North Dakota Nail Technician License Requirements

North Dakota licenses nail technicians as Manicurists through the North Dakota State Board of Cosmetology, under Chapter 43-11 of the Century Code.

1. Complete 350 hours of manicuring training at a licensed school.
2. Pass your school examinations — and North Dakota sets a specific standard for these (see below).
3. Pass the Board examination, in both its theoretical and practical portions, scoring at least 75% on each.
4. Apply to the Board and pay the $50 fee.

Your School Exams Count Too

This is unusual. Most states care only that you completed the hours; North Dakota sets a standard for your school performance as a condition of licensure.

Under 32-04-01-25(1), each student must have:

• Successfully passed eighty percent of the weekly examinations, and
• Secured a seventy-five percent average in the school final examination, in both written and practical work

Weekly examinations are part of the licensing pathway, not just internal school assessment. Treat them accordingly from the start of your program.

North Dakota requires 350 hours of manicuring training at a licensed school.

You Cannot Touch Clients Until 20% Is Done

North Dakota applies a consistent rule across its curricula: no school or licensed instructor may permit a student to render clinical services until a student has completed twenty percent of the total hours of instruction required.

For a 350-hour manicuring program that is 70 hours of instruction before you work on a client. It is a floor on theory before practice, and it shapes how North Dakota programs are structured.

The School Examination Standard

Alongside the hours, North Dakota requires performance:

• 80% of the weekly examinations passed
• 75% average in the school final examination
• in both written and practical work

A student who accumulates hours but fails weekly assessments has not met the requirement, regardless of the hour count.

Where the Rules Live

The Board's rules are in Article 32-04 of the North Dakota Administrative Code, with general authority under NDCC 43-11-05 and the law implemented at NDCC 43-11-16.

North Dakota also licenses solicitors who sell courses of instruction — requiring a permit, a $1,000 surety bond for each solicitor, and a $30 permit fee. If someone is selling you a training program, that permit is a reasonable thing to ask about.

North Dakota's manicurist examination has two portions, and they are administered by different bodies:

• The theoretical portion — the written examination, administered by Prov
• The practical portion — administered by the Board itself, under 32-04-01-25(2)

A Board-run practical is increasingly rare; most states have contracted the whole examination out. In North Dakota, scheduling the practical means dealing with the Board rather than a vendor.

75% on Both

The rule is explicit: in order to be certified as passing an examination, a candidate shall score at least seventy-five percent on the theoretical and practical portions. There is no averaging between them — each must clear 75% on its own.

If You Fail

Two consequences follow, both in 32-04-01-25(3):

• The examination fee may not be returned.
• You may be examined again with the payment of a re-examination fee, as defined under NDCC chapter 43-11.

If Something Went Wrong

North Dakota publishes a formal complaint route that most state rules do not spell out. Under 32-04-01-25(4), an applicant shall notify the board in writing if there is reason to believe that there has been discrimination during any portion of the examination.

Note the word shall — the rule frames it as an obligation to report, not merely a right to complain. It must be in writing, and it covers any portion of the examination.

North Dakota manicurist licences renew annually for $50, through the Board's licensee portal.

No Continuing Education

North Dakota does not require continuing education hours for manicurist renewal. The annual fee is the whole cost of keeping the licence active.

Annual Rather Than Biennial

North Dakota is one of a minority of states on a one-year cycle, alongside Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, South Dakota and West Virginia. The deadline comes round every year, which keeps it in view but doubles the opportunities to miss it.

Check the Portal Before You Rely on It

North Dakota has been moving its public licence lookup to a new system. If a verification link does not resolve, check the Board's current published address rather than assuming the licence record is missing.

Verifying a Licence

The Board runs a public verification service alongside its licensee login, which is what employers and clients use to confirm a licence is current.

A North Dakota manicurist licence covers nail and hand and foot services, limited to the elbow and the knee. That boundary — elbow on the arm, knee on the leg — is the same line Utah and Nevada draw, and it means the full arm and leg work of a spa manicure or pedicure sits inside the licence.

The Board licenses cosmetologists, manicurists, estheticians and instructors, each with its own examination consisting of a theoretical and a practical portion.

Students Are Regulated Too

North Dakota's clinical-services rule constrains schools rather than licensees, but it shapes the training experience directly: no school or licensed instructor may permit a student to render clinical services until the student has completed twenty percent of the total hours of instruction required.

The obligation is on the school and the instructor, so a program that puts you on the clinic floor early is the one in breach.

Solicitors Need a Permit and a Bond

An unusual provision worth knowing if you are being recruited to a program. Under 32-04-01-26, all individuals who solicit or sell any course of instruction shall obtain a permit, and applications must be accompanied by a surety bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars for each solicitor. The permit fee is thirty dollars.

North Dakota regulates the people selling cosmetology training, not just the schools delivering it.

Where the Law Sits

The governing statute is NDCC chapter 43-11, with rules in Article 32-04 of the Administrative Code. The Board's general authority is NDCC 43-11-05 and the law implemented is NDCC 43-11-16.