California Transforms Credit Transfer Model

posted on: September 27, 2023

Have you ever thought about going back to school to add a license, broaden your skillset, or expand your service menu? Maybe something that held you back was repeating course material you already learned during your first licensing program. The California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (Board) addresses these concerns in newly adopted rules that establish how the Board will grant credit transfer hours earned in one Board-approved program to another Board-approved program. The Board’s new credit transfer rules will be effective October 1, 2023.

Essentially, the new rules give a numerical breakdown of how many credit hours a licensee can transfer toward another licensing program. For example, a licensed cosmetologist who chooses to return to school for an esthetics license and wants to transfer credit from their cosmetology program to their esthetics program can now see how many hours they can transfer. Previous rules listed course credit transfers as percentages.

Also, the news rules incorporate more license categories that were not previously listed. This updates the rules to represent all current licenses regulated by the Board.

The Board believes this will benefit the industry in the following ways:

Making the transferring process easier to understand for schools, students, and licensees in barbering, cosmetology, skin care, nail care, hairstyling, and electrolysis programs
Ensuring students do not accidentally pay more by repeating identical instruction hours they’ve already earned from another Board-approved program

In this web post, we summarize the new credit transfer format for you.

Hour-for-Hour
A student changing from one program to another will receive credit for prior hours of technical and practical instruction earned in another program on an hour-for-hour basis if the prior instruction hours are identical to the new program instruction hours, i.e., instruction is the same duration and covers the same content.

Credit Transfers: Cosmetology
Credit will be given to a student who is a licensed cosmetologist or who earned instruction hours as part of a cosmetology program as follows:

For enrollment in a new barbering program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
200 hours in chemical hair services
200 hours in hairstyling services

For enrollment in a new skin care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
150 hours in skin care services
50 hours in hair removal and lash and brow beautification

For enrollment in a new nail care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
100 hours in manicure and pedicure

For enrollment in a new hairstyling program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
200 hours in hairstyling services

For enrollment in a new electrolysis program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

Credit Transfers: Barbering
Credit will be given to a student who is a licensed barber or who earned instruction hours as part of a barbering program as follows:

For enrollment in a new cosmetology program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
200 hours in chemical hair services
200 hours in hairstyling services

For enrollment in a new skin care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new nail care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new hairstyling program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
200 hours in hairstyling services

For enrollment in a new electrolysis program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

Credit Transfers: Esthetics
Credit will be given to a student who is a licensed esthetician or who earned instruction hours as part of an esthetics program as follows:

For enrollment in a new cosmetology program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
150 hours in skin care services
50 hours in hair removal and lash and brow beautification

For enrollment in a new barbering program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new nail care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new hairstyling program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new electrolysis program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

Credit Transfers: Manicuring
Credit will be given to a student who is a licensed manicurist or who earned instruction hours as part of a nail care program as follows:

For enrollment in a new cosmetology program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
100 hours in manicure and pedicure

For enrollment in a new barbering program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new skin care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new hairstyling program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new electrolysis program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

Credit Transfers: Hairstyling
Credit will be given to a student who is a licensed hairstylist or who earned instruction hours as part of a hairstyling program as follows:

For enrollment in a new cosmetology program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
200 hours in hairstyling services

For enrollment in a new barbering program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation
200 hours in hairstyling services

For enrollment in a new nail care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new skin care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new electrolysis program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

Credit Transfers: Electrology
Credit will be given to a student who is a licensed electrologist or who earned instruction hours as part of an electrology program as follows:

For enrollment in a new cosmetology program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new barbering program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new skin care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new hairstyling program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

For enrollment in a new nail care program, up to:

100 hours in health and safety
100 hours in disinfection and sanitation

Effective date: October 1, 2023