Texas cosmetology and barber CE online, built to TDLR rules
Since September 1, 2025 Texas barbers renew under the same CE rule as cosmetologists, so one platform can serve both. TDLR approves each course separately for each occupation and wants a completion report within seven days. We build the course and that paperwork as one system.
What TDLR requires of an online course
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Summarized from the rule text, with the citation for each so you can check it yourself.
- 01
Four hours with two fixed topics
16 TAC 83.25(b) and (k)
Renewal takes at least 4 hours: 1 hour of sanitation, and for renewals on or after September 1, 2025, 1 hour of human trafficking prevention covering common activities, recognizing victims and how to help and report. Licensees with 15 or more years need only those two hours.
- 02
Approved topics only
16 TAC 83.25(h) and (l)
A course must be dedicated to sanitation, the Act and chapter, the curriculum standards in 83.120 or 83.202, mental health awareness, or human trafficking prevention. Barbers fall under this section from September 1, 2025.
- 03
Fifty minute hours, one approval per occupation
TDLR CE Provider At a Glance (AAG FORM-038)
One CE credit hour is 50 minutes of actual instruction. Each course needs its own approval for each occupation, valid for one year.
- 04
Certificate within 15 days
16 TAC 59.51(d)
Each participant who attended the entire course gets a certificate within 15 days showing course name and number, completion date, provider name and number, approved hours, a provider signature, and the participant name, license type and number.
- 05
Completion report within 7 days
16 TAC 59.51(e) and (f), 83.25(j)
A course completion report goes to TDLR no later than seven days after completion, listing every participant who got a certificate and the record fees owed. The fee is $5 per licensee. Records are kept two years.
- 06
You verify attendance
16 TAC 59.51(l)
The provider is responsible for verifying participant attendance and must run the course substantially the same way it was described in the approval application.
- 07
Your web page is an ad
16 TAC 59.51(b)
Every advertisement must show the provider number and the TDLR course number, and provider web pages about a course count as advertisements.
How the platform is built to it
Your course, on your site, under your name. Every requirement above is a feature, not a promise in the application.
A clock that counts instruction
Credit is earned in 50 minute blocks of actual instruction, tracked per learner, so the hours on the certificate match the time in the record.
Attendance you can prove
Sign in records, lesson completion logs and activity checks show the participant attended the entire course before 59.51(d) lets a certificate issue.
Certificates and the 7 day report, automatic
Certificates carry all six required fields and issue on completion. The completion report, with each license number and the $5 record fee total, is built the same day so the 7 day deadline is never close.
One course, two occupations
Cosmetology and barber versions sit side by side with their own TDLR course numbers, and every course page shows the provider and course number the advertising rule requires.
Records on request
Two years of completion records stay searchable, so a participant or TDLR request inside the 10 day window under 59.51(g) and (h) is a download, not a scramble.
The path to TDLR approval
- 1
Register with TDLR as a continuing education provider. The provider fee is $200.
- 2
File form BAC131N, the CE Course Approval Application, for each course and each occupation. The fee is $100 per course per occupation.
- 3
Get approval for each course, valid for one year, and renew it to keep offering the course.
- 4
Publish each course with its provider and course numbers, then file completion reports within 7 days and pay the $5 record fee per licensee.
The terms
We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.
- One flat fee
- Quoted per course before any work starts. No hourly billing and no surprise line items.
- Final payment on approval
- The last payment is due when the regulator approves the course, so the platform has to pass review before it is paid for in full.
- No per-student fees
- You keep what every enrollment pays. Nothing is skimmed per seat, per certificate or per month of traffic.
- You own it
- The platform, the code and the student records are yours outright, on your site and under your brand.
Questions schools ask
Do Texas barbers need continuing education now?
Yes. Under 16 TAC 83.25(l), the CE requirement applies to barber renewals starting September 1, 2025, alongside cosmetologists.
Can one course count for both cosmetology and barber renewals?
Only if it is approved for each. TDLR approves every course separately for each occupation, and each approval runs one year.
Does TDLR require identity verification or proctoring for online CE?
We found no TDLR identity or proctoring rule for cosmetology CE. The provider is still responsible for verifying attendance under 59.51(l), and TDLR may audit unannounced and enroll undercover, so the platform keeps attendance evidence for every learner.
How much does TDLR charge CE providers?
A $200 provider fee, $100 per course per occupation, and a $5 record fee for each licensee who completes a course for credit.
What do you charge?
One flat fee per course, with the final payment when TDLR approves it. No per student fees, and the platform is yours, code included. We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.
Price your TDLR course
Tell us the course and how you teach it now. You get a flat price back by email, and a list of what the application will ask about the platform.
Or email [email protected]
Sources
- 16 TAC 83.25 (Cornell LII)
- 16 TAC 59.51 (Cornell LII)
- TDLR CE Provider At a Glance
- TDLR BAC131N CE Course Approval Application
Read from the sources above on October 15, 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current text with TDLR before you apply. This page is not legal advice.