How to Become a Barber in Minnesota: Hours, Cost & Schools

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Here’s how to become a barber in Minnesota: finish 1,500 hours at a board-approved barber school (281 classroom hours and 1,219 practical), then pass a written exam and a practical exam to earn your registered barber certificate. Full-time students typically finish school in about 10 to 12 months, and most show up to the practical with their own cordless clipper, often something like the Wahl Professional 5 Star Cordless Senior.

Minnesota barber requirements at a glance

Minnesota calls its barber license a “certificate of registration as a registered barber.” It’s issued by the Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners under Minnesota Statutes chapter 154, which is where the hours, exam rules and fees below come from. The statute was rewritten in places in 2026, so older guides you find online may be out of date.

Item	Minnesota rule
Training	1,500 hrs (281 classroom, 1,219 practical)
Minimum age	17
Exam	Written + practical, 75 to pass
Initial fees	$80 exam + $80 registration
Renewal	Annual, $80, by Dec. 31
Cosmetologist credit	Up to 1,000 hours

Like most states, Minnesota requires you to work in a registered shop: under section 154.01, a registered barber may only provide barbering services in a registered barber shop or barber school unless the board gives prior authorization.

Training: school only, no apprenticeship

Minnesota is a school-only state. Section 154.05 requires all 1,500 hours to be completed “in a board-approved barber school,” and there’s no apprenticeship path to the registered barber certificate. Schools must teach a set list of subjects, including sanitation and disinfection, the structure of the head, face and neck, haircutting, shaving, beard trimming, coloring, and chemical waving and straightening. They also can’t schedule more than ten hours of school in a single day.

While you train you’ll need a student permit from the board ($45, with a $25 renewal). One Roseville school’s catalog notes that this permit fee goes directly to the board rather than the school, so budget for it separately from tuition.

Minnesota also requires one registered instructor for every 20 students in attendance, which caps how crowded a clinic floor can get. If you’re weighing schools in general, our guide to choosing a barber school near you covers the questions to ask on a tour.

Cosmetologists switching to barbering

Minnesota has a real crossover route. Under section 154.11, subdivision 4, a licensed cosmetologist can be credited with up to 1,000 hours toward the 1,500, as long as the board decides the hours are substantially similar to the barber curriculum. Foreign-trained cosmetologists qualify if a board-approved credential evaluator verifies their training. You finish the remaining hours (at least 500) in a board-approved barber school, then sit the comprehensive exam.

The written and practical exams

Minnesota’s “comprehensive examination” has two parts, set out in section 154.09:

• Practical: a haircut plus three services the board picks from a shave, a beard trim, a shampoo, a perm wrap, a facial or a color application. You need at least 75 on the haircut and an average of at least 75 on the other services.
• Written: covers the subjects taught in barber school plus Minnesota statutes and rules. The passing score is 75 percent.

The board or a board-approved provider runs practical exams up to eight times a year. Your application has to reach the board by the 20th of the month before the month the practical is held, so missing that date can cost you a month. If you pass one part but not the other, you have a year from passing the first part to pass the second. Miss that window and you retake the whole exam.

Minnesota barber fees

These come straight from section 154.003:

• Student permit: $45 (renewal $25)
• Practical examination, registered barber: $80
• Initial barber registration: $80
• Annual renewal: $80
• Restoration of a lapsed registration: $95
• Home Study Course for Barbers: $75

If the board uses an outside exam provider for part of the exam and that provider charges a fee, you pay it directly to the provider, on top of the board’s fees.

Step-by-step: how to get registered

1. Enroll at a board-approved barber school and get your student permit.
2. Complete 1,500 hours. The school files an affidavit of your hours with the board.
3. Apply for the exam on the board’s (or its provider’s) forms, with proof of your qualifications, by the 20th of the month before your practical date.
4. Pay the exam fee and bring government-issued photo ID to the exam.
5. Pass the written and practical parts, then pay the $80 initial registration fee.

Annual renewal

Minnesota is one of the states with a yearly renewal. Every registered barber renews by December 31 for the following year, and a registration not renewed during December expires on the 31st. The fee is $80. Chapter 154 doesn’t set a routine continuing-education requirement for renewal; the board can order continuing education only as part of a disciplinary action.

If you lapse, you can be reinstated within four years by paying the $95 restoration fee for each year you were lapsed. After four or more years you have to buy and complete the board’s Home Study Course for Barbers and pass the comprehensive exam again.

Moving to Minnesota with a barber license

Section 154.11 gives out-of-state barbers three paths:

• Active license from a comparable state: if your state’s requirements are substantially the same, you can be registered without an exam after paying the fee.
• Schooling but no current license: if you have 1,500 hours of barber education finished within the previous four years, you’re eligible to take the exam. You’ll have to complete the board’s Home Study Course for Barbers first.
• Neither: you meet the same requirements as a new Minnesota applicant.

2026 law changes

Minnesota’s 2026 session law, Laws 2026, chapter 119, article 3 (signed May 27, 2026), made several changes that matter to students:

• Age instead of grade level: the old “ten grades of education” requirement was replaced by a minimum age of 17, and barber schools no longer require ten grades of schooling as an admission prerequisite under the statute.
• Hours split defined: the 1,500 hours are now spelled out as 281 classroom and 1,219 practical.
• No more 500-hour penalty: the law deleted the rule that sent first-time applicants who failed the exam and a retake back for 500 more hours of school, along with the rule requiring extra hours if you finished school more than four years before applying. Some school websites still describe the old 500-hour refresher, so ask how the school handles it now.
• More exam dates: practical exams can now run up to eight times a year (up from six), and a board-approved provider can run them.
• Fees reshuffled: the practical exam fee went from $85 to $80, an $80 initial registration fee was added, and the $10 written retake fee was removed.
• Definitions: waxing is now expressly not barbering, and the law defines a straight razor, including replaceable-blade razors.

Check with the board on exactly how these apply to an application already in progress.

What barbers earn in Minnesota

Minnesota is one of the better-paying states for employed barbers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (BLS OEWS, May 2025) counts 260 employed barbers in Minnesota, earning a mean of $49,400 a year ($23.75 an hour) and a median of $53,990 ($25.96 an hour). Both are above the national figures (mean $47,070, median $38,210).

OEWS counts only wage-and-salary employees, so booth renters, owners and other self-employed barbers, a large share of the trade, aren’t in these numbers, and tips may be under-reported.

Barber schools in Minnesota

Here are two Twin Cities barber schools, with facts from their own websites and the U.S. Department of Education’s College Navigator, checked in October 2026. Confirm current tuition and start dates with each school before you enroll, and see our roundup of the best barber schools for more options.

Minnesota School of Barbering (Minneapolis)

Minnesota School of Barbering is at 3615 E Lake St in Minneapolis and says it’s under new ownership. Its tuition page lists the 1,500-hour barber program at about $14,200 (effective August 1, 2024), plus a $100 application fee and a $1,700 professional tool set, for a stated total of about $16,000. The school’s clinic offers $12 haircuts on Saturdays. College Navigator currently says students there cannot receive federal aid such as Pell Grants, although the school’s site links to the FAFSA, so ask admissions directly.

Townsend Barber Institute (Roseville)

Townsend Barber Institute, at 694 County Road B West in Roseville, is accredited by NACCAS and, per College Navigator, eligible students can receive Pell Grants and other federal aid. Its 2025–2026 catalog lists the 1,500-hour Barber-Stylist program at about $23,800 in tuition, plus about $1,000 for the kit and supplies, $160 in final exam fees and the $45 board student permit. There are two schedules: a full-time day track (8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 34 hours a week over 45 weeks) and an evening track (from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m., 30 hours a week over 50 weeks), both meeting Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Barber school kit: what students need

Both schools above build a tool kit into the cost (about $1,700 at Minnesota School of Barbering and about $1,000 at Townsend), but students usually upgrade a piece or two before the practical. Since Minnesota’s practical exam can include a shave, a beard trim and a shampoo on top of the haircut, it helps to own tools for all of them. Our guide to the best barber starter kit goes deeper; here are the pieces Minnesota students commonly buy.

The Wahl Professional 5 Star Cordless Senior (about $175–195) is a heavier-duty cordless clipper for bulk removal and fades, a solid main clipper for the exam haircut.

Check Wahl Professional 5 Star Cordless Senior Price

For outlining and beard-trim detail, the Andis 04780 T-Outliner (about $60–80) is a popular trimmer for crisp edges.

Check Andis 04780 T-Outliner Price

Shaving is one of the services the board can pick, so a replaceable-blade straight razor such as the Feather Standard Styling Razor Kit (about $50–60) belongs in your kit. The 2026 law’s new straight-razor definition explicitly includes replaceable-blade razors.

Check Feather Standard Styling Razor Kit Price

A full-coverage cape like Barber Strong The Barber Cape (about $30–40) keeps clients dry during the shampoo and clean during the cut.

Check Barber Strong The Barber Cape Price

Pair it with Graham Sanek Neck Strips (12-pack) (about $12–18) so the cape never touches skin, a basic sanitation step graders watch for.

Check Graham Sanek Neck Strips (12-pack) Price

For scissor-over-comb and texturizing work, a budget pair like the Equinox Professional Razor Edge Barber Scissors (about $12–20) is a common first shear.

Check Equinox Professional Razor Edge Barber Scissors Price

How to choose a Minnesota barber school

• Confirm board approval. Only hours from a board-approved barber school count toward the 1,500.
• Compare total cost. Published tuition at the two schools above ranges from about $14,200 to about $23,800, before tools, permits and exam fees.
• Check federal aid on College Navigator. One of the two schools above is listed as Title IV eligible and one isn’t, and that can change.
• Ask about the 2026 law. A school should be able to explain what happens now if you fail a part of the exam, since the old 500-hour penalty is gone from the statute.
• Match the schedule to your life. Townsend’s evening track adds about five weeks over full-time.

FAQ

How many hours is barber school in Minnesota?
1,500 hours in a board-approved barber school: 281 classroom hours and 1,219 practical hours.

Can you do a barber apprenticeship in Minnesota?
Not as a route to the registered barber certificate. Minnesota’s statute requires all 1,500 hours to be completed in a board-approved barber school.

How do I get a barber license in Minnesota?
Finish 1,500 school hours, apply to the Board of Barber Examiners for the comprehensive exam, pass the written and practical parts with 75 or better, and pay the $80 initial registration fee.

Can a cosmetologist become a barber in Minnesota?
Yes. A licensed cosmetologist can be credited with up to 1,000 hours, then finishes the rest in a barber school and takes the exam.

How much do barbers make in Minnesota?
BLS OEWS (May 2025) reports a median of $53,990 a year and a mean of $49,400 for employed Minnesota barbers, not counting most self-employed barbers.

How often do Minnesota barbers renew?
Every year, by December 31, for $80.

Final take

Minnesota is a school-only state with an annual renewal, solid wages for employed barbers, and a 2026 law that removed some of the harshest old rules, including the 500-hour penalty for failing the exam. Pick a board-approved school whose cost and schedule fit, get your student permit, and come to the practical ready for a haircut plus three more services, with a reliable main clipper like the Wahl Cordless Senior and a Feather styling razor for the shave.

Licensing rules, fees and hours can change. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Always confirm current requirements with your state barber board before you enroll or apply.