Barber Schools and License Requirements in Michigan

Written by Barber-License.com Editorial Staff, Last Updated: November 13, 2026

Michigan will let you cut hair for money after 1,800 hours of training and two national exams. You can earn those hours in a barber college or as an apprentice in a licensed shop, and the license costs $63 to start. Here’s the order you’ll do it in, what each step costs, and where people lose time.

Barbers in Michigan are licensed by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) through its Bureau of Professional Licensing, with the Michigan Board of Barbers. The law behind it is Article 11 of the Occupational Code, and the board’s rules were rewritten effective October 2, 2023. If you’re comparing Michigan with a move elsewhere, it helps to see barber license requirements in other states too.

To become a licensed barber in Michigan, follow these steps:

1. Complete 1,800 Hours of Barber College or an Apprenticeship
2. Pass the NBCP Barber Theory and Practical Exams
3. Apply for Your Michigan Barber License
4. Renew Every Two Years and Open Your Own Shop

Step 1. Complete 1,800 Hours of Barber College or an Apprenticeship

Under MCL 339.1108, you qualify for a barber license if you’re at least 17, of good moral character, have completed the tenth grade or an equivalent education, and finish either of these:

Choose your route carefully. Under Rule 339.6042, hours can move from one barber college to another, or from one apprenticeship program to another, when the new program finds them substantially similar. Hours can’t cross between the college and apprenticeship routes in either direction.

What the 1,800 Hours Cover

Both routes follow the same curriculum in Rule 339.6047: at least 225 theory hours and 1,575 practical hours. Each subject may vary by up to 10%, as long as those two totals hold.

• Haircut and shave: 60 theory and 1,000 practical hours, covering cutting, styling, shaving, and beard trimming. This is most of your training.
• Safety and sanitation: 60 theory and 50 practical hours.
• Additional services: 25 theory and 275 practical hours, including skin care, scalp treatments, hairpieces, and eyebrow shaping.
• Chemical services: 15 theory and 125 practical hours for shampooing, waving and relaxing, coloring, and lightening.
• Business management: 10 theory and 100 practical hours.
• Client services: 30 theory hours, with the practical work done inside the haircut, chemical, and additional services blocks.
• Orientation, laws and rules, and exam prep: 10, 10, and 5 theory hours, plus 25 practical hours of exam prep.

Theory can be taught by distance education, but under Rule 339.6045 every practical hour has to be done in person. Already a Michigan-licensed cosmetologist? Rule 339.6044 lets a barber college credit up to 1,000 hours of substantially similar cosmetology training, decided before you start.

The Barber Student License

In barber college you work on the public under a student license. The Barber Student Licensing Guide sets it out:

• Requirements: Tenth grade or an equivalent education, plus good moral character. Before you start, the college must also have proof of your high school education or its equivalent, unless you’re enrolling through an approved public school program (MCL 339.1108(4)(e)).
• Who applies: Your barber college submits the application to LARA on your behalf (MCL 339.1108(4)(f)).
• Cost: $80 for the application and a two-year license.
• How long it lasts: Two years, renewable once for one more year ($30).
• Pay: None. A student can’t be paid for barber services, and every service is done under an instructor’s supervision (MCL 339.1105).

The Michigan Barber Apprenticeship

An apprenticeship lets you train in a working shop instead of a school. The Barber Apprenticeship Licensing Guide and MCL 339.1108 set the terms:

• Who registers you: The barbershop, not you. It files an apprentice registration in its MiPLUS account and pays a $20 processing fee.
• Education: The shop must have proof of your high school education or its equivalent before it takes you on, unless you’re training through an approved public school program. That’s a higher bar than the tenth grade the barber license itself requires.
• Who trains you: All your training must come from someone with an active Michigan barber license.
• Hours and pay: At least 1,800 hours, no more than 40 hours a week required of you, and no pay while you’re an apprentice. The shop also can’t charge you a fee for the teaching.
• How many apprentices: A shop that has already trained one apprentice successfully may train more, but never more than two at the same time.
• If the shop lapses, moves, or is sold: The shop license and your registration become void. Training can resume once the shop holds a new license and you’re registered again (MCL 339.1108(8) covers a move). Hours earned without both an active shop license and your registration don’t count.

Your registration doesn’t expire on a date. It stays valid until the shop reports that you’ve finished or that the apprenticeship ended. Before it certifies you, the shop has to give you its own exam.

Step 2. Pass the NBCP Barber Theory and Practical Exams

Michigan retired its state barber exam. Since October 2, 2024, you take the National Barber Cosmetology Program (NBCP) barber theory and barber practical exams, developed and scored by PSI, according to LARA’s NBCP exam FAQs. Here’s how it works:

• School graduates: Apply for your license in MiPLUS first. Once LARA confirms your eligibility with PSI, PSI emails you that you can schedule your exams.
• Apprentices: Your shop uploads a Certification of Completion. LARA then emails the shop an exam authorization with your Exam Registration Form, the shop sends that form to PSI, and you apply for your license in MiPLUS. Allow about two weeks for PSI to process a first-time registration.
• Where you test: You can take both parts virtually or at a PSI testing center.
• Scoring: PSI sets the passing score. You must pass both parts within one year of each other, and each passing score is good for one year (Rule 339.6021).

Exam fees, the content outline, and what to bring for the practical are in PSI’s Candidate Information Bulletin on its Michigan test-taker page. PSI’s phone line for Michigan candidates is (855) 579-4635. The practical is where nerves show up, so run your setup and disinfection routine until you could do it half asleep.

Step 3. Apply for Your Michigan Barber License

Every application goes through MiPLUS, LARA’s online licensing system. The Barber Licensing Guide lists what you need:

• A completed online application, with the good moral character question answered
• Your Social Security number, or the SSN affidavit if you’re exempt or don’t have one
• Proof of your 1,800 hours from your barber college or apprenticeship
• Passing scores on the theory and practical exams
• $63 for the application and a two-year license, paid by credit or debit card

Your application and fee stay valid for one year. Miss a requirement in that time and you start over with a new fee. Once you’re licensed, you can only cut hair in a licensed barbershop or barber college. A barber license doesn’t let you work in a cosmetology salon.

Licensed in Another State? Apply by Endorsement

Michigan licenses out-of-state barbers by endorsement under MCL 339.1108(2) and Rule 339.6022. The fee is the same $63, and the guide sets these terms:

• You must hold or have held a barber license in good standing in another state, jurisdiction, or country for at least 1 of the 3 years before you apply.
• The other licensing agency sends verification straight to the Bureau of Professional Licensing, by email to [email protected] or by mail to PO Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909.
• If LARA finds your other state’s requirements aren’t substantially equivalent to Michigan’s, you take the theory and practical exams.
• Training completed outside the U.S. needs an evaluation from a current member of NACES (the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services).

Step 4. Renew Every Two Years and Open Your Own Shop

A Michigan barber license runs on a two-year cycle. LARA’s renewal fee table says expiration dates vary, so go by the date printed on your license. Here’s what renewal looks like:

• When: Online in MiPLUS, no sooner than 90 days before your license expires.
• Cost: $60.
• Continuing education: The Barber Licensing Guide’s renewal checklist lists no CE hours, just the application, the fee, and a signed attestation.
• If you let it lapse: Relicensure costs $100. After more than three years lapsed, you have to pass the exams again or show an active license in good standing elsewhere for at least 1 of the last 3 years.

Opening a Barbershop in Michigan

Your barber license covers you, not the room. A shop needs its own barbershop license, and the Barbershop Licensing Guide spells out the process:

• Cost: $130 for the application and a two-year license, then $80 to renew every two years.
• What you send: Your days and hours of operation, the date the space will be ready, and a floor plan that labels the restrooms and, if you shampoo, the shampoo bowl with hot and cold running water.
• Inspection first: You can’t do business until the shop passes inspection and the license is issued. LARA posts its barbershop inspection requirements so you can check the space before you sign a lease.
• Selling or moving: A change of owner or address voids the shop license, so plan for a new application and floor plan.

Barber Salary and Jobs in Michigan

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, barbers in Michigan earned a median annual wage of $35,490 as of May 2025, or $17.06 an hour. The mean was $44,490. The median is the midpoint and the mean is the average, so the median is the better guide to a typical wage. These figures cover wage and salary workers, so they leave out self-employed barbers, and BLS counts reported tips in its wage data. BLS didn’t publish a Michigan barber employment count. Nationally, barbers earned a median of $38,210 as of May 2025.

For comparison, Michigan hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists earned a median of $34,820 as of May 2025 (BLS). That’s a different license and a different chair, so keep it separate from barber pay.

Projections Central estimates a 1.6% change in barber employment in Michigan between 2024 and 2034, from 1,870 jobs to 1,900, with an average of 200 openings per year. Growth adds only about 30 jobs over the decade, so most of those openings come from barbers retiring or leaving the trade. That’s why building your book matters more here than counting on new chairs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to become a barber in Michigan?

You need at least 1,800 hours of training. In an apprenticeship you can’t be required to attend more than 40 hours a week, so 1,800 hours takes about 45 weeks at full pace. Add time for exam scheduling and processing, including about two weeks for PSI to process a first-time registration.

Can I get a Michigan barber license through an apprenticeship?

Yes. A licensed barbershop registers you as its apprentice in MiPLUS, and you train for at least 1,800 hours under a Michigan-licensed barber, unpaid and no more than 40 hours a week. When the shop certifies that you’ve finished, you take the same NBCP exams as school graduates.

What exams do Michigan barbers take?

Since October 2, 2024, Michigan uses the NBCP barber theory and barber practical exams, developed and scored by PSI. You can take them virtually or at a PSI testing center, and you must pass both within one year of each other.

Does Michigan accept barber licenses from other states?

Yes, by endorsement. You need a barber license in good standing in another state, jurisdiction, or country for at least 1 of the 3 years before you apply, with verification sent directly to LARA. If your other state’s requirements aren’t substantially equivalent, you take the exams.

How much does a Michigan barber license cost?

LARA charges $63 for the application and a two-year barber license, and $60 to renew every two years. A barber student license costs $80. PSI’s exam fees are separate and listed in its Candidate Information Bulletin.

• The right agency: LARA’s Bureau of Professional Licensing issues barber licenses, with the Michigan Board of Barbers.
• Two routes, one number: Barber college and apprenticeship both take at least 1,800 hours, and hours don’t transfer between them.
• The exams: Since October 2, 2024, you take PSI’s NBCP barber theory and practical exams, virtually or at a test center.
• Moving in: Out-of-state barbers apply by endorsement if they’ve held a license in good standing for 1 of the last 3 years.
• Renewal: The license runs two years, renews online in MiPLUS for $60, and expires on the date printed on it.

2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Barbers and for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists. Job growth projections (2024-2034) are from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, Projections Central. Figures reflect state and national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2026.