Florida esthetician license renewal: the 10 CE hours explained
Florida facial specialists renew every two years with 10 hours of continuing education from a Board of Cosmetology approved provider, plus a renewal fee. The hours are prescribed by subject, not free choice, and the renewal is not processed until they are logged.
Renewal is the one piece of admin that can stop you working, and it is also the one most people leave until the last two weeks. The requirement itself is small. The trap is that the hours have a fixed shape, and a course that does not match it will not count.
How many hours, and of what
Ten hours per biennium, and they are prescribed by subject rather than chosen freely. The breakdown is one hour of HIV/AIDS, three hours of sanitation and sterilization, half an hour of OSHA, half an hour of workers’ compensation, two hours of laws and rules, one hour of chemical makeup, one hour of environmental issues, and one hour on any subject related to the practice of cosmetology.
If you remember a larger number, you are remembering the old rule. The requirement was lowered to ten hours effective February 2020.
It has to be an approved provider
All of it must come from a Board of Cosmetology approved continuing education provider. A course that teaches you something genuinely useful but is not on that list does not count toward the ten hours, however good it is.
That is a different thing from the mandatory board-approved CE block. Do not assume one replaces the other, and do not let anyone imply it does. Ask us at consultation and we will tell you plainly what applies to your renewal and what does not — including when the honest answer is that you need to go elsewhere for the hours.
When yours is due
Licenses renew in two groups. Group 1 expires on October 31 in odd years; Group 2 on October 31 in even years. There is a renewal fee, and the renewal will not be processed until your hours are logged.
For the current even-year cycle the Department’s page lists the deadline as before midnight on November 2, 2026 — October 31 falls on a Saturday. Confirm your own group, date and the current fee on the DBPR Cosmetology page before you rely on it, because these details change.
If your license has lapsed
Reactivating an inactive license requires ten hours of board-approved continuing education for the biennium before the one you are reactivating into. In other words, the hours do not disappear by waiting — they accumulate.
What our courses are, and are not
We should be clear, because the question arrives every fall. ANNAZUR runs technique training: acne case work, microcurrent, treatment planning, sculptural massage, lash and brow work. It finishes with a Certificate of Completion.
Not sure what counts toward your hours? Ask us — the consultation is free, and sometimes the answer sends you elsewhere.
The sensible order
Handle the ten hours early in your cycle so renewal is a formality rather than a scramble. Then spend your training budget on the thing that actually changes your work: the case type you keep getting wrong.
Those are two separate purchases with two separate purposes, and treating them as one is how people end up compliant and still stuck.
Also in this series:
The short version.
- Ten hours: every two years, prescribed by subject, not free choice.
- Approved provider: only Board of Cosmetology approved CE counts.
- Renewal fee: flat, every two years, and renewal waits until the hours are logged.
- Two groups: Group 1 odd years, Group 2 even years, both October 31.
- Not the same thing: our technique training is a Certificate of Completion, not the mandatory CE block.
Once renewal is handled, see our facial courses — or book a free consultation with an instructor at the spa. The free consultation is available at both Jacksonville locations — Salisbury Road and Sutton Park Drive South.
See the facial coursesRenewal. Questions answered plainly.
How many CE hours does a Florida facial specialist need?
Ten per two-year cycle, with a prescribed subject breakdown.
Was it not sixteen hours?
It was. The requirement was lowered to ten hours effective February 2020.
How much is renewal?
There is a flat renewal fee every two years, and it is not processed until the continuing education is complete. DBPR publishes the current amount.
When is my renewal due?
Group 1 expires October 31 in odd years, Group 2 in even years. Confirm your group with DBPR.
Do ANNAZUR courses count toward the ten hours?
No. ANNAZUR is not a Board of Cosmetology approved CE provider, so our courses do not count toward the ten hours. They are technique training with a Certificate of Completion. Get your CE hours from an approved provider, and come to us for the skills.
My license lapsed. What now?
Reactivation requires ten hours of board-approved CE for the previous biennium. Contact the Board for your specific situation.
