Barber training in South Dakota after the apprentice rule
How is barbering learned in South Dakota, and what happened to the apprentice route?
What the law requires now
Barbering in South Dakota is learned in a school, full stop. A registered barber must be at least eighteen, submit an application, complete 1,500 hours of education or equivalent credit hours in a barber college or school approved by the board, and pass the board's written test and practical demonstration.
The school itself is held to the same floor. No barber school is approved unless it requires a course of instruction of not less than nine months with a minimum of 1,500 hours before graduation.
The statute names the subjects, and they are practical ones: scientific fundamentals, hygiene, bacteriology, structure of the head, face and neck, chemistry for sterilization, diseases of the skin and hair, scalp massage, haircutting, shaving, and arranging, dressing, coloring, bleaching and tinting hair.
1,500 hoursUnder SDCL 36-14-13, a registered barber must be at least eighteen, complete 1,500 hours of education in a board-approved school, and pass the board's written test and practical demonstration. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-13, retrieved 2026-09-29
9 months, 1,500 hoursUnder SDCL 36-14-17, no barber school is approved unless it requires a course of instruction of not less than nine months with a minimum of 1,500 hours before graduation. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-17, retrieved 2026-09-29
The apprentice certificate that is no more
The state once had an apprentice tier. The administrative rules carried a renewal fee for an apprentice barber certificate of registration at ARSD 20:39:05:02, and that section is now repealed.
A repealed fee section is a fossil of a repealed route. Nothing in the current SDCL 36-14 licensing path runs through a shop: the requirements are school hours, an application, and examinations, with no apprentice certificate anywhere between them.
That is the rule change this page exists to record. Trades beside this one still license apprentices by the hour, and the supervision page shows what those duties look like where they survive.
The renewal fee for an apprentice barber certificate of registration, ARSD 20:39:05:02, was repealed. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, ARSD 20:39:05:02, retrieved 2026-09-29
20:39:05:02. Renewal fee for apprentice barber certificate of registration. Repealed.
The short window between school and examination
One statutory bridge connects school and license, and it is narrow. The board may permit a student to be employed at the barber profession from the time the student has completed schooling until the next examination.
That is not an apprentice license. It is a waiting period the board can allow so a graduate is not idle between graduation and the next exam sitting, and it ends at the examination itself.
The examinations run on their own clock. The board must conduct them not less than two times each year, at the time and place the board determines, covering the subjects taught in approved schools.
Once passed, the license is fast. A South Dakota graduate who has passed both examinations and whose Student Education Record has reached the board receives the license by mail within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.
Under SDCL 36-14-19, the board may permit a student to be employed at the barber profession from the time the student has completed schooling until the next examination. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-19, retrieved 2026-09-29
2 times a yearUnder SDCL 36-14-19, the Board of Barber Examiners conducts examinations not less than two times each year. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-19, retrieved 2026-09-29
48 hoursA South Dakota barber school graduate who has passed both examinations receives the license by mail within 48 hours once the board has the Student Education Record, excluding weekends and holidays. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, retrieved 2026-09-29
The examinations and the out-of-state route
Two tests stand between school and license. The required board examinations are the NIC written theory examination for barber styling and the South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners practical examination.
Out-of-state graduates cannot sit them. The board states plainly that graduates of a barber school in another state are not eligible to take the South Dakota theory or practical examinations.
Their routes are two. Become licensed in the home state and apply for reciprocity licensure, or transfer to a South Dakota barber school and complete any remaining hours the state requires. A transfer credit exists too: an applicant from a state requiring fewer than 1,500 hours receives 50 hours of credit for each month practiced as a licensed barber in that state, applied toward the 1,500.
Five years of practice substitutes outright. An applicant who can prove by affidavits at least five years of practice in another state or country may transfer a license on that basis.
The required South Dakota barber examinations are the NIC written theory examination for barber styling and the board's practical examination. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, retrieved 2026-09-29
Graduates of a barber school in another state are not eligible to take the South Dakota theory or practical examinations. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, retrieved 2026-09-29
50 hours per monthUnder SDCL 36-14-14, an applicant from a state requiring fewer than 1,500 instruction hours receives 50 hours of credit per month practiced there, toward the 1,500. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-14, retrieved 2026-09-29
5 yearsUnder SDCL 36-14-14, an applicant who proves by affidavits at least five years of barbering practice in another state or country may transfer a license to South Dakota. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-14, retrieved 2026-09-29
The shop side of the rule
A barbershop owner does not need a barber license, but the shop needs a barber. A barbershop must at all times be under the direct supervision and management of a registered barber, and shop licenses do not transfer with a move: a new location means a new license, a board member's inspection, and the application and inspection fees.
The trades do not cross in the chair. A cosmetologist is not licensed to work in a barbershop, and a barber working in a cosmetology salon needs the station inspected by this board and a barbershop license issued for it.
Renewal runs annually. The certificate renews each year on or before the first day of July and expires June 30 unless renewed, and a lapse of three years or more forces both examinations again. The board's licensing page asks for renewals by May 31, so treat that as the working deadline.
| Stage | What it requires | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| School | 1,500 hours over at least 9 months | SDCL 36-14-17 |
| Examinations | NIC theory plus the board practical | SDCL 36-14-19 |
| Between school and exam | Employment may be permitted until the next exam | SDCL 36-14-19 |
| License | Issued within 48 hours of passing | The board's exams page |
| Renewal | Annually before July 1, expiring June 30 | SDCL 36-14-22 |
A South Dakota barbershop must at all times be under the direct supervision and management of a registered barber, and shop licenses are not transferable to a new location. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, retrieved 2026-09-29
June 30Under SDCL 36-14-22, a registered barber renews the certificate annually on or before the first day of July, and it expires June 30 unless renewed. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, SDCL 36-14-22, retrieved 2026-09-29
3 yearsA barber license lapsed for three years or more requires retaking the practical and written exams. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, retrieved 2026-09-29
Why this page sits on an apprenticeship site
Because the question it answers is the topic. South Dakota's trades split cleanly on who trains: electrical and plumbing commissions license the learner into the workforce, while the beauty boards moved training into the schools and, in barbering's case, closed the apprentice tier by repeal.
A student comparing routes should see that split with figures. The cosmetology page shows the same wall from the salon side, the hour-logging guide sets the school-hour and work-hour systems beside each other, and the costs page prices the tuition route against the wage route.
A registered apprenticeship program cannot bridge this one. A program needs an occupation an employer trains, and barbering's training seat in South Dakota is a school the board approves, so the registered-program route and this trade do not meet here.
The South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners licenses and inspects barbershop facilities and enforces the statutes and rules governing barbering. — South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Did South Dakota ever license barber apprentices?
Yes. The administrative rules carried a renewal fee for an apprentice barber certificate of registration at ARSD 20:39:05:02, and that section is repealed. The current route runs through 1,500 school hours and the board's examinations.
Can a graduate cut hair for pay before passing the exams?
Possibly, briefly. The board may permit a student who has completed schooling to be employed in the barber profession until the next examination. It is a bridge to the exam, not a license tier.
What happens if a barber lets the license lapse for five years?
After three years or more, the reinstatement route closes and both examinations must be retaken, per the board's licensing page. Under three years, reinstatement runs through the lapsed license fees.
Can a cosmetologist work in a South Dakota barbershop?
No. The board's licensing page states a cosmetologist is not licensed to work in a barbershop, and a barber working in a cosmetology salon needs a board inspection and a barbershop license for that station.
Is there any way to credit practice hours from another state toward the 1,500?
Yes, on the transfer route. An applicant from a state requiring fewer than 1,500 hours of instruction receives 50 hours of credit per month practiced as a licensed barber there, applied toward the 1,500-hour requirement.