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

The Board’s page no longer gives a clean answer, and the old source is out of date. From January 1, 2025, Prov replaced NIC as the examination administrator for the Board, although the papers are still NIC exams. The Board’s page sends candidates to Prov for theory exam information and candidate information bulletins, says those bulletins are offered in several languages but does NOT name a single one, and states one thing plainly: all practical exams are administered only in English. The 2022 NIC bulletin still sits on the Board’s server but the Board’s page no longer links to it, so do not rely on it for language or for extra time. To settle it, ask Prov on (877) 228-3926 or support@provexam.com, or the DPOR examinations section on (804) 367-8544.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: Required training hours

150 hours of nail technician training at a licensed Virginia school. The Board’s licensing requirements summary accepts four other routes: a completed registered apprenticeship through Virginia Works; a Virginia high school nail tech program; an equivalent out-of-state program inside the United States; or an equivalent out-of-country program. The exam application puts a number on the word equivalent: at least 80 percent of Virginia’s required hours, which means at least 120 hours. Training in another state that falls short of that goes in with course documentation plus an Experience Verification Form showing three years of nail technician work experience. Every route still ends in passing both the written and the practical exam.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: Examination fees

From January 1, 2025, the examination fees changed and went up: $99 for the written theory exam, $95 for the practical, or $194 to register for both at once. The money goes to Prov, not to the Commonwealth. The $86 figure in the 2022 NIC bulletin is the OLD number and has been superseded, even though that file still opens on the Board’s server. Pay by cashier’s check, money order or credit card to Prov Inc, 150 W Civic Center Blvd, Suite 601, Sandy, UT 84070, on (877) 228-3926, or register online at provexam.com.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: The license fee is separate from the exam fee

Exam money is not license money. Regulation 18VAC41-20-140, inside the Board’s own regulations booklet, sets the license application fee at $105 due with the application, in force from September 1, 2024 (it was $90 before that); a nail technician renewal is also $105, and reinstatement is $210, made up of the $105 renewal fee plus a $105 reinstatement fee. WARNING: that booklet is stamped "Last Updated September 13, 2024" and the fee table has been amended since, so ring the Board on (804) 367-8509 for the current figure before mailing a check.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: A new surcharge from July 1, 2026

The Board posts the notice on its own board page: effective July 1, 2026, certain fees include a separate Technology Fee of $7.25 per year, pursuant to 2026’s House Bill 30. It stays in place through June 30, 2030, and is used solely to upgrade or replace DPOR’s software system. In practice that means the figure printed in the regulations booklet is no longer the whole of what you pay.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: Who to pay, and whether you get it back

Unless the Board says otherwise, every application, renewal, examination and other fee is paid in U.S. currency to the "Treasurer of Virginia" and mailed to the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 400, Richmond VA 23233-1463. DPOR’s own page puts the line in capitals: ALL FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. Giving up a license before it expires earns no prorated refund either. A check returned by the bank for insufficient funds suspends the license if it is not replaced within 10 days, carries a $50 service charge, and must be replaced with certified funds or a money order.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: Which form, and what it asks

The form is A450-1206_07EXLIC, titled Nail Technician Exam & License Application, revised December 1, 2025. The Board says plainly that its boards accept ONLY the most recent versions of the applications provided, so do not use a sheet printed last year, and application fees are not refundable. State law requires every applicant to give a social security number or a Virginia DMV Control Number. The form also asks whether you have ever been disciplined by any regulatory body, ever had a license application denied, and ever been convicted of a felony in the last 10 years, and each yes pulls in its own reporting form. If you hold a license in another state and are not in good standing there, an original Certification of Licensure dated within the last 60 days must come straight from that regulatory body to bchoplicensing@dpor.virginia.gov or to the Board’s office. The form carries a temporary license section too, which needs a sponsor holding a Virginia nail technician or cosmetology license to sign for supervising your work.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: If you trained in Vietnam

Training obtained abroad has to pass two different gates depending on the route. The Board’s requirements summary says that if your training was obtained outside the United States or its territories you must submit a translated transcript from an accredited translation service detailing your training. The exam application is stricter on the degree route: a degree from an institution outside the United States must be translated, authenticated and evaluated by an education evaluation service. Those are two different things, and a translation does not stand in for an evaluation, so ask the Board which route your paperwork falls under before paying any service.

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

If you hold a current license in another state you file an Endorsement Application, not an exam application. The Board says examination requirements for licensure by endorsement are based on examinations previously completed in other states. Two steps: submit the completed Endorsement Application with the application fee, and ask the licensing authority in the state where you are currently licensed to mail a Certification of Licensure to the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology. One detail that catches people: if you originally obtained licensure in a jurisdiction other than the one where you now hold a license, the Certification of Licensure has to come from that ORIGINAL jurisdiction, where you did the training and the exams. Virginia also publishes a Universal License Recognition form for new residents. Ask the Board on (804) 367-8509 or bchoplicensing@dpor.virginia.gov.

Getting a nail license in Virginia: A nail license does not cover waxing

The Board’s FAQ answers it directly: a nail technician license does NOT authorize the performance of waxing services, and a nail technician must also be licensed as a wax technician to provide them. The Board sets out the same point on its own line: individuals performing waxing services must hold a wax technician license, a cosmetologist license or an esthetician license. A wax technician license takes 115 hours at a licensed Virginia school, or an equivalent out-of-state or out-of-country program, and its own written and practical exams.

Getting a nail license in Virginia

What Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology (DPOR) publishes about getting a nail license, checked on September 21, 2026.

Can the exam be taken in Vietnamese: The Board’s page no longer gives a clean answer, and the old source is out of date. From January 1, 2025, Prov replaced NIC as the examination administrator for the Board, although the papers are still NIC exams. The Board’s page sends candidates to Prov for theory exam information and candidate information bulletins, says those bulletins are offered in several languages but does NOT name a single one, and states one thing plainly: all practical exams are administered only in English. The 2022 NIC bulletin still sits on the Board’s server but the Board’s page no longer links to it, so do not rely on it for language or for extra time. To settle it, ask Prov on (877) 228-3926 or support@provexam.com, or the DPOR examinations section on (804) 367-8544.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, board page · Checked September 21, 2026
Required training hours: 150 hours of nail technician training at a licensed Virginia school. The Board’s licensing requirements summary accepts four other routes: a completed registered apprenticeship through Virginia Works; a Virginia high school nail tech program; an equivalent out-of-state program inside the United States; or an equivalent out-of-country program. The exam application puts a number on the word equivalent: at least 80 percent of Virginia’s required hours, which means at least 120 hours. Training in another state that falls short of that goes in with course documentation plus an Experience Verification Form showing three years of nail technician work experience. Every route still ends in passing both the written and the practical exam.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology licensing requirements summary (PDF) · Checked September 21, 2026
Examination fees: From January 1, 2025, the examination fees changed and went up: $99 for the written theory exam, $95 for the practical, or $194 to register for both at once. The money goes to Prov, not to the Commonwealth. The $86 figure in the 2022 NIC bulletin is the OLD number and has been superseded, even though that file still opens on the Board’s server. Pay by cashier’s check, money order or credit card to Prov Inc, 150 W Civic Center Blvd, Suite 601, Sandy, UT 84070, on (877) 228-3926, or register online at provexam.com.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, board page · Checked September 21, 2026
The license fee is separate from the exam fee: Exam money is not license money. Regulation 18VAC41-20-140, inside the Board’s own regulations booklet, sets the license application fee at $105 due with the application, in force from September 1, 2024 (it was $90 before that); a nail technician renewal is also $105, and reinstatement is $210, made up of the $105 renewal fee plus a $105 reinstatement fee. WARNING: that booklet is stamped "Last Updated September 13, 2024" and the fee table has been amended since, so ring the Board on (804) 367-8509 for the current figure before mailing a check.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology regulations and statutes (PDF) · Checked September 21, 2026
A new surcharge from July 1, 2026: The Board posts the notice on its own board page: effective July 1, 2026, certain fees include a separate Technology Fee of $7.25 per year, pursuant to 2026’s House Bill 30. It stays in place through June 30, 2030, and is used solely to upgrade or replace DPOR’s software system. In practice that means the figure printed in the regulations booklet is no longer the whole of what you pay.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, board page · Checked September 21, 2026
Who to pay, and whether you get it back: Unless the Board says otherwise, every application, renewal, examination and other fee is paid in U.S. currency to the "Treasurer of Virginia" and mailed to the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 400, Richmond VA 23233-1463. DPOR’s own page puts the line in capitals: ALL FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. Giving up a license before it expires earns no prorated refund either. A check returned by the bank for insufficient funds suspends the license if it is not replaced within 10 days, carries a $50 service charge, and must be replaced with certified funds or a money order.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Fees and Payments · Checked September 21, 2026
Which form, and what it asks: The form is A450-1206_07EXLIC, titled Nail Technician Exam & License Application, revised December 1, 2025. The Board says plainly that its boards accept ONLY the most recent versions of the applications provided, so do not use a sheet printed last year, and application fees are not refundable. State law requires every applicant to give a social security number or a Virginia DMV Control Number. The form also asks whether you have ever been disciplined by any regulatory body, ever had a license application denied, and ever been convicted of a felony in the last 10 years, and each yes pulls in its own reporting form. If you hold a license in another state and are not in good standing there, an original Certification of Licensure dated within the last 60 days must come straight from that regulatory body to bchoplicensing@dpor.virginia.gov or to the Board’s office. The form carries a temporary license section too, which needs a sponsor holding a Virginia nail technician or cosmetology license to sign for supervising your work.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Nail Technician Exam & License Application, form A450-1206_07EXLIC (PDF) · Checked September 21, 2026
If you trained in Vietnam: Training obtained abroad has to pass two different gates depending on the route. The Board’s requirements summary says that if your training was obtained outside the United States or its territories you must submit a translated transcript from an accredited translation service detailing your training. The exam application is stricter on the degree route: a degree from an institution outside the United States must be translated, authenticated and evaluated by an education evaluation service. Those are two different things, and a translation does not stand in for an evaluation, so ask the Board which route your paperwork falls under before paying any service.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology licensing requirements summary (PDF) · Checked September 21, 2026
If you are licensed in another state: If you hold a current license in another state you file an Endorsement Application, not an exam application. The Board says examination requirements for licensure by endorsement are based on examinations previously completed in other states. Two steps: submit the completed Endorsement Application with the application fee, and ask the licensing authority in the state where you are currently licensed to mail a Certification of Licensure to the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology. One detail that catches people: if you originally obtained licensure in a jurisdiction other than the one where you now hold a license, the Certification of Licensure has to come from that ORIGINAL jurisdiction, where you did the training and the exams. Virginia also publishes a Universal License Recognition form for new residents. Ask the Board on (804) 367-8509 or bchoplicensing@dpor.virginia.gov.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, board page · Checked September 21, 2026
A nail license does not cover waxing: The Board’s FAQ answers it directly: a nail technician license does NOT authorize the performance of waxing services, and a nail technician must also be licensed as a wax technician to provide them. The Board sets out the same point on its own line: individuals performing waxing services must hold a wax technician license, a cosmetologist license or an esthetician license. A wax technician license takes 115 hours at a licensed Virginia school, or an equivalent out-of-state or out-of-country program, and its own written and practical exams.; Source: Virginia DPOR, Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, board page · 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 21, 2026

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Getting a nail license in Virginia

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