Texas licensing is run by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which contracts with PSI to deliver its own written and practical exams — with Texas-specific laws-and-rules content and domain coverage you won't find in generic national prep.
Our Texas practice tests are built to the TDLR/PSI content outline — original questions, weighted to what Texas actually tests. All four Texas products — Manicurist, Cosmetology Operator, Esthetician and Class A Barber — are available now in English and Spanish, with Vietnamese, Korean and Simplified Chinese editions where Texas candidates need them. See prep options →
Every question is original, modeled on the publicly available TDLR/PSI content outline. Manicurist is available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese; Cosmetology Operator in English, Spanish, Korean and Simplified Chinese; Esthetician in English, Spanish and Korean; Class A Barber in English and Spanish.
10 questions from the TX Manicurist bank and 10 terminology cards from the decks — the same items, the same rationales, the same study modes you get after checkout. No email, no signup.
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
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) issues and regulates every cosmetology, manicurist, esthetician, and barber license in the state. TDLR contracts with PSI to administer the written and practical examinations. Here's what that means for your study plan.
Most states use the NIC national written exam. Texas doesn't — it uses TDLR's own exams, which include a Texas laws-and-rules component that national prep can't cover. Domain coverage overlaps heavily with the NIC on the science and safety side, but the item bank is Texas-specific.
Unlike California, Texas still requires a hands-on practical exam alongside the written for manicurist, cosmetology, esthetician, and barber. You must pass the written before you can schedule the practical. Our prep targets the written portion; the practical is a separate, in-person skills demonstration.
The TDLR/PSI manicurist written exam covers nail anatomy and physiology, nail disorders and diseases (contraindications), manicure and pedicure procedures, nail enhancement techniques (acrylics, gels, wraps, tips), product chemistry and safety, infection control, client consultation, and Texas laws and rules. Our practice tests are organized into the same domains our question bank uses: Nail Structure & Analysis, Nail Care, Infection Control, and Licensing & Regulation.
Complete your training hours at a TDLR-licensed school, submit your TDLR license application and $50 fee, and TDLR will send your eligibility to PSI. You then schedule the written exam at test-takers.psiexams.com/tdlr. Processing times vary; allow 1–6 weeks from application to eligibility.
PSI offers the Texas written exams in five languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Our Texas Manicurist practice tests are currently available in three of those:
Full practice tests and flashcards for the Texas manicurist written exam.
Full practice tests and flashcards for the manicurist written exam, in Spanish.
Full practice tests and flashcards for the manicurist written exam, in Vietnamese. Vietnamese-speaking candidates are a large share of Texas's nail candidate pool, and the exam is offered in Vietnamese for a reason — your prep should be too.
Studying for the Texas exam in Korean or Simplified Chinese? Email hello@nicprep.com — we'd love to hear from you.
Most nail-tech prep on the market is written to the NIC national exam and sold with "Texas" in the title. Our Texas prep is different in specific, verifiable ways:
Our question bank is organized around what Texas actually tests — including the Texas laws-and-rules and licensing content that national NIC prep simply doesn't cover. If you're studying a generic nail-tech course, the Texas-specific portion is a blind spot.
Every question is written for the Texas exam specifically — not repurposed from our NIC national products, not pulled from textbook question banks. 660 questions across 10 full-length tests, each with a full rationale.
Every test passes heuristic-resistance checks (no length-cue shortcuts, no answer-pattern hacks), every rationale is reviewed, and every distractor is clinically grounded. The methodology that makes our national products different applies identically here.
English and Spanish for every Texas product, plus Vietnamese for Manicurist, Korean for Cosmetology and Esthetician, and Simplified Chinese for Cosmetology — the largest language groups in Texas's candidate pool. Not "coming soon." Available now.
No. Texas uses its own state-specific written and practical examinations, developed for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and delivered by PSI. Content overlaps with the NIC — both cover infection control, anatomy, disorders, and services — but the item banks, domain coverage, and Texas laws-and-rules content are TDLR-specific. Our Texas products are built for the TDLR exam.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) issues and regulates cosmetology, manicurist, esthetician, and barber licenses in Texas. TDLR contracts with PSI to administer the written and practical examinations at licensed testing sites statewide and, for some exams, through remote proctoring.
Yes. Texas requires both a written examination and a practical (hands-on) examination for the manicurist license. Both are administered by PSI. You must pass the written exam before you can schedule the practical.
70% of scored items. The practical examination also requires 70% to pass. You only retake the component you failed, not both.
Manicurist: 600 hours. Esthetician: 750 hours. Cosmetology Operator: 1,000 hours. Class A Barber: 1,000 hours. All hours must be completed at a TDLR-licensed school.
PSI offers the Texas written exams in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Our Texas Manicurist practice tests are currently available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Approximately $181 total: $55 for the written exam and $76 for the practical exam (both paid to PSI), plus a $50 TDLR license application fee. All exam fees are non-refundable.
Yes. Retakes are unlimited within a 5-year eligibility window from TDLR application approval. Wait 24 hours after a failed attempt before rescheduling, and pay the applicable fee for the component you retake.
No. NICPrep is an independent study tool operated by PassAllPrep LLC. Our questions are original and modeled on the publicly available TDLR/PSI content outline. They are not actual exam questions and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sourced from TDLR, PSI, or the State of Texas.
Yes. The Interactive Tutor explains any question, the rationale behind it and every term in your language, and answers your follow-up questions the same way. The languages it speaks — each in its own name and in English — are listed in the Study in your language section on this page. It is included with every product on your account — all of the languages, not one you have to choose between, and you can switch whenever you like. The questions and the answer options stay in English, because those are the words you will read on exam day.
No, and that is on purpose. The tutor explains in your language; the question and the four options stay in English, so you learn to recognise the exact wording you will see at the testing centre. If you want the questions themselves in your language, that is a different product: the fully translated editions in Spanish (Español), Korean (한국어), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) and Simplified Chinese (简体中文), on the products that have one.
No. Every language the tutor speaks comes with every product, so you can move between them mid-session — read a rationale in Spanish, ask the follow-up in English, check a term in Vietnamese. There is nothing to buy and nothing to switch on: choose the language in the tutor panel and it answers in it.
Ask one question: which language will you sit the exam in? If your state offers the exam in your language and you plan to take it that way, choose the translated edition where this product has one — the questions match what you will see. If you will sit it in English, take the English edition and set the tutor to your language: the questions stay in English, the teaching is in your language, and every word you have to recognise on exam day is one you have already practised. Your state guide says which languages your state examines in.
Want the full licensing walkthrough? See our Texas guides: Manicurist → · Cosmetology → · Esthetics → · Barber →
Testing in a state that uses the NIC? See our NIC Nail Technology prep → or NIC Cosmetology prep →
Questions are original and modeled on the publicly available Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation / PSI content outline. They are not actual exam questions and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sourced from TDLR, PSI, or the State of Texas. Fees and requirements change — always confirm current information with TDLR before applying. This is a study tool; passing depends on many factors.
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🌐 Your Interactive Tutor speaks 19 languages. Español, Tiếng Việt, 한국어, Русский, العربية and 14 more — choose yours in the tutor panel once you are in, and switch whenever you like. Included with every product; there is nothing extra to buy.
We'll email you the moment this Texas prep goes live — nothing else.