Cosmetology / Barber License from Indiana to Illinois: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Illinois accept an Indiana cosmetology license?
A cosmetology license transfers from Indiana 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 Indiana 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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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Indiana and Illinois require identical training hours (1,500), which removes the usual friction from a cosmetology transfer. What remains is Illinois's administrative checklist below.
What's different between Indiana 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
Indiana to Illinois (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Illinois to Indiana (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Indiana matter?
Coming from Indiana 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 Indiana nor Illinois has enacted the Cosmetology Licensure Compact.
- Application fee
Illinois lists $45 for an out-of-state applicant and Indiana lists $40 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Training hours
Illinois's first-time-applicant standard is 1,500 training hours for the standard license; Indiana's is 1,500.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
Illinois and Indiana 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
- Indiana (the reverse move): Indiana's written and practical exams are not retaken for qualifying reciprocity applicants; the issuing jurisdiction must have required at least 70% passing scores on written and practical exams. Applicants from non-qualifying jurisdictions must transfer hours to an Indiana beauty culture school, graduate, and apply by examination
What changes, Indiana → Illinois
| Indiana (current) | Illinois (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| CLC status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement |
| Training hours | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Application fee | $40 (reciprocity application fee) | $45 (endorsement fee per 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.100(a)(7)) |
| Processing time | not stated by the board | IDFPR does not publish a processing time for cosmetologist endorsement |
| Licensing authority | Indiana State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) | 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 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)
- Indiana PLA — Cosmetology Application Instructions: By Reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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