Minnesota Barber License Requirements

Minnesota barbers are regulated by the Board of Barber Examiners under Minn. Stat. chapter 154 — a separate board and a separate chapter from the Board of Cosmetologist Examiners, which sits under chapter 155A.

Chapter 154 Was Rewritten in 2026

Before anything else: Minnesota's barbering statute was substantially amended by 2026 Session Law chapter 119, article 3, which rewrote the registration requirements, the examination, the fee schedule, the board's composition and the barber school rules. Guidance written before that act is unreliable. The requirements below reflect the amended text.

The Requirements

Section 154.05 as amended qualifies a person to receive a certificate of registration as a registered barber if the person:

1. Is at least 17 years of age;
2. Has completed 1,500 hours of study in a board-approved barber school, of which 281 hours are classroom hours and 1,219 hours are practical hours; and
3. Has passed a comprehensive examination under section 154.09.

The Education Requirement Became an Age Requirement

The single clearest change: the old first requirement was "has successfully completed ten grades of education". The 2026 act deleted it and replaced it with "is at least 17 years of age". Minnesota now asks how old you are rather than how far you got in school. The matching ten-grade prerequisite for admission to a barber school was deleted at the same time.

The 500-Hour Penalty Is Gone

Minnesota used to punish a double failure severely. Under the old paragraph (b), a first-time applicant who failed the comprehensive examination and failed a onetime retake of the written examination had to complete an additional 500 hours of barber education before being eligible to retake.

The 2026 act deleted that paragraph entirely. If you are working from older material warning about 500 extra hours, it no longer applies.

What It Costs

• Practical examination, registered barber — $80
• Initial barber registration — $80
• Home study course — $75 (required before you may test)

So $160 in board fees plus the mandatory $75 course. Note that the 2026 act deleted the $10 retake-of-written-examination fee and created the separate $80 initial registration line.

Minnesota requires 1,500 hours of study in a board-approved barber school, and since 2026 the statute divides them precisely.

281 Classroom Hours, 1,219 Practical Hours

The amended section 154.05 specifies the split in the statute itself: 281 hours are classroom hours and 1,219 hours are practical hours. Very few states legislate the ratio to the hour. It works out at roughly 19% classroom to 81% practical — a decisively hands-on programme.

Ten Hours a Day Is the Ceiling

Section 154.07 requires, as a prerequisite to graduation, a course of instruction of at least 1,500 hours of not more than ten hours of schooling in any one working day.

The Curriculum

The course must include scientific fundamentals for barbering; hygiene; practical study of the hair, skin, muscles, and nerves; structure of the head, face, and neck; elementary chemistry relating to sanitation; disinfection; sterilisation and antiseptics; diseases of the skin, hair, and glands; massaging and manipulating the muscles of the face and neck; haircutting; shaving; trimming the beard; bleaching, tinting and dyeing the hair; and the chemical waving and straightening of hair.

Barber School Admission No Longer Needs Ten Grades

The 2026 act deleted the requirement that a board-approved school demand, as a prerequisite to admission, ten grades of an approved school or its equivalent, evidenced by transcript, high school diploma, equivalency certificate, or an examination conducted by the commissioner of education. That barrier to entry is gone.

New Scrutiny for New Schools

Running the other way, the act added section 154.07, subdivision 7, an application review process for anyone wanting to open a barber school. On receiving an application the board must consider it during a meeting that is open to the public, at which the applicant must demonstrate:

1. that the contents of the application are true, as required by the chapter and the board's rules; and
2. that the applicant has sufficient financial resources to fund the barber school.

Minnesota loosened who may enrol and tightened who may open a school, in the same act.

Student Permits

A student permit costs $45, renewable at $25.

Minnesota's comprehensive examination is conducted by the board, and the 2026 act rewrote both its content and its grading.

You Must Buy the Board's Course First

An unusual precondition: an individual who must pass the comprehensive examination must purchase and complete the "Home Study Course for Barbers" programme prepared and approved by the board before becoming eligible to take the examination. It costs $75 on the board's fee schedule. This is not optional preparation — it is an eligibility requirement.

The Practical Portion: A Haircut Plus Three of Six

The amended section 154.09 specifies the practical portion as a haircut and three of the following practical services that the board shall determine:

• a shave
• a beard trim
• a shampoo
• a perm wrap
• a facial
• a colour application

The haircut is always tested. Which three of the remaining six you face is the board's choice, announced rather than negotiated, so you must be ready for all six.

The Grading Is Split, and the Haircut Stands Alone

The act sets out the scale precisely:

• The practical portion is graded on a scale of one to 100, with 100 a perfect score.
• 75 is the minimum passing grade for the haircut portion, on its own.
• 75 is the minimum passing score for the average of the remaining parts of the practical.
• The minimum passing score for the written portion is 75 percent.

The haircut is graded separately from everything else, so a strong performance on the other three services cannot rescue a weak haircut.

The Written Portion

The written portion covers the subjects taught in barber schools as required by the chapter, applicable state statutes, and rules.

Coming From Another State

Section 154.11 gives two routes:

• With a currently active licence. A person who meets Minnesota's requirements and has a currently active licence, certificate of registration or equivalent as a practising barber or instructor, verified from another state — or foreign credentials verified by a board-approved evaluation provider — shall, upon payment of the required fee, be issued a certificate of registration without examination.
• Without one. Individuals without a current documented licence must show a minimum of 1,500 hours of barber education completed within the previous four years to be eligible for examination.

That four-year recency window matters: older training, however extensive, does not qualify you under this route, and you fall back to the full requirements of section 154.05.

Renewal of registration for a registered barber is $80 on the board's fee schedule as amended in 2026.

The Full Fee Schedule

Section 154.003 as amended sets:

• Practical examination, registered barber — $80
• Initial barber registration — $80
• Renewal of registration, registered barber — $80
• Restoration of registered barber registration — $95
• Examination and certificate, instructor — $180; certificate, instructor — $65
• Temporary teacher permit — $80; renewal — $65
• Temporary registered barber, military — $85; temporary barber instructor, military — $180
• Student permit — $45; renewal of student permit — $25
• Initial shop registration — $85; renewal — $85; restoration — $105
• Initial school registration — $1,030; renewal — $280
• Change of ownership or location — $55; duplicate registration — $40
• Home study course — $75; letter of registration verification — $25

Two Changes in the 2026 Act

• The old line "examination and certificate, registered barber, $85" became "practical examination, registered barber, $80", with a new separate "initial barber registration, $80".
• The $10 retake-of-written-examination fee was deleted outright.

The net effect is that the cost of entry rose from $85 to $160 in board fees, but the fee for retaking the written examination disappeared.

Fees Go to the General Fund

Section 154.003 provides that fees collected shall be paid to the board, and that the board shall deposit the fees in the general fund in the state treasury — not into a dedicated licensing account.

Renewal Period

The board's fee schedule lists a single renewal fee without stating the term. We have left the renewal period unstated here rather than assume it; confirm the cycle with the Board of Barber Examiners.

No Continuing Education

Chapter 154 imposes no continuing education requirement on renewing a registered barber certificate.

Barbering in Minnesota is governed by Minn. Stat. chapter 154, administered by the Board of Barber Examiners. Cosmetology sits separately under chapter 155A and its own board.

The Credential Is a Certificate of Registration

Minnesota registers rather than licenses. Section 154.10 provides that on compliance with the chapter the board shall issue a certificate of registration as a registered barber, as a registered instructor of barbering, or as a registered barber school, a temporary permit as an instructor of barbering, or a barber shop registration card.

One consequence worth knowing: certificates of registration, temporary permits and shop registration cards are not transferable.

The Board Is Four Barbers and One Public Member

Section 154.001 subd. 2 as amended establishes a Board of Barber Examiners of four barber members and one public member, appointed by the governor. The barber members must have practised as registered barbers in Minnesota for at least five years immediately prior to appointment, and must be graduates from the 12th grade of a high school or have equivalent education.

There is a small irony there: board members must have finished high school, while the same act removed the education requirement for the barbers they regulate.

The Union Seat Was Abolished in 2026

The most striking structural change in the 2026 act. The old statute reserved two of the four barber seats by affiliation: "One of the barber members shall be a member of, or recommended by, a union of journeymen barbers that has existed at least two years, and one barber member shall be a member of, or recommended by, a professional organization of barbers."

That sentence was deleted. Minnesota removed a guaranteed seat for organised labour and a guaranteed seat for the trade association from its barber board, leaving all four barber seats open to any registered barber with five years' Minnesota practice.

Temporary Military Permits

Under section 154.11 subd. 3 and Minn. Stat. s. 197.4552, the board shall issue temporary certificates for registered barbers and for registered barber instructors to qualifying military applicants. These are valid for one year from the date of issuance, after which the individual must complete a full application. The fees are $85 for a temporary registered barber and $180 for a temporary barber instructor.

What Else the Board Registers

• Registered barbers
• Registered instructors of barbering, and temporary teacher permits
• Registered barber schools — $1,030 to register initially
• Barber shops — by shop registration card
• Students — by student permit