Massachusetts State Board of Cosmetology

The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Cosmetology and Barbering is one of dozens of professional boards housed within the Division of Occupational Licensure (DOL), a division of the state's Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The board licenses individuals who work as cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians (called aestheticians in Massachusetts regulations), manicurists, and electrologists, along with the salons, barbershops, and schools where those services are performed. It also approves instructors and assistant instructors for each discipline and reviews training programs before a school can enroll students.

The board's office is at One Federal Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02110, inside DOL's Boston headquarters (DOL also keeps a Springfield office at 436 Dwight Street). Nearly all licensing activity — applications, renewals, name and address changes, and complaints — is handled through DOL's online eLIPSE platform rather than by mail or in-person paperwork. Applicants and licensees who need help creating an eLIPSE account, linking an existing license, or completing a submission can call the board's Welcome Center at 617-701-8792, visit the Welcome Center in person, or reach staff by phone or email, generally 9 AM to 5 PM on weekdays.

Massachusetts licenses five core personal disciplines — Cosmetologist, Barber, Manicurist, Aesthetician, and Electrologist — each requiring a set number of clock hours at a board-approved school before an applicant can sit for a written exam administered by PSI. Most personal licenses, along with Instructor, Assistant Instructor, and Demonstrator registrations, run on a two-year cycle that resets on the licensee's birthday; Barbers, Electrologists, and Barber Instructors instead expire on fixed statewide dates, such as December 31 of odd-numbered years for Barbers. Salons, barbershops, and schools carry their own biennial or annual licenses tied to a fixed calendar date rather than a birthday.

The board recently completed a transition of its licensing system onto the DOL-wide eLIPSE platform, consolidating cosmetology and barbering with several other occupational boards under one online system. DOL, working with the board, investigates complaints against licensees and unlicensed individuals for issues such as unsafe practice, fraud, and misuse of client funds, and it publishes records of disciplinary actions for public review.

Renewal timing in Massachusetts depends on license type. Cosmetologists, Aestheticians (Registered Aesthetician I and II), Manicurists, Registered Instructors, and Demonstrators renew every two years on the licensee's own birthday. Barbers, Electrologists, Electrology Instructors and Lecturers, and most salon, shop, and school licenses instead renew on fixed statewide dates that vary by license type — for example, Barbers renew by December 31 of odd years, Barbershops by June 30 of even years, and Cosmetology Salons by December 31 of even years. Barber Instructor licenses are the one personal license that renews annually rather than every two years.

All renewals are submitted online through DOL's eLIPSE platform. First-time eLIPSE users must create a MyMassGov account and link it to their existing license before they can renew, update contact information, or upload documents; DOL publishes a Linking Your License guide to help applicants avoid account errors. Licensees who prefer not to renew online can call the Welcome Center at 617-701-8792 or visit in person at One Federal Street, Suite 600, Boston, where staff can walk them through the process on an agency kiosk or a personal device, both available 9 AM to 5 PM.

Renewal fees vary by license: Cosmetologists, Aestheticians, and Manicurists renew for $68; Barbers renew for $40; Electrologists renew for $78. A renewal received after the license's expiration date is charged an additional $57 late fee on top of the regular renewal fee. Massachusetts does not require continuing education hours to renew a personal cosmetology, barbering, aesthetics, manicuring, or electrology license.

A license that isn't renewed lapses after three years, at which point reinstating it requires passing a written practical exam through PSI. Reinstatement applications also require a notarized CORI form, a passport-style photo, and a copy of a government-issued ID; lapsed-license application fees range from $0 for barber and electrology licenses to $136 for cosmetology licenses. Licensees do not need to retake the exam to reinstate a lapsed Instructor license if they held and renewed an active barber, cosmetology, or electrology license every two years.

The Division of Occupational Licensure, working with the Board of Registration of Cosmetology and Barbering, investigates complaints against licensed cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians, manicurists, electrologists, instructors, salons, shops, and schools, as well as against people practicing without a license. Grounds for a complaint include failure to follow standards of practice, fraud or fraudulent procurement of a license, misuse of client funds or records, negligence, practicing while impaired, sexual misconduct, and unlicensed practice.

Complaints against a cosmetology or barbering licensee must be filed electronically through DOL's eLIPSE platform (complaints against most other DOL board licensees instead use the separate ePLACE portal). Filing requires creating an account, so a complainant identifies themselves as part of the submission rather than filing anonymously by phone or mail.

General questions about the complaint process can be directed to DOL's main line at 617-701-8600 (MassRelay TTY/ASCII: 711) or to DOL's Boston office at One Federal Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02110-2012; DOL also maintains a Springfield office at 436 Dwight Street.