All four Tennessee beauty licenses in one place. Tennessee uses PSI's own National exams, not NIC, at 70% passing. One combined board for all modalities, CORE portal for applications, and a required 1-hour domestic violence awareness training for every initial applicant. CE-free for practitioners. Cosmetology Licensure Compact member since May 2024.
Prep for this state
Your written exam is the PSI National paper, the same one ten states use. Tennessee adds its own 25-question law exam on top of it, which is why Tennessee prep is its own product. The outline, the pass marks and how the ten differ →
Practice Test + Flashcards
Built to the PSI Tennessee outline — the National core at Tennessee weights plus the Tennessee block. Practice tests and flashcards together. One purchase, one email, instant access to both.
Practice Test + Flashcards
Built to the PSI Tennessee outline — the National core at Tennessee weights plus the Tennessee block. Practice tests and flashcards together. One purchase, one email, instant access to both.
What Tennessee actually sits
Tennessee’s Master Barber licence takes 1,500 hours and sits a PSI Master Barber theory paper written for Tennessee, not the NIC Barber Styling paper — 110 scored questions plus 15 experimental, 180 minutes, at least 70% to pass. Tennessee law sits INSIDE that paper, about 23% of it across licensure requirements, rights and responsibilities, and sanitary rules. We have no Tennessee barber bank; our PSI National Barber bank covers the national science the rest of the paper is drawn from, and not the Tennessee law or this form.
Practice Test + Flashcards
Built to the PSI Tennessee outline — the National core at Tennessee weights plus the Tennessee block. Practice tests and flashcards together. One purchase, one email, instant access to both.
Every question comes with a full rationale. When that isn’t enough — the concept is new, the wording is dense, you got it right by luck — tap Explain and the tutor talks you through it: why your answer was wrong, and what the right idea actually is. Ask it anything back, as many times as you need.
If English isn’t the language you learned this in, it teaches in yours, switched whenever you like. The questions stay in English, because that is how you will see them on exam day. Where enough candidates ask we translate the prep itself — so far Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian and Simplified Chinese, on the products that have it.
Included with every product · every question · 19 languages
Free preview · No signup
10 questions from the Tennessee Master Cosmetology bank and 10 terminology cards from the decks — the same items, the same rationales, the same study modes you get after checkout. Built to the PSI Tennessee outline, block included. No email, no signup.
Tennessee · Cosmetology
1,500 hours at a licensed school, PSI National exam at 70%, apply through CORE within 6 months of passing. DV awareness training required before applying. Cosmetologists may use only a safety razor — straight-razor shaving is reserved for Master Barbers.
Tennessee uses PSI National Theory and Practical Examinations administered by PSI Services. The theory paper is the PSI National core, 80%, plus Tennessee's own regulatory block, 20% — Licensure Requirements 12%, Sanitary Rules 6%, Rights and Responsibilities 2%. NICPrep's Tennessee Master Cosmetology bank is built to that outline, block included: 125 scored plus 15 unscored questions in 180 minutes, in English and Spanish. Passing score: 70% on both components. Apply through CORE (core.tn.gov) within 6 months of passing both exams.
Tennessee's Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners — a combined board since 2014 — governs all beauty and barber licenses under TDCI. License applications go through the CORE portal. All exams administered by PSI Services at test centers statewide.
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Your school submits your eligibility to PSI directly — students cannot self-submit. Verify school approval at tn.gov/commerce/regboards/cosmo.
Typically completed during school or online at barbicide.com. Required before submitting your initial license application.
$67 theory + $67 practical to PSI. Schedule at test-takers.psiexams.com or 855-340-3710. Remote proctoring available. Exam fee valid 6 months from date PSI receives payment.
Apply at core.tn.gov, pay $60 application fee. License issued in 5–10 business days. Confirm active status at verify.tn.gov before working.
Tennessee joined the Cosmetology Licensure Compact on May 29, 2024 (SB 2732/HB 2781). Once fully operational, Tennessee cosmetologists with multistate licenses can practice in all compact member states (currently AL, AZ, CO, KS, KY, MD, OH, TN, VA, WA) without additional licensure.
Biennial · $60 renewal fee · CE-free · $25 late fee after expiration · Renew at core.tn.gov.
🇪🇸 NICPrep's Tennessee Master Cosmetology prep is also available in Spanish.
Tennessee · Esthetics
Tennessee spells this "aesthetician" in statute. 750 hours, PSI National exam, 70% passing. Esthetics licenses through school training only. Nail services require a separate manicurist license. Microneedling authorized under physician supervision (SB 1339/HB 915).
Tennessee uses the PSI National Esthetics Theory and Practical Examinations administered by PSI. The theory paper is the PSI National core, 75%, plus Tennessee’s own regulatory block, 25% — Licensure Requirements 15%, Sanitary Rules 7%, Rights and Responsibilities 3%. NICPrep’s Tennessee Esthetician bank is built to that outline, block included. 100 scored plus 15 unscored questions in 150 minutes, offered by PSI in English, Spanish and Vietnamese; passing score 70% (PSI TN Esthetician guide v1.0, effective 17 Aug 2026).
SB 1339 and HB 915 authorize licensed Tennessee aestheticians to perform cosmetic microneedling under the supervision of a licensed physician. Confirm current requirements with the Board before offering this service.
Ready to start studying? See pricing ↑
School submits eligibility to PSI. Verify approval at tn.gov/commerce/regboards/cosmo.
Free at barbicide.com or approved nonprofits. Required before initial application.
Schedule at test-takers.psiexams.com or call 855-340-3710. Remote proctoring available.
Apply at core.tn.gov, $60 fee. Confirm active at verify.tn.gov before working.
Biennial · $60 renewal fee · CE-free · $25 late fee · Renew at core.tn.gov.
Tennessee · Barber
1,500 hours — same as cosmetology. PSI National exam, 70% passing. Unique apprenticeship: 750 classroom hours + pass theory exam + 750 hours under a licensed barber with 10+ years experience. Court order: diploma requirement unenforceable, only 10th grade required. Straight razor: Master Barbers only.
Tennessee’s Master Barber examination is administered by PSI for the Tennessee Cosmetology and Barber Examiners Board: 110 scored questions plus 15 experimental in 180 minutes, at least 70% to pass, across eleven content areas with Tennessee law inside (about 23%). NICPrep's NIC Barber Styling bank is built to a different blueprint and is NOT a fit for this exam; we do not currently sell a PSI National Master Barber bank. Passing score: 70%.
Master Barbers may use a straight razor for shaving. Tennessee cosmetologists may only use a safety razor. Both licenses allow haircutting, styling, and color. A licensed TN cosmetologist can apply 750 cosmetology school hours toward the 1,500-hour barber requirement for a crossover.
Ready to start studying? See pricing ↑
Verify school registration at tn.gov/commerce/regboards/cosmo. Apprenticeship requires Board enrollment before starting and a mentor barber with 10+ years of active TN licensure.
Required before initial application.
Schedule at test-takers.psiexams.com or 855-340-3710. Remote proctoring available.
Apply at core.tn.gov, $60 fee. Barber license renewal fee is $60 biennial.
🇪🇸 PSI offers the Tennessee Master Barber theory in English and Spanish. Our NIC Barber Styling prep is a different exam and is not a fit for Tennessee.
Tennessee · Manicurist
Tennessee calls nail technicians "manicurists." 600 hours, PSI National exam, 70% passing. School training only. Already licensed elsewhere? No automatic reciprocity — the Board decides case by case (T.C.A. §62-4-116), and approved out-of-state licensees sit the Tennessee Law test and the PSI National practical rather than the full theory.
Tennessee uses the PSI National Nail Technology Theory and Practical Examinations administered by PSI. The theory paper is the PSI National core, 70%, plus Tennessee’s own regulatory block, 30% — Licensure Requirements 18%, Sanitary Rules 8%, Rights and Responsibilities 4%. NICPrep’s Tennessee Nail Technician bank is built to that outline, block included. 85 scored plus 10 unscored questions in 150 minutes, offered by PSI in English, Spanish and Vietnamese; passing score 70%. You have three years to pass both exams and six months after passing to apply.
Under T.C.A. §62-4-116 the Board "may, in its discretion, grant a license without examination" to the holder of a valid out-of-state licence who has substantially met Tennessee's qualifications, or who proves five years of continuous lawful practice; the reciprocity fee is $100 (rule 0440-01-.13(9)). The 2026 PSI Tennessee guides add that out-of-state licensees approved by the Board must register for and pass the Tennessee Law test and the PSI National practical test — not the full theory paper. Nothing is automatic: without Board approval you complete 600 hours of Tennessee-approved training and sit both exams.
Ready to start studying? See pricing ↑
School submits eligibility to PSI. Your school submits it. Verify school approval at tn.gov/commerce/regboards/cosmo.
Required before application. Free at barbicide.com.
Schedule at test-takers.psiexams.com. Remote proctoring available. Exam fee valid 6 months. 5-year eligibility window.
Apply at core.tn.gov, $60 fee. Confirm active at verify.tn.gov before working.
🇪🇸 NICPrep's Tennessee Nail Technician prep is also available in Spanish.
Tennessee uses PSI's own National exams — 70% passing, CE-free. NICPrep is built from the same NIC CIBs. See the full prep on the modality page.
2026 CIB changes, domain study tips, and new-modality launches — a few emails a month, no spam.