Continuing Education - Cosmetologists
Licensees
PLEASE NOTE:
Effective January 1, 2026, The State Legislature- HB 1600, requires Licensees to
complete six hours of approved continuing education as a condition of
license renewal.
#1 - CE courses must be completed prior to your license renewal date, but within your renewal term.
Example: If your license was issued on February 1, 2024, and expires on February 1, 2026, you must complete all six required courses within that two-year period to remain in compliance.
You can find more information as well as the full bill text on the Maryland General Assembly website.
#2 - For information about the Continuing Education requirements see COMAR 09.22.04.03,COMAR 09.22.04.02 (6), and Statute §5–205. (c) (2).
Continuing Education Course Hour Requirements:
Continuing Education (CE) requirements for licensees include a total of 6 hours, divided between required and elective topics.
Required Topics – 2 hours total. Must cover Health, Safety, Welfare, Sanitation, and/or Board Laws/Regulations. You only need to complete a total of 2 hours from these required 5 categories.
Elective Topics-4 hours total. Electives are courses chosen based on individual interests, as long as they fall within the scope of practice for your license type. Examples of elective topics include Business, the practice of cosmetology, esthetics, and nail techniques, and Product Knowledge.
Licensees are required to complete 2 hours of required topics and 4 hours of elective topics, for a total of 6 CE hours.
View Approved Continuing Education Providers List
- Be advised that you are not permitted to take the following
courses from Milady:
- How to Enter Hair Competitions
- Short Hair Cutting & Barbering Techniques
- Mastering the Basics of Fading & Hair Design
Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs) - Licensees
Education Providers
Effective June 1, 2024, Approved Providers can begin to offer continuing education courses.
Upload Completed Continuing Education Courses Grades – Coming soon.
The courses can cover, but are not limited to, one of the following topics:
- occupational health and safety
- ethics and professional standards
- cosmetology practice
- product knowledge
- sanitation
- infectious and communicable disease control
- Business
- Maryland laws and regulations
At this time, we will only accept applications from the following categories of organizations or institutions:
- Existing, approved Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Private Career Schools
- Maryland Colleges / Universities including community colleges
- Industry Textbook Publishers
The Board’s Continuing Education (CE) Provider application process follows an open enrollment schedule that occurs twice each year—once in April and again in October. The next open enrollment period will begin on October 1, 2025, and applications will be accepted through December 1, 2025. The application form will be added to the Board’s website soon for public access.
There are several important points to keep in mind when preparing your application:
Application Deadlines & Acceptance: Applications are accepted only if they are received by the Board within the designated open enrollment period. Submissions received outside of this timeframe cannot be considered.
Nonrefundable Fee: The application fee is $250, which covers the evaluation of one course. Additional courses may be reviewed at a cost of $50 per course. Please note that all application fees are nonrefundable.
Eligibility for Existing Providers: Providers newly approved by the Board must complete one full year as an approved provider before they may request to add additional courses. After that time, existing providers may submit additional courses for consideration during a future open enrollment period. Existing providers who are eligible to add courses and wish to change or modify an existing course must also submit a new course add application and pay the applicable fee.
Application Requirements:
- There are two separate applications: one for new providers and one for existing providers eligible to add additional courses.
- Applications must be typed.
- Applications must be mailed with fees submitted in the form of a check or money order made payable to the Board.
- Applications will not be accepted in person.
This process ensures that all CE providers are reviewed consistently, and that courses offered to licensees meet the professional and regulatory standards of the Board.