Georgia Nail Technician License Requirements

Georgia licenses nail technicians through the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers, which sits within the Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division. Everything — application, renewal, and license verification — runs through the GOALS portal.

At 525 hours, Georgia sits well above the national middle for nail training, and its curriculum rule is one of the most prescriptive in the country.

1. Complete 525 hours of nail care training at a licensed nail care school, over a course of at least four months. Georgia splits this into 140 theory hours and 385 supervised service hours.
2. Pass the PSI written examination. The Board publishes a Nail Technician candidate bulletin through PSI with the content outline and scheduling details.
3. Apply through GOALS and pay the $30 application fee. The first page of the application carries a complete checklist of everything you need to submit — incomplete applications delay processing.

The Apprenticeship Alternative

Georgia recognizes a Nail Technician Apprentice route requiring a minimum of 8 months and 1,050 hours. That is twice the school hours, which is the trade-off for training on the job rather than paying tuition.

If you are the one taking on an apprentice, note the Board's requirement from the other side: a Master Cosmetologist, Hair Designer, Esthetician, or Nail Technician must have held their license for at least 36 months before they can supervise an apprentice.

Georgia requires 525 hours of nail care training over a course of at least four months. Rule 240-17-.02 of the Georgia Administrative Code splits that into two levels and specifies the hours for each service down to the individual technique.

Level 1: 140 Theory Hours

Every student must complete 140 hours of Level 1 theory training before performing any clinical service on a client. One theory hour equals one clock hour for these first 140 hours. To progress to the clinic floor you must pass Level 1 with a minimum score of 75%.

Level 2: 385 Service Application Hours

The remaining 385 hours are performed on live subjects, and the rule assigns each service a fixed number of hours and a required number of completed applications:

• Manicure with hand and forearm massage (basic, hot oil, and spa manicures) — 70 hours / 70 applications
• Pedicure with foot and leg massage (basic and spa pedicures) — 60 hours / 60 applications
• Nail sculpting — 60 hours / 30 applications
• Artificial tip application with overlay — 60 hours / 30 applications
• Fill-in application — 40 hours / 40 applications
• Nail wrapping (silk, linen, on natural nails only) — 20 hours / 20 applications
• UV gel nails — 20 hours / 20 applications
• Student competition: advanced techniques — 20 hours / 20 applications
• Artificial nail removal and nail repair — 10 hours / 20 applications
• Sanitizing and disinfection of tools, implements, and equipment — 5 hours / 10 applications, covering implements (3 hours) and manicure stations, pedicure spas, beds and equipment (2 hours)
• Professional nail drill usage (fingernail drills only) — 5 hours / 10 applications
• Nail art techniques — 5 hours / 5 applications
• Airbrush nail art — 5 hours / 5 applications
• Paraffin treatments on hands and feet — 5 hours / 10 applications

Schools must keep a weekly sheet for each student, signed by both student and instructor, showing hours by subject. These are sub-totaled in January, April, June, and September and are open to inspection at any time.

Where You Can Train

Georgia licenses schools by type. A School of Nail Tech (NTSC) may teach only the Nail Tech and Nail Tech Instructor programs. A full cosmetology school (COSC) can add a nail technician endorsement to its license in order to offer the program. Barber schools may not teach nail technology at all.

Georgia nail technician applicants take a written examination administered by PSI. The Board publishes a dedicated Nail Technician candidate bulletin through PSI covering the content outline, scheduling process, identification requirements, and site rules — read it before booking rather than after.

There is a separate Nail Technician Instructor examination and bulletin for those moving into teaching.

What Has to Be Done First

Georgia's curriculum rule builds in an internal checkpoint that comes well before the state exam: you must pass Level 1 theory with a minimum of 75% before you may touch a client on the clinic floor. Your 385 service hours — and therefore your eligibility to test — cannot begin until that is done.

The practical consequence is that Georgia's four-month minimum course length is a genuine floor, not a formality. The sequencing of theory before clinical work makes it structurally impossible to compress the program much further.

Georgia nail technician licenses renew every two years for $45, and they all expire on the same date: August 31 of odd-numbered years. The late-renewal window runs September 1 through September 30.

Continuing Education: 5 Hours, 3 of Them Fixed

Each renewal requires 5 hours of continuing education:

• 3 hours must be a health and safety course developed or approved by the Board. Courses meeting or exceeding the 3 hours through a college or university continuing education division, the Technical College System of Georgia, the Board of Regents, or the American Red Cross may be accepted without prior approval.
• 2 hours from a course previously registered with the Board in one of: an industry or trade show, health and safety, industry trends, computer skills, business management, or your own area of practice.

Trade shows count, but only if the show is registered with the Board — check before you attend, not after.

CE Broker Is Now Mandatory

This is the change to act on. As of January 1, 2026, every Georgia cosmetology and barber licensee must register with CE Broker and record all continuing education there, with proof of completion. A no-cost basic limited-access account satisfies the requirement.

The Board does not treat this as optional bookkeeping. It states that licensees who fail to enter all required hours in CE Broker face a high probability of audit, and it advises loading course activities and certificates before you apply to renew.

Exemptions and Waivers

• Your first renewal is exempt. Under Rule 240-3-.01(2)(a)(1), no CE is required the first time you renew. Every renewal after that requires the full 5 hours.
• 25 years of licensure qualifies you for a waiver of the CE requirement, as does a demonstrated hardship. A waiver request form is available from the Board.
• Reinstatement applications cannot be waived. Georgia law at O.C.G.A. 43-10-10 requires documentation of all CE hours accrued since the license lapsed, and the Board has no authority to set that aside.

How to Renew

Renew online at GOALS with a credit card once the Board opens the renewal period. The Board does not accept mailed renewals — your license must show active status with a valid expiration date before you can work.

Read the renewal questions carefully. You will be asked about convictions, board sanctions, and CE completion. Answering yes to the conviction or sanction question stops the renewal until you submit court documents signed by the presiding judge and, where applicable, a statement from your probation or parole officer.

If You Miss the Deadline

An unrenewed license goes into lapsed-late renewal status for 30 days. Practising during that period is a violation that can bring a fine, public disciplinary action, or criminal prosecution. After 30 days the license is fully lapsed and requires a reinstatement application — with all back CE documented.

Georgia's nail care curriculum is effectively a scope statement, and it is unusually detailed. A licensed Georgia nail technician is trained and authorized to perform:

• Manicures with hand and forearm massage, including hot oil and spa manicures
• Pedicures with foot and leg massage, including spa pedicures
• Nail sculpting
• Artificial tip application with overlay, and fill-ins
• UV gel nails
• Nail wrapping with silk, linen, and similar materials — the rule limits wrapping instruction to natural nails
• Artificial nail removal and nail repair
• Nail art, including airbrush techniques
• Paraffin treatments on hands and feet
• Professional nail drill work, with drills designed for fingernails only

That last point is a real restriction rather than a technicality: Georgia's curriculum specifies drills designed for fingernails, and the equivalent foot work sits outside what a nail technician program trains for.

A nail technician license does not cover skin care or hair services. Georgia licenses those separately as Esthetician (1,000 hours), Master Cosmetologist (1,500 hours), and Hair Designer (1,350 hours), each with its own exam and renewal cycle.

Where You Work

Nail services must be performed in a licensed salon or shop, and both the salon license and every individual license must be posted in the salon. The Board places responsibility on the owner to ensure everyone performing services holds a current license, and licenses can be checked by anyone through GOALS.

Two further points worth knowing: you do not need to hold a cosmetology or barber license to own a salon in Georgia, and Georgia does not license mobile salons or shops at all.