Arkansas Nail Technician Practice Test

Arkansas tests its own state law on the written manicurist exam; all 60 answers here cite 17 CAR Part 54.

For how long is an Arkansas temporary license effective under 17 CAR § 54-114?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Arkansas Department of Health or the NIC. Bank checked October 14, 2026.

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All 60 questions

Scientific concepts: infection control and safety 20

  • A buffer block comes apart when it is washed and soaked. How does the Arkansas definition class an item that is damaged or contaminated by cleaning and disinfecting? 17 CAR § 54-201(21)
  • A client is waiting, so a technician lifts her nippers out of the disinfectant after two minutes; the label gives ten. Which time governs in Arkansas? 17 CAR § 54-205(j)(1)(C)
  • A nail salon keeps its nippers in an ultraviolet light box and calls them sterile. How does 17 CAR § 54-205 treat UV lights and dry sterilizers? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Sterilizing instruments)
  • A small Arkansas salon keeps spare files and towels on a shelf in its restroom. What does 17 CAR § 54-205(b) say? 17 CAR § 54-205(b)(2)
  • A technician leaves the lid off the disinfectant jar between clients so she can reach in quickly. What does the Arkansas rule say of the solution? 17 CAR § 54-205(j)(1)(E)
  • An Arkansas manicurist soaks her metal pushers in an EPA-registered disinfectant. By the definition in 17 CAR § 54-201, what does disinfecting leave alive? 17 CAR § 54-201(12)
  • An Arkansas manicurist washes with soap and water before serving each client. What does 17 CAR § 54-205(m) accept in place of soap and water? 17 CAR § 54-205(m)(2)
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Scientific concepts: infection control and safety, continued

  • An Arkansas salon owner sets a decorative aquarium in the waiting area. Is that allowed under 17 CAR § 54-205(k)? 17 CAR § 54-205(k)
  • An unmarked pump bottle of clear liquid sits on an Arkansas nail table. What does 17 CAR § 54-205(p) require of every bottle and container of chemical or liquid in use? 17 CAR § 54-205(p)
  • Arkansas bars a person with an infectious or communicable disease from working in a salon. Which condition does 17 CAR § 54-205(l) say that term does not include? 17 CAR § 54-205(l)(2)(B)
  • How are salon towels and linens laundered under the Arkansas rule? 17 CAR § 54-205(o)(2)
  • How large must the liquid disinfecting receptacle at an Arkansas nail station be? 17 CAR § 54-205(j)(1)(D)
  • Monomer vapor hangs in the air of an Arkansas nail room. Of what does 17 CAR § 54-205(i) say each establishment must be free? 17 CAR § 54-205(i)
  • Only part of a jar of cuticle cream will be used on one client. How does the Arkansas rule have it taken from the jar? 17 CAR § 54-205(t)(2)
  • The skin of a manicure client's forearm is inflamed and broken out. What does 17 CAR § 54-205(l) say about massaging that surface? 17 CAR § 54-205(l)(2)(A)
  • The solution in an Arkansas salon's disinfecting receptacle still looks clear at closing time. When does 17 CAR § 54-205 have it changed? 17 CAR § 54-205(j)(1)(E)
  • Used nippers and pushers that can be disinfected are waiting their turn. Where does 17 CAR § 54-205 have them put? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Nonelectrical instruments)
  • Which kind of receptacle does the Arkansas rule name for linens that have been soiled? 17 CAR § 54-205(j)(2)
  • Which pair does Arkansas prohibit at a salon's hand washing facilities? 17 CAR § 54-205(c)(3)
  • Which three kinds of activity must the EPA-registered solution in an Arkansas salon's liquid disinfecting receptacle have? 17 CAR § 54-205(j)(1)(A)

Nail technology procedures: tools, pedicure tubs and products 14

  • A manufacturer asks an Arkansas salon to field test a laboratory-prepared product on clients. What must the client be given and sign? 17 CAR § 54-206(c)
  • A pedicure tub in Arkansas has come in contact with blood. Against what must the disinfectant added to it be effective? 17 CAR § 54-205(n)(4)(B)
  • A supplier offers Arkansas salons nail files and buffers sold as "disinfectable". How does 17 CAR § 54-205 treat disinfectable files, pumice stones and buffers? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Instruments and supplies)
  • After a pedicure the tub is drained and cleaned by the manufacturer's instructions. Where does the Arkansas rule say to take special care to remove all film? 17 CAR § 54-205(n)(4)(B)
  • An electric file in an Arkansas salon no longer runs to its manufacturer's specifications. What does the rule have done with it? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Electrical instruments)
  • Before it touches a client, how is an electrical instrument such as an electric file disinfected under the Arkansas rule? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Electrical instruments)
  • Disinfected jets and screens are not going back into the pedicure tub tonight. Where does 17 CAR § 54-205 have them stored? 17 CAR § 54-205(n)(4)(B)(v)
  • For how long does the disinfectant stand in a noncirculating pedicure tub, or circulate in a circulating one, under the Arkansas standards? 17 CAR § 54-205(n)(4)(B)
  • In what may nail powders be kept in an Arkansas salon, while liquids and creams sit in covered containers? 17 CAR § 54-205(t)(1)(B)
  • What does the Arkansas rule recommend that the person cleaning and disinfecting a pedicure tub wear? 17 CAR § 54-205(n)(4)(A)
  • When are the filters, screens, drains and jets of a pedicure spa taken out, scrubbed and disinfected under 17 CAR § 54-205? 17 CAR § 54-205(n)(4)(B)(iv)
  • When does a used porous file or pumice stone go into the waste receptacle in an Arkansas salon? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Instruments and supplies)
  • Where does 17 CAR § 54-205 have disinfected electrical instruments placed? 17 CAR § 54-205 (Electrical instruments)
  • Which liquid does 17 CAR § 54-207 forbid Arkansas cosmetologists and manicurists to use? 17 CAR § 54-207 (Equipment and chemical use)

Arkansas state law 26

  • A Department representative asks a manicurist at her station for proof of identification. What does 17 CAR § 54-104 have her present? 17 CAR § 54-104(b)(2)
  • A graduate of an Arkansas school owes the Department of Health money. What does 17 CAR § 54-203 say about her examinations? 17 CAR § 54-203(b)
  • A licensee wants to appeal an action of the Department to the Cosmetology Technical Advisory Committee. How soon must the written appeal be made? 17 CAR § 54-108(b)(1)
  • A manicurist who holds another state's license asks Arkansas for one by reciprocity. What is the youngest age 17 CAR § 54-204 allows? 17 CAR § 54-204(a)(2)(A)
  • A restaurant shares a building with an Arkansas nail salon. How must the two be separated under 17 CAR § 54-206? 17 CAR § 54-206(b)(1)
  • After how many hours of instruction may an Arkansas manicure student work in the school on a client who pays for service or materials? 17 CAR § 54-207 (Manicure curriculum)
  • An Arkansas manicurist opens a nail room in her house. What does 17 CAR § 54-103 require of the entrance? 17 CAR § 54-103(c)
  • An Arkansas nail salon moves to a storefront across town. How does 17 CAR § 54-111 class it at the new address? 17 CAR § 54-111(c)
  • An Arkansas salon is found without the trafficking hotline poster for the first time. What does 17 CAR § 54-107 provide? 17 CAR § 54-107(e)(5)
  • An out-of-state manicurist has already passed an examination comparable to Arkansas's. What else must she pass for a reciprocity license? 17 CAR § 54-204(a)(2)(D)
  • Besides the licenses, which report must be conspicuously posted in the reception area, at workstations or in the clinic area of an Arkansas salon? 17 CAR § 54-107(a)
  • Besides work on the nails, which parts of the body does the Arkansas definition of a manicurist cover for softening, massaging, cleansing, manipulating or stimulating? 17 CAR § 54-201(19)
  • For how long is an Arkansas temporary license effective under 17 CAR § 54-114? 17 CAR § 54-114(b)
  • From which two settings does the Arkansas definition of a cosmetology establishment leave out the branch of manicuring? 17 CAR § 54-201(9)
  • How long must a person wait to apply again after the Department revokes a manicurist license, counting from the revocation or the final disposition of an appeal? 17 CAR § 54-202(f)
  • How many hours of training make up the Arkansas manicure curriculum? 17 CAR § 54-207 (Manicure curriculum)
  • How often are Arkansas cosmetology establishments and mobile salons inspected, at the least? 17 CAR § 54-108(a)(3)
  • One hour of the Arkansas manicure curriculum is set aside for a training named in the rule. Which one? 17 CAR § 54-207 (Manicure curriculum)
  • What must an Arkansas salon post so that clients know how to reach the Department's Cosmetology Section with a complaint? 17 CAR § 54-107(d)
  • What must the Department of Health issue before an Arkansas manicuring student can earn accredited hours? 17 CAR § 54-207 (Student registration)
  • What schooling must a person show to register as a manicuring student in an Arkansas school of cosmetology? 17 CAR § 54-207 (Student registration)
  • Where may services be given for pay in Arkansas other than in a licensed cosmetology establishment or mobile salon? 17 CAR § 54-202(c)
  • Where must an Arkansas establishment post the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline poster? 17 CAR § 54-107(e)(1)
  • Which passing grades does 17 CAR § 54-203 set for the Arkansas written and practical examinations? 17 CAR § 54-203(g)
  • Who gives the official Arkansas practical licensing examination, by 17 CAR § 54-203? 17 CAR § 54-203(e)
  • Within what time from the date of the infraction must an official complaint against an Arkansas licensee be made in writing? 17 CAR § 54-109(2)(A)

How this list was compiled: Outline: the Candidate Information Bulletin posted for the Arkansas Board of Cosmetology by the examination administrator (https://provexam.com/test-information/arkansas-board-of-cosmetology/bulletin.pdf, read 2026-10-14): Nail Technology 2025, 125 questions, of which 10 are unscored; Scientific Concepts 35 percent, Nail Technology Procedures 52 percent, Arkansas State Law 13 percent. 17 CAR § 54-203 asks for a grade of 70 on the written examination and 75 on the practical. Facts: 17 CAR Part 54, Rules for Cosmetology and Body Art in Arkansas, Subparts 1 and 2, in the official Code of Arkansas Rules (https://codeofarrules.arkansas.gov, last updated there 10/12/2026). Each question names its section and links to it. Read 2026-10-14. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the public texts named. Nothing comes from the real examination, the sample questions in a bulletin, a practice product, a textbook or a prep course.

How it works

This unofficial Arkansas nail technician practice test asks what Arkansas's own rules say on the written manicurist examination's subjects. It is not affiliated with the Arkansas Department of Health or the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC).

Read the full guide

What the Arkansas written exam covers

The candidate bulletin for Arkansas (read October 14, 2026) lists Nail Technology 2025 with 125 questions, 10 of them unscored: Scientific Concepts 35 percent, Nail Technology Procedures 52 and Arkansas State Law 13. The schools of cosmetology give the practical examination.

What this bank asks

Twenty questions on infection control and safety, 14 on tools, pedicure tubs and products, and 26 on state law. Anatomy, nail disorders, product chemistry and the steps of nail enhancements have no Arkansas text and are not asked; the national manicure theory test on this site covers them.

  • Files, pumice stones and buffers sold as disinfectable are prohibited; porous ones go in the waste receptacle immediately after use (17 CAR § 54-205).
  • Dry sterilizers and UV lights are not acceptable sterilization techniques in Arkansas (17 CAR § 54-205).
  • A manicure student may work on paying clients after 60 hours of instruction (17 CAR § 54-207).

Questions and answers

What score passes the Arkansas manicurist exam?

Arkansas calls the license manicurist. 17 CAR § 54-203 asks for a grade of 70 on the written examination, state law included, and 75 on the practical examination.

How many hours is nail tech school in Arkansas?

The manicure curriculum totals 600 hours: 75 of health, sanitation and infection control, 75 of health related science, 200 of manicuring and pedicuring, 200 of advanced nail technology, 49 of career development and one hour of awareness training (17 CAR § 54-207).

Are these the real Arkansas nail tech exam questions?

No. Every question is our own, written from the Code of Arkansas Rules and linked to its section. Nothing comes from the examination, a bulletin's sample questions or a practice product.

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