Explained: Reciprocity for Cosmetology Licenses

 

Beauty school can lead to all kinds of beauty careers.  You may decide you want to travel with a band as the go to stylist.  Maybe you’ve always dreamed of working abroad.  If that’s the case, you have probably heard the word ‘reciprocity’ associated with your cosmetology license.   If you’re unclear what that means, let’s try to explain reciprocity and what it means to you after beauty school.

 

Reciprocity is often referred to as ‘in return.’  You probably hear the word reciprocate more often.  Reciprocation is what you do ‘in return’ for what someone does for you.  You may have a friend that cuts your hair.  You would reciprocate by cutting her hair.  When it comes to your cosmetology license, the definition is a little different.

 

In the case of your cosmetology license, as with most professional licenses, reciprocation is the ability of that license to make you qualified to perform your services in another state.  (You need to obtain a cosmetology license in order to cut hair.)  In other words, if you live on the border of New York and Pennsylvania, and are obtaining a cosmetology license in Pennsylvania, you may want to work in New York. To work in New York, you need to know if your cosmetology license is accepted by the state of New York.  Does New York have reciprocity with Pennsylvania(for your cosmetology license?)

 

As you know, after beauty school, you’ll take a state exam to obtain your cosmetology license.  The exam is run by a board that is appointed by the state.  Each board has different guidelines of what you are required to know to be licensed to cut hair in their state.  Reciprocity is often dependent on these factors.  In certain cases, you may be asked to perform certain tasks in order to qualify to cut hair in the new state.

 

If you are considering cutting hair in a state other than where you are attending beauty school, do a little research to see if your cosmetology license will have reciprocity with the state where you attend beauty school.  We can’t give you details here since there are 50 states, all with different laws.  However, check out the website for your state licensing board (also called something different in every state) for details.

 

Did you work out of state after you obtained your cosmetology license?  Any snags in moving across the country with your cosmetology license?