Cosmetology / Barber License from Hawaii to Illinois: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Illinois accept a Hawaii cosmetology license?
A cosmetology license transfers from Hawaii to Illinois by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), verify your Hawaii license, and meet Illinois's endorsement requirements. Exams are not retaken if your out-of-state license is the same as or substantially similar to the Illinois cosmetologist license; endorsement applicants who cannot satisfy all requirements may be required to submit additional information, take additional coursework, and/or pass the Illinois examination.
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Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This move runs downhill. Hawaii trained you to 1,800 hours; Illinois requires only 1,500. With the hour test cleared by a margin, your transfer is administrative — license verification, application, fee — and the requirements below read as a checklist rather than an obstacle course.
What's different between Hawaii and Illinois
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Illinois. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Hawaii to Illinois (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Illinois to Hawaii (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Hawaii matter?
Coming from Hawaii does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Illinois.
- CLC membership
Neither Hawaii nor Illinois has enacted the Cosmetology Licensure Compact.
- Application fee
Illinois lists $45 for an out-of-state applicant and Hawaii lists $92–$165 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Hawaii lists 4–8 weeks for the reverse move; Illinois has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Training hours
Illinois's first-time-applicant standard is 1,500 training hours for the standard license; Hawaii's is 1,800.
Illinois's is 300 training hours lower than Hawaii's.
- Exam rules on record
Illinois and Hawaii carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Illinois (this move): Exams are not retaken if your out-of-state license is the same as or substantially similar to the Illinois cosmetologist license; endorsement applicants who cannot satisfy all requirements may be required to submit additional information, take additional coursework, and/or pass the Illinois examination
- Hawaii (the reverse move): You may qualify for an examination waiver (no Hawaii exam) if you obtained a passing score on the NIC or PSI Services examination in another jurisdiction — apply via examination waiver with proof of passing; otherwise you must pass Hawaii's licensing examination, administered by PSI Services since January 1, 2026
What changes, Hawaii → Illinois
| Hawaii (current) | Illinois (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| CLC status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement |
| Training hours | 1,800 | 1,500 |
| Application fee | $92–$165 (examination-waiver applicants pay $92 if licensed in an odd-numbered year or $165 in an even-numbered year ($20 non-refundable application + $22 license + Compliance Resolution Fund, plus half the renewal fee in even years); exam-route applicants pay the $20 application fee first, with exam fees paid to PSI and license fees after passing; optional temporary permit (exam applicants only) $40) | $45 (endorsement fee per 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.100(a)(7)) |
| Processing time | 4–8 weeks (applications are ratified at monthly board meetings; license card mailed approximately 2-3 weeks after the meeting) | IDFPR does not publish a processing time for cosmetologist endorsement |
| Licensing authority | Hawaii Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Illinois sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Illinois's current requirements on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active cosmetologist license in another U.S. state or jurisdiction.
- Submit official certification of licensure from the jurisdiction of original licensure and from the jurisdiction where currently licensed and practicing, if different.
- License must be the same or substantially similar to Illinois's; licenses obtained through reciprocity in another state may not qualify.
- Provide school transcripts and/or verification of work experience if requested.
- Complete a Department-approved abnormal skin growth (melanoma) education course for applications on or after January 1, 2026.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified Hawaii 2026-10-29, Illinois 2026-07-21.
- IDFPR — Qualifications for Licensure: Cosmetologist (011), rev. 9/2025 ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- IDFPR — Cosmetology profession page ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.100 — Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Hawaii DCCA — Barbering and Cosmetology FAQs (rev. 04/29/2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Hawaii DCCA PVL — Board of Barbering and Cosmetology ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Hawaii DCCA PVL — Barbering and Cosmetology Examination Information (NIC/PSI examination waiver; PSI Services vendor from January 1, 2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Hawaii DCCA — Beauty Operator License application and instructions, forms COSM-00A/COSM-01 (rev. 11/2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources Hawaii 2026-10-29, Illinois 2026-07-21
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