Cosmetology / Barber License from Texas to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)

What's different between Texas and Pennsylvania

Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Pennsylvania. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.

Route, each way

Texas to Pennsylvania (this page): Reciprocity agreement.

Pennsylvania to Texas (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.

The two directions differ: Texas and Pennsylvania do not give each other's licensees the same route.

Does coming from Texas matter?

Texas gets Pennsylvania's most common result: 30 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.

The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, reciprocity agreement (11), licensure by endorsement (8), and compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (1).

Reciprocity agreements

Pennsylvania's reciprocity agreement list names 41 states, including Texas.

Texas's row names no reciprocity agreement states.

CLC membership

Pennsylvania has enacted the Cosmetology Licensure Compact; Texas has not.

Application fee

Pennsylvania lists $89 for an out-of-state applicant and Texas lists $100 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.

Training hours

Pennsylvania's first-time-applicant standard is 1,250 training hours for the standard license; Texas's is 1,000.

Pennsylvania's is 250 training hours higher than Texas's.

Exam rules on record

Pennsylvania and Texas carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.

• Pennsylvania (this move): Exams are not retaken — an applicant who meets the criteria for licensure by reciprocity may obtain the license without examination (49 Pa. Code 7.31(b))
• Texas (the reverse move): No Texas examinations are required when TDLR recognizes your state's license and training as equivalent (License by Reciprocity); TDLR's out-of-state eligibility tool sets this state by state: school-trained cosmetologists from most states qualify with no minimum period of licensure, some states (for example Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska and South Dakota) require at least one year of licensure, and applicants with less may apply now but must pass the Texas written and practical exams; licensees whose state or apprenticeship training Texas does not currently recognize may request an individual credential assessment or enroll in a Texas school

What changes, Texas → Pennsylvania

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

1. Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology website (linked below) — rules change.
2. Submit the reciprocity application to the Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology (application linked below).
3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
4. Hold a current license with a minimum of two years of licensed work experience, documented by signed employer certifications.
5. Provide criminal history records checks, dated within 180 days, from every state where you lived, worked, or trained during the past five years.
6. Be licensed in a state with which Pennsylvania holds a reciprocal agreement; applicants from the eight non-reciprocal states apply by Act 41 endorsement instead.
7. Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.

Official links

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