Minnesota Cosmetology License Lookup

Minnesota runs two different searches on one page, and which one you use depends on whether you are looking for a person or a salon.

1. Open the License Search Service at the Board of Cosmetologist Examiners. No account, no CAPTCHA.
2. For a person, use the top search: First Name, Last Name, Business Name or License Number.
3. For a salon, use the separate Search by Zip Code box lower down. It has its own Search button and is the only route to establishments.

The wildcard works in every field

Minnesota’s instruction: “Use the * in any field. Ander* to get results with Anderson or Andersen.”

That phrase — any field — is broader than most states, which limit wildcards to names. It works on business names too. And note the character: Minnesota uses an asterisk, Ohio uses a percent sign, and Indiana wants the asterisk after the text. If you check licenses across state lines, they are not interchangeable.

This is not official verification

Minnesota is unusually direct about the limits of its own tool: “This is a service for the public and is not an official verification of any license. If you require official verification, click here.”

So for a casual check before an appointment, the search is fine. If you are an employer, a school, or another state board and you need verification that will stand up, request the official version through the link the Board provides. This is the opposite of neighboring Wisconsin, whose public lookup does constitute official certification.

Person search fields

• First Name and Last Name — both accept the * wildcard.
• Business Name — useful for a booth renter trading under their own name.
• License Number — the most precise route.

There is no city, county or license-type filter on the person search, so a common surname returns everyone in the state who matches. The wildcard is the tool for narrowing, not geography.

Minnesota license types

• Cosmetologist — the full license.
• Esthetician and Advanced Practice Esthetician — Minnesota runs a two-tier skin care license, and the advanced tier authorizes treatments the standard one does not.
• Nail Technician — nails only.
• Hair Technician — hair only, narrower than cosmetology.
• Eyelash Technician — lash work on its own.
• Instructor — authorizes teaching.
• Salon Manager and School Manager — Minnesota licenses the manager of a salon or school as a distinct credential, which most states do not. If you are checking who is responsible for a premises, this is the license that answers it.

Read Minnesota’s results with its own disclaimer in mind. The Board states that it “relies upon information provided by licensees to be true and correct, as required by statute”, and that “there is no guarantee as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or currency of this data”.

That is franker than most states manage, and it has a practical consequence: a stale address or a recently changed name may not be reflected yet. It does not mean the license data is unreliable, but it does mean an odd result is worth a second search rather than a conclusion.

Check the tier and the type

• Esthetician versus Advanced Practice Esthetician — the advanced tier is a different credential authorizing more. If you are verifying someone for anything beyond basic skin care, the tier is the question.
• Hair Technician is not Cosmetologist. Both are legitimate; they authorize different scopes.
• Eyelash Technician covers lash work only.
• Salon Manager is a management credential, not a practitioner license in itself.

If nothing comes back

Use the wildcard before concluding anything. Ander* catches Anderson and Andersen, and the same trick handles hyphenated, married and misspelled names. Because there is no location filter to get wrong, a genuinely empty wildcard search is more meaningful in Minnesota than in states with many filters.

Minnesota searches salons by ZIP code only. There is a separate box lower down the page labeled “Looking for a Licensed Salon, Search by Zip Code”, with its own Search button.

This catches people out, because it is not how any other state works. You cannot look up a Minnesota salon by name from this form. If you want to know whether a particular salon is licensed, search its ZIP code and read down the list of licensed establishments in that area.

Why it is still useful

A ZIP search answers a question most name searches cannot: which salons near me are licensed? That is genuinely handy if you are choosing somewhere rather than checking somewhere specific.

Salon Manager licenses

Remember that Minnesota licenses the Salon Manager separately. A licensed salon must have a licensed manager, so a complete check on a premises means the salon license, the manager license, and the individual practitioners — three separate things.

Schools

Training providers are not in this search at all. Minnesota publishes a separate Cosmetology School & Other Course Provider Listing. Check it before enrolling, since hours completed at a provider without a current Minnesota license will not count toward licensure. Schools also hold a School Manager license alongside the school license itself.