Florida Cosmetology License Lookup

DBPR starts by asking how you want to search rather than what you are searching for. Pick the route first, then fill in the form it gives you.

1. Open the Licensee Search at myfloridalicense.com and choose one of the four options: Search by Name, Search by License Number, Search by City or County, or Search by License Type.
2. Set the Board to Cosmetology. The same form covers every DBPR board, from real estate to restaurants. If you are checking a barber rather than a cosmetologist, choose Barbers instead — Florida regulates them under a separate board.
3. Enter the name. Last name is the one that matters; first and middle names are optional and narrow the result. There is a separate box for a business name if you are checking a salon.
4. Use the checkboxes deliberately. Florida gives you three, and they change the result set significantly — see below.
5. Click the name in the results. The results table is a summary. DBPR’s own instruction is that “for additional information, including any complaints or discipline, click on the name”, and that detail page is the one worth reading.

The three checkboxes

• “Search Names Beginning with Exactly What You Typed” — a prefix match. Useful for an unusual surname you only have part of.
• “Include Names With Alternate Spellings To What You Typed” — a sounds-like search. Turn this on before concluding someone is unlicensed; it catches the Smith/Smyth and Gonzalez/Gonzales cases.
• “Include Historic Licenses” — off by default. Leave it off to see who is licensed now; turn it on to see whether someone was ever licensed in Florida. This is how you check a lapsed or surrendered license, and it is the single most useful option on the form.

The name search is the fullest of the four routes. It gives you:

• Last Name, First Name, Middle Name — for individual licensees.
• Organization Name — for salons, shops and schools.
• Board — Cosmetology and Barbers are separate entries in this dropdown.
• License Type and Specialty Qualification — narrows to cosmetologist, nail specialist, facial specialist, full specialist and so on.
• City, County and State — County is a dropdown of all 67 Florida counties plus Out of State, Foreign and Unknown, so a licensee with an out-of-state address is still findable.
• Records Per Page — 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50. Worth raising to 50 for a common surname so you are not paging through results.

Which address you are looking at

Florida stores up to three addresses per licensee and the results legend spells out the difference:

• Main Address — the primary address on file.
• Mailing Address — where mail for that license is sent, if different.
• License Location Address — where the place of business is physically located.

If you are trying to confirm that a licensee actually works at a particular salon, the License Location is the one to read. The Main Address is often a home or a head office.

The results table gives you five columns: License Type, Name, Name Type, License Number / Rank and Status / Expires. Florida calls the license category the “Rank”, which is why a cosmetologist and a nail specialist can share a number format but read differently.

The important column is the last one, because Florida reports two statuses at once — a primary status and a secondary status, shown together as something like “Current, Active”. Both halves have to be right. A license can be Current as to the department’s requirements while its secondary status is Inactive, meaning the holder is in good standing but is not permitted to work.

Primary status — the license itself

• Current — up to date with the department’s requirements for licensure.
• Delinquent / Invol. Inactive / Lic Expired — all three mean the same thing: the licensee did not renew on time.
• Probation — placed on probation as part of a disciplinary action, or as a condition of licensure.
• Conditional — requirements are met, but the licensee must operate under pre-determined guidelines, such as working under a supervisor.
• Suspended — work privileges suspended for a specified period.
• Revoked — the licensee no longer meets the department’s requirements to operate.
• Null & Void — failed to renew several times; the holder would have to reapply from scratch.
• Vol. Relinquish — the licensee handed the license back. Relinquish means the department requested it.
• Voided, Retired, Deceased — the record was closed for the stated reason.
• Applicant, Eligible, Withdrew, Expired, Deny Credential — these describe an application, not a license. Someone showing as Applicant or Eligible is not yet licensed.

Secondary status — whether they can work

• Active — allowed to operate under the license. This is the word you are looking for.
• Inactive — requirements met, but not allowed to work under this license. Common when someone steps away from the trade and wants to stay in good standing; returning to active means notifying the department and clearing any outstanding continuing education.
• Closed — used for establishments shut for a set period, for example during a remodel.
• Restricted by Agreement/Order — subject to a non-disciplinary agreement or order with the Division. Practice is not permitted.
• No Employer — a license requiring a sponsoring relationship that currently has none.

So “Current, Active” is the only combination that means someone can legally work today. “Current, Inactive” looks reassuring at a glance and is not.

Florida licenses the salon separately from the people in it, and both are in the same search — use the Organization Name box instead of the last-name box, or run a Search by City or County to list every licensed establishment in an area.

A cosmetology salon license in Florida is issued to the business at a specific address. If a salon moves, the license does not automatically follow, so an address mismatch between the license and the shop you are standing in is worth asking about.

Checking discipline

Click through from the results to the detail page. DBPR states that this is where you will find “any complaints or discipline” — the summary table will not show it. A license reading Probation or Restricted by Agreement/Order in the results is your signal to open that page.

Reporting unlicensed activity

If you believe someone is working without a license, DBPR’s Unlicensed Activity line is 866-532-1440, or email ULA@myfloridalicense.com. General licensing questions go to the Customer Contact Center on 850-487-1395.