Missouri Barber License Requirements

Missouri regulates barbers under Chapter 328 of the Revised Statutes, a distinct chapter from cosmetology at Chapter 329. But the two are administered together: section 328.015 abolished the Board of Barber Examiners and merged its duties with the Board of Cosmetology, producing today's Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners.

The Five Things the Board Must Find

Section 328.080 requires the board to admit an applicant to the examination if it finds that he or she:

1. Is seventeen years of age or older;
2. Is free of contagious or infectious diseases that are capable of being transmitted during the ordinary course of business;
3. Has studied at least 1,000 hours over a period of not less than six months in a properly appointed barber school under the direct supervision of a licensed instructor, or, as an apprentice, has completed no less than 2,000 hours under the direct supervision of a licensed barber apprentice supervisor;
4. Is possessed of requisite skill in the trade, including the preparation of tools, shaving, haircutting and all the duties and services incident thereto; and
5. Has sufficient knowledge of the common diseases of the face and skin to avoid aggravating and spreading them in practice.

1,000 Hours Is at the Low End Nationally

Missouri sits with California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Alabama at 1,000 hours — a third below the 1,500 that Illinois, Georgia and Nebraska's neighbours demand, and well under Michigan's 1,800.

But It Cannot Be Rushed

The six-month minimum is doing real work. A student attending full time could accumulate 1,000 hours in under five months; Missouri will not licence them until six months have passed.

Two Requirements Most States Do Not Write Down

Requirements 4 and 5 are unusual in being substantive findings the board must make about you, not documents you file. The board must judge that you have the skill to prepare tools, shave and cut hair, and that you know enough about common diseases of the face and skin to avoid spreading them.

Section 328.080 then makes the point explicit twice over: the board shall be the judge of whether a barber school, apprenticeship or college is properly conducted, and the sufficiency of the qualifications of applicants shall be determined by the board.

Missouri offers two routes, and the apprenticeship is exactly double the school route.

• Barber school — at least 1,000 hours over a period of not less than six months, in a properly appointed and conducted barber school, under the direct supervision of a licensed instructor.
• Apprenticeship — no less than 2,000 hours, under the direct supervision of a licensed barber apprentice supervisor.

The Apprentice Supervisor Is Its Own Credential

Note the wording: not merely a licensed barber, but a licensed barber apprentice supervisor. Missouri licenses supervision separately, so finding an apprenticeship means finding someone who holds that specific credential.

Section 328.075, effective 28 August 2020, governs barber apprentices, applications, fees and requirements, and gives the board rulemaking authority over the scheme. It is the newest substantive provision in the chapter, which suggests Missouri has been actively developing the apprenticeship route.

The Six-Month Floor

Unlike states that cap daily hours — Nebraska at ten, Louisiana at eight — Missouri controls the pace with a minimum elapsed period of six months for the school route. The hours and the calendar both have to be satisfied.

The Board Judges the School

Section 328.080(3) gives the board discretion over the institution as well as the candidate: the board shall be the judge of whether the barber school, the barber apprenticeship, or college is properly appointed and conducted under proper instruction to give sufficient training in the trade.

Section 328.090 separately covers barber schools and examinations for teaching.

Section 328.070 provides for public examinations by the board, and section 328.080 requires the board to examine each qualified applicant.

The Sequence

1. Apply to the board and pay the required barber examination fee.
2. The board admits you to the examination if it finds you meet the five qualifications.
3. On successful completion of the examination and payment of the required licence fee, the board issues a licence authorising you to practise the occupation of barber.

Note that the examination fee and the licence fee are separate payments at separate stages.

A Health Requirement That Survives

Missouri retains, in the qualification list itself, a requirement that the applicant be free of contagious or infectious diseases that are capable of being transmitted during the ordinary course of business for a person licensed under this chapter.

It is narrower than Nevada's chest X-ray and blood test, and narrower than the health certificates most states repealed — it is framed by reference to transmissibility in the ordinary course of barbering rather than to any specific test.

Coming From Another State

Section 328.085 provides for reciprocity with other states, including licensure without examination in defined circumstances, on payment of a fee. Missouri names the possibility of skipping the examination entirely in the section heading, which is a more open framing than states that require substantial equivalence to be proved case by case.

Duplicates

Section 328.025 governs when a duplicate licence is issued, and was last amended effective 28 August 2018.

Section 328.110 governs application for renewal of a licence and the fees. Missouri licences in the beauty and barbering professions run on a two-year cycle administered by the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners.

Fees Are Set by the Board

Chapter 328 refers throughout to "the required barber examination fee" and "the required license fee" without fixing amounts, leaving them to the board by rule. We have left the figures unstated here rather than repeat numbers from an unofficial source — confirm current amounts with the Division of Professional Registration.

No Continuing Education

Chapter 328 imposes no continuing education requirement on renewing a barber licence.

One Board, Two Chapters

Because section 328.015 merged the barber board into the cosmetology board, a single body now administers Chapter 328 (barbers) and Chapter 329 (cosmetology). The chapters remain legally distinct, so barber requirements are not the cosmetology requirements — but the office, the portal and the staff are shared.

This is the same pattern Mississippi adopted in 2024 and Iowa in 2023: the boards merge while the professions stay separately defined. Missouri got there first.

Practising Without a Licence

Section 328.020 requires a licence to practise barbering in Missouri.

Barbering in Missouri is governed by Chapter 328 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, administered by the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners within the Division of Professional Registration.

What Section 328.080 Says Barbering Involves

Missouri describes the trade through the skills it requires rather than by an enumerated list of permitted acts. The board must find that the applicant is possessed of requisite skill in the trade of barbering to properly perform the duties thereof, including the preparation of tools, shaving, haircutting and all the duties and services incident thereto.

Three things are named: preparation of tools, shaving and haircutting. Everything else is "incident thereto".

Public Health Sits Inside the Licence

Two of the five statutory qualifications are health-related:

• Being free of contagious or infectious diseases capable of being transmitted during the ordinary course of business; and
• Having sufficient knowledge of the common diseases of the face and skin to avoid the aggravation and spread thereof in the practice of barbering.

The second is a knowledge requirement rather than a health status one, and it is directed specifically at the face and skin — the surfaces a barber works on with a razor.

The Chapter's Structure

• 328.010 — Definitions
• 328.015 — Board of barber examiners abolished, duties merged
• 328.020 — Licence required
• 328.025 — Duplicate licence, issued when
• 328.070 — Public examinations by board
• 328.075 — Barber apprentices: application, fee, requirements, rulemaking authority
• 328.080 — Application for licensure, fee, examination, qualifications, approval of schools
• 328.085 — Reciprocity with other states; licence without examination, when; fee
• 328.090 — Barber schools; examinations for teaching
• 328.110 — Application for renewal of licence; fees

Board Discretion Is Broad

Section 328.080 twice reserves judgement to the board: over whether a school, apprenticeship or college is properly appointed and conducted, and over the sufficiency of the qualifications of applicants. Missouri gives its board more open-textured discretion than states that reduce everything to hour counts and pass marks.