Laws and Rules
Domain 3 covers the legal frame: Chapter 477, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 61G5, Florida Administrative Code, administered by the Board of Cosmetology within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Items ask who may perform what, what a salon must maintain, and which conduct triggers discipline.
Licensure
- Every individual performing services must hold a current Florida license; the establishment must hold a separate salon license.
- A license must be available for inspection and, where required, displayed; inspectors may enter a licensed salon during business hours.
- Practicing without a license exposes the practitioner and the salon to administrative fines and criminal penalties.
- Florida licenses by examination or by endorsement of a comparable out-of-state license; there is no automatic reciprocity.
- Renewal is not automatic - it requires the renewal fee and the continuing education the Board requires, which includes HIV/AIDS content.
Scope of practice
- Work only within the license you hold. A salon may not advertise or provide services it is not licensed for.
- Booth renters are self-employed but still must be individually licensed and follow the same sanitation rules; the salon remains responsible for the premises.
- The salon must be supervised by a licensed operator and must meet sanitation, equipment, and facility standards.
Discipline
- Grounds include fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, gross malpractice or incompetence, practicing beyond scope, aiding unlicensed practice, sanitation violations, false or misleading advertising, and practicing while impaired.
- Penalties range from reprimand and administrative fine to probation, suspension, revocation, and costs.
Worked example
The esthetician calls in sick, and the owner asks the nail specialist on duty to do the client's facial because "it's just a cleanse and mask." Reasoning: the nail specialist license does not include skin care, so performing it is practicing beyond scope and exposes both the technician and the salon to discipline for aiding an out-of-scope service. Correct answer: reschedule the client or bring in another licensed facial specialist.
Traps
- Assuming the salon license authorizes any employee to perform any service.
- Treating a booth renter as exempt from Board rules or inspection.
- Believing an expired license is acceptable while renewal is "in the mail."
- Confusing the Board (rulemaking and discipline) with DBPR (licensing and investigation).