The following is a compendium of 2026 state bill enactments from Louisiana through West Virginia. Part 1 – Alabama through Kansas – can be found in the AACS Member Info Hub. Please note that this resource may not list all enactments of interest or concern to your school or business.
Louisiana HB 338 This sunset extension Act for the State Board of Cosmetology, and 16 other Boards and Commissions, establishes July 1, 2033, as the Board’s new termination date.
Louisiana SB 54 – Effective August 1, 2026 The Act permit estheticians to engage in blow drying hair services if they are performed in combination with other esthetics services permitted by law. It also removes a requirement for cosmetologists seeking to become a “registered teacher of cosmetology” to have 12 months of work experience before starting the 500-hour teacher training course.
Maryland HB 1025 – Effective October 1, 2026 This measure repeals the option for eyelash extension limited license applicants to qualify for a licensure by only passing a practical and written examination administered by the State Board of Cosmetologists. Accordingly, applicants must complete a three-month apprenticeship or 100 hours of eyelash extension instruction at a cosmetology school and pass a licensure examination.
Maryland HB 1120 and SB 418 – Effective October 1, 2026 The Act authorizes members of the Foreign Service and spouses of members of the Foreign Service, under certain circumstances, to practice in Maryland under an occupational or professional license issued in another State.
Minnesota HF 4591 – Most provisions effective July 1, 2026 This omnibus Act makes numerous barbering and cosmetology revisions.
Key barbering provisions:
- Provide for straight shaving of the face or neck in the practice of barbering;
- Modify the education, age, and examination criteria for barber registration. The Act require barbering licensure applicants to be is at least 17 years of age and successfully complete 1,500 hours of study “of which 281 hours are classroom hours and 1,219 hours are practical.”
- Eliminate a requirement for first-time applicants who fail the barbering licensure examination to obtain 500-hours of additional education;
- Establish a comprehensive review process for new barbering schools that includes consideration “during a meeting that is open to the public;”
- Specify that cosmetologists may be credited up to 1,000 hours of study towards a 1,500-hour barbering license;
Key cosmetology provisions: - Modify the definition of a “school” to be a place where cosmetology instruction or training is offered to the public for compensation.
- Add a “school administrator” definition;
- Specify that barbers may be credited up to 500 hours of study towards a 1,500-hour cosmetology license;
- Revise the list of promotional and information materials that a school must provide to the board as part of its school license application and eliminates a requirement to submit materials annually. The Act requires schools to provide the Board “materials that the school uses for prospective student enrollment, including the enrollment contract, the student handbook, and tuition and fee information.”
- Mandate separation in providing services through a salon or business that is on the same premises of a school.
- Provide that a school “may offer online instruction for theory-based portions of training. A school must not give practice-based classes must not be given training online.” Additionally, “a school may offer activities related to the training for industry educational purposes outside of a school building when accompanied by an instructor for a maximum of one percent of the total training hours for a course.”
Mississippi HB 1907 This measure appropriates $1,806,579 from Special Funds for the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering to cover its expenses for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027.
Mississippi SB 2566 – Effective April 1, 2026 The Act makes numerous revisions to the state’s Barbering and Cosmetology Act, including requiring all Board meetings to be publicly noticed according to the Mississippi Open Meetings Act and establishing specific qualifications for the Board’s Executive Director. It also amends the requirements for apprentice “mentors” to require an instructor’s license and 15- years of experience. However, the mentor would be able to supervise two apprentices at a time – and increase from one – so long as only two apprentice mentors operate within the same licensed salon or barbershop. Additionally, Act reduces the course of instruction for an instructor’s license from 1,000 to 600 hours at a licensed school and eliminate the apprenticeship pathway for an instructor’s license.
Oklahoma HB 3000 This sunset extension Act extends the Board of Cosmetology and Barbering’s authorization from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2031, and modifies the membership of the Board by requiring each of the 11 members to meet certain professional and geographic criteria. It also requires all licenses issued under the Board’s authority to be issued by Service Oklahoma – the state agency that issues driver’s licenses.
Pennsylvania HB 1646 – Effective July 20, 2026 The Act modifies quorum requirements for the State Board of Barber Examiners.
Pennsylvania SB 331 – Effective July 20, 2026 The Act authorizes Pennsylvania’s entry into the Cosmology Licensure Compact. Pennsylvania is the 13th state to enact Compact legislation.
South Dakota HB 1194 – Effective July 1, 2026 The measure requires the Cosmetology Commission to allow out-of-state licensed individuals to substitute relevant work experience for a portion of the required educational hours when applying for a South Dakota cosmetology, nail technology, or esthetics license. Accordingly, up to 750 hours of the education required for a cosmetology license can be “earned” through work experience at a ratio of two hours of work experience equaling one-hour of school education.
Utah SB 117 – Effective July 1, 2026 The measure contains provisions to revising cosmetology and related professions instructor training hours from 35% of the minimum hours for the license or permit the applicant intends to instruct to a flat 75 clock hour training program.
Virginia HB 1247 – Effective July 1, 2026 The Act authorizes Virginia’s entry into the Esthetics Licensure Compact.
West Virginia HB 5087 – Effective June 10, 2026 The Act authorizes West Virginia’s entry into the Cosmetology Licensure Compact. | 
