The Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs announced over the weekend that the hours required to receive a barber, beautician or manicurist license have been increased by the Division of Boards and Commissions, the Virgin Islands Board of Barbers, Beauticians and Manicurist (BBM).
Hours required for a cosmetologist went from 1,000 hours to 1,500. For a manicurist, the hours have been increased from 150 hours to 500 hours. And for esthetician, the hours required went from 250 to 600.
Presently, if you have a cosmetology or barber license in another state, you may be eligible for licensure through endorsement in the U.S. Virgin Islands, DLCA said. However, according to the board’s policy, “licensure by endorsement” means that you are attempting to qualify for licensure in the U.S. Virgin Islands without having to take the U.S.V.I. Board of BBM examination, but it must be developed by PSI, the same test site that currently develops and administers the U.S.V.I. Board examinations.
The board cited 27 V.I. Code § 455a, which reads, “The Board may, in its discretion, waive the examination of and issue a license to practice barbering, beauty culture or manicuring to any person possessing the qualifications prescribed by section 454 of this chapter who is the holder of a license to practice such trade, then in full force and effect, issued under the laws of any state."
The USVI Board of BBM agreed to implement licensure by endorsement only to those applicants that took PSI developed examination, as the USVI does, and has at least 2 years of experience in the practice of barbering, beauty culture or manicuring.
To be considered for licensure by endorsement, the licensure requirements of your home state must be equal to or greater than the U.S. Virgin Islands’ cosmetology or barbering licensure requirements, the board said. This is achieved by having a current, active cosmetology license in good standing in your home state, and your home state must have comparable or more stringent education and exam requirements than the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For additional information contact the Division of Boards and Commissions at (340)713.3522 extension 3250 on St. Croix and at (340)714.3522 extension 4251 on St. Thomas.
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