 30, 2026

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