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Continuing Education - Cosmetologists

Licensees

Continuing Education

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
  • The following courses offered by Milady which are Required Topics cannot be taken as Elective Topics:
    • Human Trafficking Awareness
    • Domestic Violence Awareness
    • Infection Control (2-Hour Course)
    • Infection Control (3-Hour Course)

Submitting Certificates of Completion to the Board

Only courses taken with the Milady Training provider should be submitted by the licensee. Certificates from any other provider will not be accepted. All other providers are responsible for submitting course hours for licensees directly to the Board, and must upload course information within 14 days of course completion. If you do not receive confirmation within 14 days, please contact the provider directly; do not contact the Board regarding these submissions.

Instructions: When uploading, licensees must provide their registration number, in addition to completing every field marked with an asterisk*. For the “Select Type of Document” field, licensees should select OTHER. Please note that submissions to the portal require processing time of 14 business days; do not email or call the Board immediately after submitting.

Review:

  1. Licensees must review the Continuing Education requirements before uploading the certificates of completion. Simply submitting documents does not automatically mean that the requirements have been met.
  2. If a Licensee does not receive email confirmation within 14 days that means what has been submitted does not meet the requirements. Please go back to review the requirements.
  3. A name change cannot be done on the certificate of completion. A request must be emailed to [email protected] with the two forms of official documentation.
  4. Nicknames, abbreviations, or initials will not be accepted on certificates of completion. The name must reflect what is on the license and in our database.

Submit Milady Certification

- Do not submit Domestic Violence Awareness Training certificates through this portal. View instructions for submitting those certificates.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Licensees

Education Providers

Effective June 1, 2024, Approved Providers can begin to offer continuing education courses.

For Providers - Report Completed Continuing Education Courses.

Provider Categories

Providers must be from one of the following categories:

  • Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)-approved private career school. The school must already be approved in the relevant discipline—Cosmetology, Eyelash Extension Techniques, Esthetics, or Nail Technology.
  • Maryland public or private accredited university or a Maryland community college. The school must already be approved in the relevant discipline—Cosmetology, Eyelash Extension Techniques, Esthetics, or Nail Technology.

Course Topics

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

Application Process

Open Enrollment

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.

Open Enrollment is Closed.

FAQs:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Education Providers