HF3528 (Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026))
Board of Barber Examiners provisions modified.
Related bill: SF4001
AI Generated Summary
Purpose
- Modernize and tighten Minnesota’s barbering regulation.
- Update who oversees barber licensing and how barbers, barber shops, and barber schools are governed.
- Set clear education, examination, and registration requirements to protect public health and safety in barbering.
What the bill changes (Main Provisions)
- Board structure and oversight
- Creates a Board of Barber Examiners made up of four barber members and one public member appointed by the governor.
- Barber members must have at least five years of practice and meet education and professional-organization criteria (including potential representation from a union of journeymen barbers and a professional barber organization).
- Registration and practice requirements
- Registration to practice barbering becomes mandatory.
- Barber shops and barber schools must be registered; instructors must be registered or hold a temporary permit.
- Barber instruction must occur in registered barber schools.
- Definitions and scope of practice
- Clarifies what constitutes barbering, including services like haircutting, shaving, beard trimming, coloring, and related services.
- Adds explicit definitions for straight razors and waxing (waxing defined as a distinct service, not barbering).
- Education and hours
- Requires a total of 1,500 hours to become a registered barber: 281 classroom hours and 1,219 practical hours, completed in a board-approved barber school.
- Applicants must be at least 17 years old and have completed ten grades of education.
- Barber schools: admission, operation, and oversight
- Schools must require prerequisites (ten grades of education or equivalent) and a course of instruction with specified hours and topics.
- The board can review and deny barber school applications based on financial resources and ability to sustain operations and graduate students.
- Public hearings are required for barber school registration applications.
- Examinations and credentials
- Comprehensive examinations for barber registration include both practical and written components.
- Practical portion scored 1–100; 75 minimum for the haircut portion; the rest of the practical components must average at least 75; written portion must be at least 75% to pass.
- Examinations can be offered up to eight times per year (plus potential additional written exams as needed).
- If a first-time applicant fails, they must complete an additional 500 hours of barber education before retaking the exam, and may retake as many times as needed after meeting requirements.
- Nonresidents and reciprocity
- Nonresidents who meet all requirements may be issued a registration without examination if they have an active license or equivalent from another state or when credentials are evaluated as substantially equivalent.
- If not eligible for automatic reciprocity, applicants must complete the 1,500 hours and pass the comprehensive examination, with a pathway that may involve completing 1,500 hours or more depending on prior credentials.
- Home Study Course for Barbers
- A Home Study Course for Barbers is required in certain cases (e.g., restoration after non-renewal, or when pursuing reciprocity) to prepare for the comprehensive examination.
- For those who fail, this course can be a prerequisite to retake the exam.
- Fees
- Establishes a detailed fee schedule for examinations, registrations, renewals, shop and school registrations, and other services (specific dollar amounts are listed in the bill).
- Repeals and rule updates
- Repeals several Minnesota Rules parts related to barber examinations and registration.
- Appendix references to repealed rules are removed.
Key changes to existing law
- Shifts regulation from largely rule-based to statute-based oversight of barbering.
- Formalizes board composition to include a public member and expands roles for unions/professional organizations.
- Establishes a precise, higher education and training standard (1500 hours with a defined classroom/practical split).
- Creates explicit, public-facing procedures for barber school approvals, including public hearings and financial viability considerations.
- Introduces clear definitions for straight razors and waxing to delineate barbering from related services.
- Expands reciprocity pathways for nonresidents with clearer criteria and a Home Study Course requirement when applicable.
- Codifies a comprehensive, standardized examination process with specific passing standards.
Who is affected
- Aspiring barbers: must meet higher education and training hours, pass a comprehensive exam, and complete required prerequisites.
- Current registered barbers and licensees: may need to meet new or clarified requirements for renewal or restoration, including potential use of Home Study Course options.
- Barber schools: face new admission standards, oversight, financial viability checks, and public hearings; must align curricula with defined hour and topic requirements.
- Barbershop owners: must ensure shop registration and compliant supervisory requirements.
- Instructors and instructor-permits: subject to new registration rules and qualifications.
Implementation considerations
- Increased training time and costs for students seeking barber certification.
- Expanded regulatory oversight and potential administrative changes for schools and shops.
- New pathways for nonresidents to obtain licensure, potentially expanding the pool of applicants.
Relevant Terms
- Board of Barber Examiners
- registered barber
- barber shop
- barber school
- barber instructor
- comprehensive examination
- practical examination
- written examination
- certificate of registration
- home study course for Barbers
- straight razor
- waxing
- barber education hours (1500 hours; 281 classroom hours; 1,219 practical hours)
- nonresident reciprocity
- public member
- union of journeymen barbers
- professional organization of barbers
- application for examination
- barber school admission prerequisites
- public hearings
- license renewal and restoration
- related fees
Bill text versions
- Introduction PDF PDF file
Upcoming committee meetings
- Ways and Means on: March 23, 2026 10:15
Past committee meetings
- State Government Finance and Policy on: March 10, 2026 08:15
Actions
| Date | Chamber | Where | Type | Name | Committee Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 19, 2026 | House | Action | Introduction and first reading, referred to | State Government Finance and Policy | |
| March 18, 2026 | House | Action | Committee report, to adopt and re-refer to | Ways and Means |
Citations
[
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Adds that one barber member shall be a member of or recommended by a union of journeymen barbers that has existed at least two years and one barber member shall be a member of or recommended by a professional organization of barbers."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Board of Barber Examiners composition and membership requirements updated.",
"modified": [
"Specifies the composition and appointment of the Board of Barber Examiners."
]
},
"citation": "154.001",
"subdivision": "subd.2"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Fees structure for barber examinations and registrations updated.",
"modified": [
"Reduces the practical examination and certificate fee for a registered barber from 85 to 80; other listed fees appear unchanged."
]
},
"citation": "154.003",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Registration mandatory framework clarified; no substantive statute creation.",
"modified": [
"Reiterates and clarifies registration requirements and the roles of barber shops and barber schools; maintains the existing framework."
]
},
"citation": "154.01",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Explicitly clarifies that waxing is not the practice of barbering."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Definition of barbering clarified; waxing not considered barbering.",
"modified": [
"Preserves and clarifies the definition of barbering within the statute."
]
},
"citation": "154.02",
"subdivision": "subd.1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Certificate of registration provisions clarified.",
"modified": [
"Clarifies that a certificate of registration means the certificate issued to an individual, a barber shop, or a barber school in compliance with the cited sections."
]
},
"citation": "154.02",
"subdivision": "subd.4"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Adds Subd.7 defining 'Straight razor' as a razor with a rigid steel cutting blade or a replaceable blade hinged to a case forming a handle when open."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "New subdivision defining Straight razor.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "154.02",
"subdivision": "subd.7"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Adds Subd.8 defining 'Waxing' as the process of removing hair from a part of the body by applying wax and peeling off the wax."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "New subdivision defining Waxing.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "154.02",
"subdivision": "subd.8"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Qualifications for receiving certificates clarified with 1500-hour Curriculum.",
"modified": [
"Specifies qualification standards including 1500 total hours with 281 classroom hours and 1219 practical hours, at least 17 years old, and passing a comprehensive examination."
]
},
"citation": "154.05",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Admission requirements and course of instruction updated.",
"modified": [
"Revises admission prerequisites to barber schools including ten grades, age and hour requirements, and course content reflecting a 1500-hour curriculum."
]
},
"citation": "154.07",
"subdivision": "subd.1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Adds Subd.7 requiring the board to consider applications in meetings open to the public and to evaluate applicant financial resources and ability to graduate registered students."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Application review process added.",
"modified": []
},
"citation": "154.07",
"subdivision": "subd.7"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Application fee provisions clarified.",
"modified": [
"Maintains application and fee requirements; clarifies that if a board-approved examination provider charges a fee, the examinee pays the provider directly (separate from board fees)."
]
},
"citation": "154.08",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Examinations conduct and scope clarified.",
"modified": [
"Specifies examination timing and scheduling (practical examinations up to more frequent opportunities), documentation requirements, and that additional written exams may be scheduled by the board."
]
},
"citation": "154.09",
"subdivision": ""
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Nonresident examination pathway clarified.",
"modified": [
"Allows issuance of a registration certificate without examination for nonresidents who meet all requirements and have credentials verified by a board-approved evaluator or other state credentials."
]
},
"citation": "154.11",
"subdivision": "subd.1"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Adds Subd.4 allowing credit of up to 1000 hours of cosmetology study toward the 1500-hour barber curriculum if credentials are verified and the remaining hours are completed in a board-approved barber program."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Cosmetologist cross-credential credit expanded.",
"modified": [
"Provides a pathway for cosmetologists to be credited toward barber hours, enabling cross-credential recognition."
]
},
"citation": "154.11",
"subdivision": "subd.4"
}
]Progress through the legislative process
In Committee