Nebraska State Board of Cosmetology

Unlike many states, Nebraska does not operate an independent cosmetology board with its own office and staff. All licensing, renewal, and complaint processing for cosmetologists, estheticians, electrologists, and nail technicians is handled by the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit — specifically its Office of Consumer Services Licensing. A volunteer Board of Cosmetology, Electrology, Esthetics, Nail Technology, and Body Art reviews applications and disciplinary matters and makes recommendations to the Department, but it has no separate address, phone line, or staff of its own.

The Licensure Unit's mailing address for cosmetology matters is DHHS Licensure Unit, Attn: Cosmetology, PO Box 94986, Lincoln, NE 68509-4986. Its physical office is in the Nebraska State Office Building at 301 Centennial Mall South, 14th & M Streets, 3rd Floor, Lincoln, NE 68508. Staff can be reached at (402) 471-2117 (fax (402) 742-1106, email DHHS.Licensure2117@nebraska.gov) Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, closed on federal holidays. A separate line, (402) 471-2115, handles renewal fee payment issues.

Nebraska issues four personal license disciplines under this umbrella: Cosmetologist (1,800 training hours), Esthetician (600 hours), Electrologist (600 hours), and Nail Technician (300 hours), along with a corresponding Instructor credential for each discipline and a Temporary Practitioner license for recent graduates awaiting exam results. The Department also licenses cosmetology, esthetics, and nail technology salons, mobile salons, apprentice salons, and schools. Barbering is regulated separately by the independent Nebraska Board of Barber Examiners, not by DHHS.

Renewal dates are fixed by discipline rather than tied to a licensee's birthday: cosmetologists and cosmetology instructors renew December 31 of even-numbered years; estheticians and esthetic instructors renew September 30 of even-numbered years; electrologists and electrology instructors renew July 31 of odd-numbered years; and nail technicians and nail technology instructors renew December 31 of odd-numbered years. Every two-year cycle, personal licensees must complete 8 hours of continuing education; salon and school licenses renew without a continuing-education requirement.

Every Nebraska cosmetology-related credential runs on a two-year cycle, but the expiration date depends on the discipline rather than the licensee's birthday — cosmetologists expire December 31 of even years, estheticians September 30 of even years, electrologists July 31 of odd years, and nail technicians December 31 of odd years. Because of this fixed-date structure, a newly issued license can run for less than a full two years depending on when it was granted.

Only Esthetician licenses are currently renewable online, through the DHHS licensing portal at nebraska.mylicense.com; licensees must create a new portal account each renewal cycle even if they used the system before. Cosmetologist, Cosmetology Instructor, Esthetic Instructor, Electrologist, Electrology Instructor, Nail Technician, Nail Technology Instructor, salon, and school licenses are not yet on that online system and must be renewed with a paper application mailed with a check or money order to the Licensure Unit. Renewal notices are sent to the licensee's last address on file, so keeping contact information current with the Department matters.

All personal licenses require 8 hours of continuing education completed within the 24 months before expiration, at least 4 of which must be hands-on skill or service training (or, for instructors, teaching-methodology training). Nebraska's free, 50-question, open-book online Jurisprudence Examination counts for 2 of those 8 hours. The Department no longer reviews or pre-approves individual CE course providers. Salon and school licenses do not require continuing education to renew.

A license that lapses to inactive or expired status can be reinstated by completing 8 hours of CE from the prior 24 months and submitting a reinstatement application with fee — no exam is required. Reinstatement costs $153 for a Cosmetologist or Esthetician and $85 for an Instructor license. Practicing on an expired license carries an administrative penalty of $10 per day, up to $1,000. Expired salon and school licenses cannot be reinstated at all; the business must submit an entirely new application, including a floor plan and insurance verification, before reopening.

Complaints against Nebraska cosmetologists, estheticians, electrologists, nail technicians, and their salons or schools — including unlicensed practice — are investigated by the DHHS Division of Public Health Investigations unit, the same office that handles complaints for all licensed health-related professions in the state. Complaints are filed online through the public complaint portal rather than by phone; written complaints can also be mailed to DHHS Division of Public Health Investigations, Attn: POL Investigation Unit, PO Box 94722, Lincoln, NE 68509. Complaint allegations should not be sent by email because of their confidential nature.

Once received, the Department reviews each complaint for legal sufficiency, weighing factors such as whether the matter falls within its authority, whether the complaint was filed in good faith, whether the complainant is willing to serve as a witness, and whether enough evidence exists to support discipline if the allegations are proven. The Department notifies the complainant of the outcome of that review and may notify the person or business the complaint was filed against. Complaint and investigation records are confidential, and the complainant's identity is not shared with the subject of the investigation without written authorization, except as required in a contested case.

If an investigation substantiates a violation, the investigator prepares a report for the applicable professional board, which recommends a course of action to the Nebraska Attorney General. The Attorney General may then file a petition for discipline, negotiate a voluntary surrender or limitation of the license, or enter into an assurance of compliance. Separately, every credentialed person who has first-hand knowledge of unlicensed, illegal, or unethical activity — including their own conduct — is required to report it to the Department within 30 days.