All four Illinois beauty licenses in one place. Every Illinois exam is delivered by Continental Testing Services (CTS/PSI): esthetics and barber sit the NIC national exam, cosmetology and nail technology sit Illinois-written papers — and uniquely, no practical exam is required for any license type. Written only, for every modality. CE required at renewal. Apply through IDFPR's CORE portal.
Prep for this state
Illinois bank in final review
Illinois writes its own cosmetology examination for IDFPR through Continental Testing Services — 120 minutes across seven content areas, none of them shared with the NIC blueprint. Rather than sell NIC prep as a fit, we built an Illinois bank to those seven areas: Salon Safety and Sanitation, Cut and Style Hair, Waving and Relaxing, Hair Coloring and Lightening, Analyze and Treat, Nail Services and Skin Services. It is written and in final review, and we will list it here when it passes.
Practice Test + Flashcards
$49 one-time · lifetime accessPractice tests and flashcards together. One purchase, one email, instant access to both.
Practice Test + Flashcards
$49 one-time · lifetime accessPractice tests and flashcards together. One purchase, one email, instant access to both.
10 Practice Tests + Flashcards
Written to the Illinois nail technician examination as Continental Testing Services delivers it for IDFPR — validated against Illinois teachers and Milady/Pivot Point, never NIC. Seats per test as the paper carries them: Health and Safety 21, Nail Care 11, Nail Technology Services 33.
Every question comes with a full rationale. When that isn’t enough — the concept is new, the wording is dense, you got it right by luck — tap Explain and the tutor talks you through it: why your answer was wrong, and what the right idea actually is. Ask it anything back, as many times as you need.
If English isn’t the language you learned this in, it teaches in yours, switched whenever you like. The questions stay in English, because that is how you will see them on exam day. Where enough candidates ask we translate the prep itself — so far Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian and Simplified Chinese, on the products that have it.
Included with every product · every question · 19 languages
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10 questions from the Illinois nail technician bank and 10 terminology cards from its decks — the same items, the same rationales, the same study modes you get after checkout. Built to the CTS examination Illinois writes, so this is the paper you’ll sit. No email, no signup.
Illinois · Cosmetology
1,500 hours, an Illinois-written exam via CTS/PSI — written only, no separate practical — 75% passing, and 14 hours of CE per renewal cycle. Apply through IDFPR's CORE portal after passing. Licenses expire September 30 of odd-numbered years.
Illinois uses its own cosmetology examination, developed with a committee of Illinois cosmetology teachers and administered by Continental Testing Services at PSI test centers. It runs 120 minutes across seven content areas — Salon Safety and Sanitation 32%, Cut & Style Hair 13%, Waving & Relaxing 13%, Hair Coloring & Lightening 13%, Analyze & Treat Scalp, Hair, Skin & Nails 11%, Nail Services 9%, Skin Services 9%. The NIC outline has four domains and not one label is shared. The CTS study guide never mentions NIC; its questions are referenced to Milady and Pivot Point. NICPrep's cosmetology bank is built to the NIC blueprint, so it covers the underlying science; this exam's outline differs. Illinois does not require a separate state law exam.
Illinois exam update — languages and fees change on 1 October 2026 ↓
Illinois cosmetology is regulated by IDFPR under the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology (BCENT) Act of 1985 — renewed through 2031 in August 2025. One board governs all four beauty professions. The cosmetology exam is Illinois-written, written only, and applications are processed through IDFPR's CORE portal launched in October 2024.
Verify school approval at idfpr.illinois.gov. Full-time programs run approximately 12–15 months. After 1,200 hours, you may apply to CTS for examination authorization before graduation.
Apply at continentaltesting.net. Pay the non-refundable exam fee — $195 for the computerised English or Spanish exam, $50 for the written Chinese exam in Chicago (CTS fee table). CTS processes your application and approves your eligibility to test. Results and next steps come via email from CTS.
Once CTS approves your application, you receive instructions to schedule through PSI. Book at least a few days in advance. Testing is available at PSI centers statewide and via remote proctoring at select sites.
Official results are released within approximately four weeks. CTS mails you an Official Results Letter with IDFPR licensure application instructions. Do not apply to IDFPR before receiving this letter.
Apply at idfpr.illinois.gov/core.html. Submit your CTS results letter, pay the IDFPR application fee (~$50–$75), and complete the CHRI criminal history check. Processing typically takes 10 business days.
Illinois offers reciprocity for cosmetologists with a completed training program and passed licensure examination in another state, territory, or country with substantially similar requirements to the BCENT Act. Apply directly to IDFPR — no re-examination required if requirements are substantially equivalent.
Illinois cosmetology licenses expire September 30 of odd-numbered years (2025, 2027, 2029…). Renewal requires 14 hours of IDFPR-approved CE, including at least 1 hour of domestic violence awareness (for first renewal). CE is fully waived for the first renewal cycle. At least 7 of the 14 hours must be taken in a classroom setting; the remaining hours may be completed online. Renewal fee is approximately $100. Renew through the CORE portal.
Illinois · Esthetics
750 hours, NIC esthetics exam via CTS/PSI — written only, no practical — $161 exam fee, 75% passing. CE required at renewal. Illinois does not recognize a "medical esthetician" designation — a formal IDFPR warning applies to that terminology.
Illinois uses the NIC National Esthetics Theory Examination administered through CTS/PSI. NICPrep's esthetics question bank is built directly from the NIC CIB and is a direct-fit resource for the Illinois exam. The law items sit inside the theory form is required.
Illinois esthetics is regulated under the same BCENT Act and IDFPR oversight as cosmetology. No practical exam is required. The Act was renewed through 2031 in August 2025 — without that renewal, the entire licensing framework would have been repealed January 1, 2026.
Illinois esthetics covers the cosmetic care of the stratum corneum — the outermost layer of skin. Services include cleansing, massaging, and exfoliating the superficial layer; makeup and lash/brow services; hair removal (waxing, tweezing, threading); and using cosmetic preparations and certain electrical devices that affect only the epidermis. Procedures affecting living tissue (dermis and below) are outside scope and considered the practice of medicine.
Illinois does not recognize a separate "medical esthetician" license. IDFPR has issued a formal memo warning that using the term in advertising may be misleading and could result in disciplinary action. Estheticians working in medspa settings must stay within their licensed scope of practice regardless of the facility type.
Programs typically run 6–9 months full-time. Verify school approval at idfpr.illinois.gov. No apprenticeship option for esthetics in Illinois.
Apply at continentaltesting.net. Pay before completing all hours if you want to test early — but you must finish all 750 before the license is issued.
Computer-based at PSI centers. 110 questions, 90 minutes. Official results released within ~4 weeks. CTS mails your results letter with IDFPR application instructions.
Apply at idfpr.illinois.gov/core.html. Pay the $45 IDFPR application fee. Complete the CHRI check. Processing is typically 10 business days.
Illinois esthetics licenses expire September 30 of odd-numbered years — the same cycle as cosmetology. Renewal requires 10 hours of CE, including 1 hour domestic violence awareness (first renewal) and 1 hour sexual harassment prevention. CE fully waived for first renewal cycle. As of May 2025, all CE hours may be completed online.
Illinois · Barber
1,500 hours, NIC barber exam via CTS/PSI — written only, no practical — $112 exam fee (from 1 Oct 2026), 75% passing. Illinois barbers have the lowest education entry requirement in this guide: 8th grade. Licenses expire July 31 of odd-numbered years.
Illinois uses the NIC National Barber Styling Theory Examination administered through CTS at PSI test centers. NICPrep's barber question bank is built from the NIC Barber Styling CIB and is a direct-fit study resource for the Illinois barber exam. No practical examination required.
Illinois is unusual in requiring no practical examination for barber licensing — the written NIC exam is the only state exam needed. Barbers in Illinois are regulated under the same BCENT board as cosmetologists, by IDFPR.
Verify school approval at idfpr.illinois.gov. There is no apprenticeship route in force today; P.A. 104-478 adds one from 1 January 2027. Pre-file with CTS available after 1,200 hours.
Apply at continentaltesting.net. CTS approves eligibility and provides PSI scheduling instructions. A 30-day wait is required between failed attempts.
Computer-based at PSI centers. Official results from CTS within ~4 weeks. Do not apply to IDFPR until you receive your CTS results letter.
Apply at idfpr.illinois.gov/core.html. Pay the IDFPR application fee. Complete the CHRI check.
Illinois barber licenses expire July 31 of odd-numbered years — a different cycle from cosmetology/esthetics (September 30). Renewal requires a one-hour sexual-harassment prevention course and no profession-specific CE (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.225 sets none for barbers), beginning with your first renewal. Renewal fee is approximately $25/year ($50 biennial). Renew through CORE.
Illinois · Nail Technology
350 hours — the shortest Illinois beauty license. An Illinois-written nail tech exam via CTS/PSI, written only, no practical. Licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years — unlike every other Illinois beauty license, which expires in odd years.
Illinois uses its own nail technician examination through CTS/PSI: 65 questions in 90 minutes across three areas — Nail Technology Services 48–52%, Health and Safety 30–35%, Nail Care 15–20%. Like the cosmetology paper it was validated by a survey of Illinois teachers and referenced to Milady and Pivot Point, and the study guide never mentions NIC. NICPrep's nail technology bank is built to the NIC blueprint, so it covers the underlying science; this exam's outline differs. No practical examination required.
Illinois nail technology is regulated under the same BCENT framework, but on a different renewal cycle from the other three license types. At 350 hours, it's the shortest path to a licensed Illinois beauty career.
Programs typically run 2–4 months full-time. Verify school approval at idfpr.illinois.gov.
Apply at continentaltesting.net. CTS reviews and approves eligibility, then provides PSI scheduling instructions.
Computer-based at PSI centers. Official results within ~4 weeks. Wait for CTS results letter before applying to IDFPR.
Apply at idfpr.illinois.gov/core.html. Pay the IDFPR fee (~$45). Complete the CHRI check.
Illinois nail technology licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years (2026, 2028, 2030…) — the only Illinois beauty license on an even-year cycle. All other beauty licenses expire in odd years. Renewal requires 10 hours of CE. CE waived for first renewal. Renew through CORE.
Illinois licenses on a written examination only — there is no separate hands-on practical test for cosmetology, esthetics, barber or nail technology. The written paper itself tests practical as well as theoretical knowledge (225 ILCS 410/3-6); it is administered by Continental Testing Services (CTS) via PSI test centers.
Partly. Illinois splits by discipline. The esthetics and barber examinations are NIC national examinations, delivered through Continental Testing Services (CTS) at PSI test centers statewide, so NICPrep's NIC Esthetics and NIC Barber Styling banks fit those directly. The cosmetology and nail technology examinations are written for Illinois through CTS, built to Illinois’s own content outline rather than the NIC blueprint. All four are written only — no practical.
Illinois requires: Cosmetology — 1,500 hours; Esthetics — 750 hours; Barber — 1,500 hours; Nail Technology — 350 hours. All are regulated by IDFPR under the BCENT (Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Nail Technology) Board.
Yes. Illinois requires 14 hours of CE per renewal cycle for cosmetologists and 10 hours for estheticians and nail technicians. Barbers complete a one-hour sexual-harassment prevention course and no profession-specific CE. Profession-specific CE is not required at your first renewal; the one-hour sexual-harassment course is. Renewal cycles differ by license type — cosmetology and esthetics expire September 30 of odd years; barber expires July 31 of odd years; nail technology expires October 31 of even years.
On August 1, 2025, Governor Pritzker approved Public Act 104-0153 (SB 2495), a five-year sunset extension of the Act. Without it the entire licensing framework — requirements, boards and regulations — would have been repealed on January 1, 2026; the repeal date is now extended to January 1, 2031.
Illinois's written exams are delivered by Continental Testing Services for IDFPR, at 75% to pass. Esthetics and barber sit the NIC national paper, and our NIC Esthetics and NIC Barber Styling banks are a direct fit. Cosmetology and nail technology sit Illinois-written papers written to Illinois’s own content outlines rather than the NIC blueprint, so we built Illinois banks to those outlines instead: nail technology is finished and reviewed, cosmetology is in final review, and neither is on sale yet.
2026 CIB changes, domain study tips, and new-modality launches — a few emails a month, no spam.