Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S3/18/25
2 95th General Assembly
A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1673
4
5 By: Representative L. Johnson
6 By: Senator Irvin
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING BARBERS; AND FOR
10 OTHER PURPOSES.
11
12
13 Subtitle
14 TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING BARBERS.
15
16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
17
18 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code � 17-20-303 is amended to read as follows:
19 17-20-303. Application.
20 (a) Any person, firm, or corporation desiring to operate as a barber,
21 barber student, teacher manager instructor, teacher manager instructor
22 student, barbershop, barber corporation, or barber school or college shall
23 file an application for a certificate of registration on a form furnished by
24 the State Board of Barber Examiners and pay the application fee.
25 (b) Any person who desires to practice barbering in this state shall
26 file with the Director of the State Board of Barber Examiners a written
27 application, duly notarized, with certification of at least one thousand five
28 hundred (1,500) hours of barber training, together with:
29 (1) Two (2) identical passport-sized signed photographs; and
30 (2) A copy of his or her driver's license or record of state or
31 federal identification card; and.
32 (3) A copy of his or her Social Security card.
33 (c) A barber applying for reciprocity who has an unrevoked and
34 unexpired license issued by the proper authorities of another state
35 certifying that he or she has completed a minimum of one thousand five
36 hundred (1,500) hours of training, may be issued a certificate of
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1 registration as a registered barber upon making the application as required
2 by this chapter and upon the payment of a reciprocity fee that shall include
3 the license fee until the beginning of the next renewal period.
4 (d)(1) An unlicensed person applying for a license who has at least
5 one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours of barber training may be granted
6 registration by examination upon proof of training by the state board in the
7 state in which the person received the training or by another appropriate
8 authority and upon making application as required by law and upon payment of
9 an application fee and examination fee.
10 (2) To obtain registration in this state as a registered barber,
11 A a barber applying for reciprocity who has an unrevoked an unexpired license
12 issued by the proper authorities of another state and who has fewer than one
13 thousand five hundred (1,500) hours of barber training:
14 (A) must Must:
15 (i) also have Have been continuously engaged in the
16 practice of barbering for at least one (1) year, in addition to providing
17 proof of licensure and training by the state board proper authorities of the
18 state where the applicant received training or holds a license,; or
19 (ii) complete Complete the required number of one
20 thousand five hundred (1,500) hours, of barber training; and
21 (B) Must:
22 (i) File an application with the State Board of
23 Barber Examiners; and
24 (ii) Pay a reciprocity fee and upon making
25 application as required by law and upon payment of a reciprocity fee.
26 (e)(1) A person barber applying for reciprocity who is licensed in has
27 an unrevoked and unexpired license issued by the proper authorities of a
28 foreign country as a barber is required to pass a practical examination
29 administered by the State Board of Barber Examiners and pay the examination
30 fee to qualify for a license in this state.
31 (2) All documents submitted for the purpose of complying with
32 the requirements for examination shall be original copies and translated into
33 the English language.
34 (3) The application shall be accompanied with a money order for
35 the reciprocity and examination fee.
36 (f) A person who has been continuously licensed or registered in
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1 another state to practice barbering as a teacher manager instructor who also
2 meets the requirements under � 17-20-406 may be issued a certificate of
3 registration as a registered barber and teacher manager instructor upon
4 making application as required by law and upon payment of a reciprocity fee
5 to obtain registration in this state as a registered barber, plus a teacher
6 manager instructor reciprocity fee.
7
8 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 17-20-304(a), concerning examinations for a
9 certificate of registration to practice as a registered barber, is amended to
10 read as follows:
11 (a) An applicant for a certificate of registration to practice as a
12 registered barber who fails to pass a satisfactory examination conducted by
13 the State Board of Barber Examiners may apply for another examination at any
14 future meeting of the board shall pass an examination approved by the State
15 Board of Barber Examiners.
16
17 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 17-20-307(d)(1), concerning a personal
18 lifetime barber license, is amended to read as follows:
19 (d)(1) A barber who holds a current license in this state shall be
20 issued a personal lifetime license at eighty (80) years of age upon his or
21 her request.
22
23 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code � 17-20-308(7), concerning grounds for
24 disciplinary action related to barbers, is amended to read as follows:
25 (7) Immoral or unprofessional Unprofessional conduct;
26
27 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code � 17-20-404(a)(7), concerning an application
28 for a license and approval as a registered school or college of barbering, is
29 amended to read as follows:
30 (7)(A) Evidence Except as provided under subdivision (a)(7)(B),
31 evidence that a performance surety bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
32 guaranteeing the operation of the school or college has been secured.
33 (B) A registered school or college of barbering that is
34 also a public education entity, a state-supported institution of higher
35 education, or any other state-supported entity as determined by the State
36 Board of Barber Examiners is not required to secure a surety bond under
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1 subdivision (a)(7)(A) of this section.
2
3 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code � 17-20-406(a)(1), concerning teacher manager
4 instructor certification for barber schools, is amended to read as follows:
5 (a)(1) Application for examination for a teacher manager instructor
6 certificate shall be filed with the State Board of Barber Examiners on blank
7 forms prepared and furnished by the board and shall be accompanied by the fee
8 prescribed in � 17-20-409.
9
10 SECTION 7. Arkansas Code � 17-20-407(c), concerning course of study,
11 is amended to read as follows:
12 (c) Each barber college shall abide by the following guidelines:
13 (1) Conduct a course of study and training which shall consist
14 of not fewer than five hundred fifty (550) hours for students who are
15 licensed cosmetologists, and as to all other students not fewer than one
16 thousand five hundred (1,500) clock hours. The average daily schedule of each
17 student shall consist of the following:
18 (A) One and one-fourth (1�) clock hours of theoretical
19 study in a classroom;
20 (B) One and one-fourth (1�) clock hours of scientific
21 barber practice in a classroom other than general clinic; and
22 (C) Five (5) clock hours of general barber practice. Each
23 barber college shall average five (5) services per day per student;
24 (2) Teach no fewer than one-third () of its total enrollment
25 scientific barbering practice, theory, or general barber practice at one (1)
26 time;
27 (3)(2) Post a daily schedule of its course of study in its
28 general clinic where it can be easily read by all students; and
29 (4)(3) Require a maximum attendance in all subjects. A student
30 shall not be permitted to spend more than eight (8) hours in the college in
31 any one (1) day.
32
33 SECTION 8. Arkansas Code � 17-20-408(e)(1), concerning the minimum
34 number of barber chairs in a training room of a school or college of
35 barbering, is amended to read as follows:
36 (e)(1) A minimum of fifteen (15) sixteen (16) barber chairs in modern
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1 and new condition;
2
3 SECTION 9. Arkansas Code � 17-20-420 is amended to read as follows:
4 17-20-420. Application for enrollment.
5 (a) A school of barbering shall not enroll or admit any student
6 thereto unless the student makes and files in duplicate a duly verified
7 application submits to the State Board of Barber Examiners:
8 (1) An application; and
9 (2) The fee prescribed for the administration of the student
10 application and student license.
11 (b) This The application required under subsection (a) of this section
12 shall be of such form and contain such matters as the State Board of Barber
13 Examiners board may prescribe.
14 (b) One (1) copy of the application shall be retained by the school
15 enrolling or admitting the student, and one (1) copy shall be filed by the
16 school with the board, along with the fee prescribed for the administration
17 of the student application and student license.
18
19 SECTION 10. Arkansas Code � 17-20-421(a)(3), concerning applications
20 for admission to a barber college or examination to receive a certificate of
21 registration as a registered barber, is amended to read as follows:
22 (3) The application for enrollment shall be accompanied with
23 identification of the applicant in the form of:
24 (A) A copy of his or her Social Security card;
25 (B) A driver's license or a state-issued or federally-
26 issued identification card; and
27 (C)(B) Two (2) passport-sized photographs of the applicant
28 with the name of the applicant on the back.
29
30 /s/L. Johnson
31
32
33
34
35
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5 03-18-2025 14:06:20 LGL123Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.