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

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To become a barber in Alaska, you need 1,650 hours of barber school or a 2,000-hour apprenticeship, then a passing score of 75 on the national written barber exam, taken through Prov. Unlike most states, Alaska has no state-run practical exam: your school or sponsoring instructor tests your hands-on skills before you apply. Expect at least a year either way, plus a basic tool kit such as the Andis 01815 Master Adjustable Blade Clipper and an outliner.

Alaska also has a lighter “non-chemical barber” license, a rural exemption that covers some small communities, and new rule proposals open for comment until November 30, 2026. Everything below comes from the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers’ own statutes and regulations (July 2026 edition) and its exam vendor.

Who licenses barbers in Alaska

Barbers are licensed by the Alaska Board of Barbers and Hairdressers, part of the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. It’s a combined board: besides barbers and hairdressers it also licenses estheticians, manicurists, tattoo artists, permanent cosmetic colorists and body piercers. The rules live in Alaska Statutes chapter 08.13 and 12 AAC 09, which the board publishes as a single PDF compilation.

The state issues two barber licenses:

• Barber: the full license, including chemical services.
• Non-chemical barber: a shorter path (1,350 school hours or 1,600 apprenticeship hours) for barbers who won’t do chemical services. Its written exam is NIC’s Barber-No Chemical test.

The rural exemption. Alaska’s licensing law doesn’t apply in a community of fewer than 1,000 people that isn’t within 25 miles of a community of more than 1,000, provided no chemicals (or only consumer chemicals) are used. If you plan to work in a remote village, read that section of the statute before assuming you need a license, and ask the board if in doubt.

How to get an Alaska barber license, step by step

1. Choose your training. Enroll in a board-approved school for 1,650 hours, or get board approval for an apprenticeship before you start logging hours.
2. Pass your practical proficiency exam. Your school or sponsoring instructor gives it after you finish your course of study (12 AAC 09.050).
3. Get board approval to test. Prov’s bulletin is clear: “You must be pre-approved by the Board prior to scheduling your exam.”
4. Pass the NIC written exam through Prov, at a test center or remotely.
5. Pay your fees and get licensed: the $150 application fee plus the $180 license fee for the initial two-year period.

The board’s statutes don’t state a minimum age or education level for a barber license by exam, so check with the board before you enroll if you’re under 18 or don’t have a diploma.

Training hours and how they convert

License	School route	Apprenticeship
Barber	1,650 hours	2,000 hours
Non-chemical barber	1,350 hours	1,600 hours

Source: AS 08.13 and 12 AAC 09, Alaska Board of Barbers and Hairdressers statutes and regulations, July 2026 compilation.

Alaska is unusual in letting you combine the two. The regulations set a conversion of 1 school hour = 1.212 apprenticeship hours, so a student who leaves school partway can, with board approval, finish the rest in a shop. That flexibility matters in a state where barber schools are few and far apart.

There’s no shorter cosmetologist-to-barber crossover. The hairdresser license uses the same 1,650-hour school standard under 12 AAC 09.090, so if you already hold one license and want the other, ask the board how your hours will count.

Apprenticeship: the main route outside Anchorage

For many Alaskans, an apprenticeship is the realistic way in. Under AS 08.13.082, a barber apprenticeship is 2,000 hours in a board-approved shop, and it can’t be finished in less than 12 months from the start date or take longer than two years.

“The apprenticeship may not be completed in less than 12 months from the date of its commencement and must be completed in not more than two years”

AS 08.13.082, in the board’s statutes and regulations compilation

Your sponsor must be a currently licensed instructor working in a licensed shop, and training can’t begin until the board approves the apprenticeship. The apprentice application lists a $125 permit fee for barbers, non-chemical barbers and hairdressers. Log your hours carefully: they’re your only route to the exam.

The written exam (and why there’s no state practical)

The only state exam is written. It’s the National-Interstate Council (NIC) National Barber-Styling test, and the regulations set the passing grade at 75 percent. Per Prov’s Alaska candidate bulletin, it’s 110 questions (10 of them unscored) in 90 minutes, costs $90 paid to Prov, and can be taken by computer at a Prov test center or remotely.

The board repealed its state practical exam in December 2020. Instead, 12 AAC 09.050 requires every student or apprentice to pass a practical proficiency examination given by their school or instructor after finishing the course of study. Since there’s no state supply list, your school’s or sponsor’s list is the one that counts; ask for it early so you can practice on the same tools you’ll be graded with.

Alaska barber license fees

Fee	Amount
License application (initial)	$150
Barber license, first two-year period	$180
Biennial renewal	$180
Apprentice permit	$125
NIC written exam (paid to Prov)	$90

Sources: 12 AAC 02.140 via Cornell LII; board apprentice application; Prov bulletin. Checked Oct 2026.

Written exam fees go straight to the exam vendor rather than the board, so you’ll pay Prov separately from your state application.

Renewal and continuing education

Alaska barber licenses run on a two-year cycle, and the biennial renewal fee for a barber, non-chemical barber or hairdresser is $180 under 12 AAC 02.140. The July 2026 statutes and regulations compilation contains no continuing education requirement for barbers. The board’s own site lists the exact expiration date; check it when you’re licensed.

Licensed elsewhere? License by waiver

Alaska offers a license by waiver, with no exam, to barbers currently licensed in another state. You must show training or experience equal to one of these:

• 1,650 school hours;
• 2,000 apprenticeship hours;
• one year of full-time work as a licensed barber plus 1,500 training hours; or
• two years of full-time work (averaging at least 32 hours a week) plus 1,000 training hours.

You also need proof that your original license required a written exam.

Proposed rule changes (comments due Nov 30, 2026)

On October 28, 2026, the board posted a public notice of proposed regulation changes. They would remove the notary requirement on applications, cut outdated or duplicative language and what the board calls “barriers to licensure,” and revise rules on exams and re-exams, transfer of hours, student permits and reinstating lapsed licenses. Written comments are due by 4:30 p.m. on November 30, 2026. Nothing is adopted yet, so today’s rules still apply.

What barbers earn in Alaska

Here’s a gap worth knowing about: the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t publish a state wage estimate for barbers in Alaska, and the Alaska Department of Labor’s 2025 statewide wage table has no barber row either. The closest official figure is for the related occupation of hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists: a median of $15.46 an hour and a mean of $20.07 in 2025, across about 330 workers. Barbers aren’t the same occupation, so use that only as a rough reference. And like federal wage data, it covers employees, not self-employed barbers or booth renters.

Barber schools in Alaska

Alaska has very few schools that teach barbering, which is a big reason the apprenticeship route exists. The one we could verify on its own site:

Academy of Hair Design (Anchorage)

The Academy of Hair Design offers a 1,650-hour Combination Barber and Hairdresser course covering hairstyling, cutting, coloring and perms plus shaving and beard trimming, and a 600-hour instructor course. Its site lists class hours of Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It doesn’t publish tuition, and we couldn’t find it on College Navigator, so ask admissions about cost and payment options.

If there’s no school near you, the board’s apprenticeship list and local licensed instructors are your best leads. Our barber school near me guide covers how to weigh a school against an apprenticeship, and our best barber schools guide explains what to compare if you’re willing to train out of state (just make sure the hours will transfer).

Barber school kit: what students need

With no state practical, Alaska students are graded by their own school or instructor, so ask for their tool list first. The tools below cover what nearly every barbering course uses on the floor, and what you’ll want for the proficiency exam. Our best clippers for barber school roundup compares more options.

Andis 01815 Master Adjustable Blade Clipper

Because it plugs in, the Andis 01815 Master Adjustable Blade Clipper won’t lose charge during your Alaska school’s proficiency exam, and its adjustable blade lets you work a taper without swapping guards at every stage. Roughly $90–110 on Amazon at last check.

Check Andis 01815 Master Adjustable Blade Clipper Price

Wahl Professional 5 Star Cordless Magic Clip

The Wahl Professional 5 Star Cordless Magic Clip is a cordless clipper with a stagger-tooth blade, a design meant for fading and blending. Fades come up constantly on the clinic floor, so a cordless fade clipper is often the first thing students add to (or upgrade from) the school kit. Price: about $135–155 on Amazon at the time of writing.

Check Wahl Professional 5 Star Cordless Magic Clip Price

Wahl Professional 5 Star Detailer Li

The Wahl Professional 5 Star Detailer Li combines a T-wide blade with a cordless body, so it’s the outliner to get if you want to lose the cord. It costs more than a corded T-blade trimmer, which makes it an upgrade pick. Listed near $110–130 on Amazon as of this writing.

Check Wahl Professional 5 Star Detailer Li Price

Wahl Professional 5 Star Vanish Foil Shaver

Skin fades and bald heads get their final pass from a foil shaver. Listed for both head and face, the cordless Wahl Professional 5 Star Vanish Foil Shaver is a good addition once fades become routine during your Alaska clinic hours. Listed around $110–135 on Amazon as of this writing.

Check Wahl Professional 5 Star Vanish Foil Shaver Price

Clippercide 5-in-1 Clipper Spray (3-pack)

Clipper blades can’t go in a soaking jar, which is where the Clippercide 5-in-1 Clipper Spray (3-pack) comes in. Its listing says the spray cleans, lubricates, cools, disinfects and helps prevent rust, and it’s sold in a 3-pack. About $30–40 on Amazon at last check.

Check Clippercide 5-in-1 Clipper Spray (3-pack) Price

Barber Strong The Barber Cape

The Barber Strong The Barber Cape is a cape made from hair-repelling, water-resistant fabric, per its listing, which keeps clinic-floor cuts cleaner and works for practice at home. Price: about $30–40 on Amazon at the time of writing.

Check Barber Strong The Barber Cape Price

Graham Sanek Neck Strips (12-pack)

A neck strip goes between the cape and the client’s skin, one of the first sanitation habits in an Alaska barbering course. The Graham Sanek Neck Strips (12-pack) hold 12 packs of 60, plenty for an entire program. Listed around $12–18 on Amazon as of this writing.

Check Graham Sanek Neck Strips (12-pack) Price

Bottom line: plan around the apprenticeship option

If you live near Anchorage, a 1,650-hour school program is the most structured path to the NIC written exam. Everywhere else, a board-approved apprenticeship under a licensed instructor is the practical way in, and Alaska’s hour conversion means you can even mix the two. Start with a dependable corded clipper like the Andis 01815 Master Adjustable Blade Clipper and an outliner, and our barber starter kit guide covers the rest at three budgets.

FAQ

How many hours do you need to be a barber in Alaska? 1,650 hours of school, or 2,000 hours as an apprentice, or a board-approved combination (one school hour counts as 1.212 apprenticeship hours). The non-chemical barber license needs 1,350 school or 1,600 apprenticeship hours.

Does Alaska have a barber practical exam? Not a state-run one. The board repealed it in 2020; your school or sponsoring instructor gives a practical proficiency exam after training. The state exam is the NIC written test through Prov.

How long does a barber apprenticeship take in Alaska? At least 12 months and no more than two years, for 2,000 hours in a board-approved shop under a licensed instructor.

Can I work as a barber in rural Alaska without a license? Alaska’s licensing law doesn’t apply in communities of under 1,000 people that aren’t within 25 miles of a community of more than 1,000, if no chemicals or only consumer chemicals are used. Confirm with the board before relying on it.

Can I transfer my barber license to Alaska? Yes, through license by waiver, if your training or experience meets one of Alaska’s equivalency options and your original license required a written exam.

Sources

• Alaska Board of Barbers and Hairdressers: FAQs
• Board statutes and regulations (AS 08.13, 12 AAC 09), July 2026
• Board apprentice application
• Prov: Alaska candidate bulletin
• 12 AAC 02.140 fees (Cornell LII)
• Public notice of proposed regulation changes, Oct 2026
• Alaska Dept. of Labor 2025 wage data

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.