NC Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners

The North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners is the state agency that licenses cosmetologists, estheticians, and natural hair care specialists, along with the salons and schools they work in. It also carries out sanitation inspections and takes consumer and student complaints about licensed shops and practitioners.

Applications and renewals are completed online, and anyone can check a license's status online. Staff answer questions by phone or through the chat option, though they cannot take payments over the phone. Board inspectors carry identification and do not collect payments, so anyone who receives a text or visit asking for money claiming to be an inspector should report it to the office. The office is at 121 Edinburgh South Drive in Cary.