California Board of Barbering & Cosmetology
California esthetician license
600 hours, age 17, the 10th grade, and $115 in board fees. The part worth reading twice is not any of those numbers — it is what the licence does not permit, because one common treatment is a criminal offence rather than a licensing violation.
Training hours
600
Texas requires 750 for the same licence. Hours do not transfer on assumption — check before enrolling anywhere.
Minimum age
17
Plus the 10th grade or its equivalent. No high school diploma required.
Application + exam
$75
The same fee every licence type pays, regardless of how many hours it took.
First licence
$40
Cheaper than the $50 cosmetology licence — but renewal is $50 for both.
Lasers are a misdemeanour, not a licensing issue
Business and Professions Code section 7320.5 is one sentence long: any licensee who uses a laser in the treatment of any human being is guilty of a misdemeanor. Not a citation, not a suspension — a criminal offence. And note the word licensee: it binds every licence the board issues, not only estheticians.
Section 7316 draws the same line from the other direction. Skin care is defined as improving the appearance or well-being of the skin by means that do not result in the ablation or destruction of the live tissue, and the hair removal an esthetician may perform is listed as depilatories, tweezers, sugaring, nonprescription chemicals, waxing and devices — except by the use of lasers or light waves, which are commonly known as rays.
This matters because estheticians work alongside medspas that do offer these treatments, under medical supervision and a different body of law entirely. The spa next door being allowed to do it does not extend the esthetician licence, and the difference is not one the board treats as a technicality.
What the licence does cover
Section 7316(c) defines the practice of skin care as any combination of:
- Facials, massage, stimulation, exfoliation, cleansing and beautifying of the face, scalp, neck, hands, arms, feet, legs and upper body — by hand or with esthetic devices, cosmetic products, antiseptics, lotions, tonics or creams.
- Tinting and perming eyelashes and brows, and applying eyelashes. This sits in the cosmetology scope too, which is why both licences can offer it.
- Removing superfluous hair by depilatory, tweezers, sugaring, nonprescription chemical, waxing, or devices and appliances — excluding lasers and light waves.
Getting to the exam
Be at least 17, have completed the 10th grade or its equivalent, and not be subject to denial under section 480. Then one of three routes: a 600-hour skin care course at a board-approved school, prior practice outside California — credited at 3 months of work to 100 hours of training — or the board's apprenticeship programme in skin care.
There is no crossover course into esthetics. That route exists only between barbering and cosmetology; a cosmetologist already holds the skin care scope, and everyone else starts from the 600 hours.
What the board charges
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application and examination | $75 | Before you sit |
| Initial esthetician licence | $40 | After you pass |
| Renewal | $50 | Every 2 years |
The initial licence is $40 against $50 for cosmetology — but renewal is $50 for every licence type, so the discount applies once and never again.
The exam changed in April 2026
85 questions, 75 scored, 90 minutes, written only. On 1 April 2026 PSI's new content outline took effect and Skin Care — the subject the licence exists for — fell from 27% of the exam to 17%, while Safety and Infection Control rose to 40%. Eyelash and Eyebrow appears for the first time at 6%. All five licences, 2020 against 2025.
Common questions
How many hours is esthetician school in California?
600 hours, under Business and Professions Code section 7364. This is one of the figures most often got wrong by carrying a number across state lines: Texas requires 750 hours for the same licence, and a school comparison that quietly assumes the states match will be 150 hours out.
Is it esthetician or aesthetician in California?
California licenses an “esthetician”. Both spellings are correct English and both are searched about equally often, but only the one without the leading a matches the board's records, its application forms and the BreEZe licence lookup.
Can a California esthetician use a laser?
No, and this one is unusually serious. Business and Professions Code section 7320.5 states that any licensee who uses a laser in the treatment of any human being is guilty of a misdemeanor — a criminal offence rather than a licensing matter. Section 7316 separately excludes lasers and light waves from the hair removal an esthetician may perform.
What can an esthetician actually do in California?
Facials, massage, stimulation, exfoliation, cleansing and beautifying of the face, scalp, neck, hands, arms, feet, legs and upper body; tinting and perming eyelashes and brows and applying lashes; and hair removal by depilatory, tweezers, sugaring, nonprescription chemical, waxing or mechanical device. The statutory limit on all of it is that the treatment must not result in the ablation or destruction of live tissue.
How much does a California esthetician license cost?
$75 for the application and exam, then $40 for the licence — $115 in board fees. Renewal is $50 every two years, with no continuing education requirement in California.
How hard is the California esthetician exam?
It is 85 questions, 75 scored, in 90 minutes, written only — California dropped the practical exam entirely on 1 January 2022. Note that the outline changed on 1 April 2026: Skin Care fell from 27% to 17% and Safety and Infection Control rose to 40%, so two of every five questions are now infection control.
Apply on BreEZe
Applications and renewals both run through BreEZe, the Department of Consumer Affairs system — not through barbercosmo.ca.gov.
Go to BreEZe