South Carolina State Board of Cosmetology

South Carolina regulates the cosmetology field through the Board of Cosmetology, which sits inside the state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) rather than operating as a freestanding agency. The board licenses cosmetologists, estheticians, nail technicians, and instructors, and it also licenses and inspects the salons, booth-rental locations, and cosmetology schools where those licensees work.

The board's office is at 110 Centerview Dr in Columbia, part of LLR's Synergy Business Park campus. Licensing questions go to BoardInfo@llr.sc.gov or (803) 896-4588, and the board is led by a board executive who oversees day-to-day licensing operations. LLR's general office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM; the cosmetology board does not publish separate hours or offer walk-in exam scheduling outside its standard licensing process, and nearly all licensing, renewal, and complaint activity is handled online through LLR's e-Service portal.

South Carolina offers licensure by examination or by endorsement. Examination applicants must complete a set minimum of hours at a board-approved cosmetology school — 1,500 hours for Cosmetologist, 450 for Esthetician, and 300 for Nail Technician — or qualify through a combination of work experience and reduced school hours, then pass the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) theory and practical exam. Endorsement applicants who have held an active license in another state for at least two years and completed four hours of board-approved continuing education can skip the exam requirement. Instructor licensure requires either two years of active licensure as a cosmetologist, esthetician, or nail technician plus 45 hours of board-approved teaching-methods training, or 750 hours of student instructor training for those licensed less than two years.

Personal licenses do not renew on the licensee's birthday. Instead, South Carolina runs cosmetology licenses on a shared two-year cycle with a fixed statewide deadline — for example, the 2025–2027 renewal period closed on March 10, 2025, with the next cycle due around the same date in 2027. Renewal requires four hours of board-approved continuing education for cosmetologists, estheticians, and nail technicians, though first-time licensees and endorsement licensees are exempt from CE for their first renewal, and long-tenured, older licensees can qualify for an experience/age exemption.

South Carolina cosmetology licenses run on a two-year cycle tied to a fixed, board-wide expiration date rather than the licensee's birthday. The most recent cycle covered 2025 through 2027, with the renewal window closing on March 10, 2025; licensees who missed that deadline must file a reinstatement application rather than a standard renewal. The board typically publishes an FAQ sheet ahead of each renewal period with the exact upcoming deadline.

Renewal is completed online through LLR's e-Service licensing portal, not by mail or in person. Before renewing, cosmetologists, estheticians, and nail technicians must complete four hours of continuing education from a board-approved CE provider and can check their recorded CE hours through the portal — the board places responsibility on the licensee to confirm their CE status is current before the deadline. First-time licensees and those licensed by endorsement are exempt from the CE requirement on their first renewal only, and licensees who meet specific age-and-tenure thresholds (for example, 60 years old with fifteen consecutive years of SC licensure) can apply for a standing CE exemption.

Renewal fees are $52 for Cosmetologists, Estheticians, and Nail Technicians, and $82 for Instructors. Salon and booth-renter licenses renew for $72, and school licenses renew for $122. A license that has lapsed for less than three years can be brought current by filing the applicable reinstatement application — Cosmetology, Salon, Booth Renter, or School — along with supporting documents and a reinstatement fee ($152 for personal licenses, $182 for Instructors, $122 for Salons and Booth Renters, and $172 for Schools). Moving from inactive to active status carries a separate $100 reactivation fee.

Salon and school reinstatements, like new applications, require a mandatory inspection before the location can legally reopen to clients. Booth renter licenses are nontransferable, so a licensee changing salons must apply for a new booth renter license rather than transfer the old one.

Complaints against South Carolina cosmetology licensees are investigated by LLR's Office of Investigations and Enforcement (OIE), which determines whether the facts alleged could represent a violation of the laws governing the profession, including unlicensed practice. The board has no authority to award monetary restitution to a complainant — someone seeking a refund or damages is directed to pursue that separately, for example through an attorney or small-claims court.

Complaints against a specific license holder are filed online through LLR's complaint portal; a separate online form exists for reporting unlicensed activity. A complaint analyst first reviews the submission to confirm it falls within the board's legal jurisdiction — complaints outside that jurisdiction, or lacking enough detail to evaluate, are closed without an investigation unless the complainant supplies additional information within about ten business days of a request.

Complaints can be filed anonymously, but doing so limits what LLR can do for the complainant: an anonymous filer will not receive updates or confirmation that a case was opened, and investigators may be unable to follow up if more information is needed. For named complaints, South Carolina law generally requires that the license holder be given the complainant's name and the materials filed against them as part of due process, though a board can withhold that identity in limited circumstances for good cause.