Colorado Nail Technician Practice Test

Electric files need 8 hours of training and waxing 6 in Colorado; all 56 answers cite its rules or Act.

What must be made available at every nail station in Colorado for the client to use before a service?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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All 56 questions

Safety and infection control 26

  • A box of new wooden sticks arrives at a Colorado salon. How does Rule 1.7 have unused single-use items kept? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(G)(5)
  • A Colorado sharps container is full. What must be done with it? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(4)
  • A file is marked by its maker as a disposable item. What does Colorado's Rule 1.7 say? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(G)(7)
  • After washing with running water and soap before a service, with what does a Colorado licensee dry the hands? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(C)(1)
  • By what are pedicure bowls cleaned and disinfected in Colorado, and when? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(B)(7)
  • By what instructions are linens washed before each use in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(H)(1)
  • Colorado's Rule 1.7 names an item of paper, wood or other porous material that is intended for one application only. What is the name? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(12)
  • How do Colorado's infection control rules define "contaminated"? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(2)
  • How does Colorado's Rule 1.7 define a porous material? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(9)
  • How soon must a used towel go into the closed container for dirty linens in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(2)
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Safety and infection control, continued

  • What does Colorado's Rule 1.6 make the registrant responsible for in every work area? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.6(E)(1)(a)
  • What does Colorado's Rule 1.7 require of every bottle and container in the place of business? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(3)
  • What does disinfection require under the definitions of Colorado's Rule 1.7? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(5)
  • What must a Colorado licensee make sure of before performing any manicuring service on each client? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(B)(1)
  • What must be made available at every nail station in Colorado for the client to use before a service? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(C)(1)
  • What must the container that holds used implements be made of in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(6)(a)
  • What were standard precautions previously called, by Colorado's Rule 1.7? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(14)
  • When a Colorado licensee uses a disinfectant, which two things on the instruction label are followed? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(4)
  • When does a Colorado trash container not need a lid? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(1)
  • Where are clean linens stored under Colorado's Rule 1.7? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(2)
  • Where may a disinfected electric file be stored in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(5)
  • Where must Safety Data Sheets be kept under Colorado's Rule 1.7? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(L)(1)
  • Which blood borne pathogens does Colorado's definition of standard precautions name? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(14)
  • Which of these is an "inanimate surface" in Colorado's infection control definitions? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(A)(6)
  • Which way of avoiding cross contamination does Colorado's Rule 1.7 permit for a jar of lotion? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(L)(3)(a)
  • With which surfaces must tools and implements not come into contact in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.7(D)(6)(c)

Electric files, nail products and nail services 12

  • A Colorado nail technician cannot produce evidence of the electric file training. What follows? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(6)
  • Colorado's definition of an artificial nail service describes acrylics as a mixture of polymer powder and a liquid monomer. Which monomer does it give as the example? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(1)(c)
  • For which services may an electric file be used in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(2)
  • How does Colorado's Rule 1.9 define an electric file? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(1)(a)
  • How many hours of training specific to electric nail files does Colorado require before a nail technician uses one? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(3)
  • In Colorado's definition of a natural nail service, nippers are used to remove what? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(1)(b)
  • What document shows the Director that a Colorado nail technician completed the electric file training? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(7)
  • Where must the electric file training be completed if it is obtained in Colorado? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(4)
  • Which nail product does Colorado's Rule 1.8 specifically prohibit? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.8(A)(2)(a)
  • Which of these does Colorado's definition count as an artificial nail service? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(1)(c)
  • Which of these is a required topic of Colorado's electric file training? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(3)
  • Which tools does Colorado's definition of an electric file leave out? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(F)(1)(a)

Scope of practice and hair removal 8

  • A client asks a Colorado nail technician to wax her eyebrows. Who must perform that service? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(G)(1)
  • After the added training, on which areas may a Colorado nail technician remove hair? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(G)(1)
  • By which means may a trained Colorado nail technician remove hair on the lower leg? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.8(D)(2)
  • Colorado's statute lists massaging among the acts of manicuring. Of which parts of the body? C.R.S. 12-105-104(11)
  • How many hours of training in hair removal by waxing does Colorado ask of a nail technician? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(G)(3)
  • Which of these acts upon the nails is named in Colorado's definition of manicuring? C.R.S. 12-105-104(11)
  • Which practice of cosmetology may a Colorado nail technician engage in without another license? C.R.S. 12-105-104(12)
  • Which topic must Colorado's hair removal training for nail technicians include? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.9(G)(3)

Colorado license law (extra) 10

  • A Colorado licensee earned training hours for one license type. May they count toward another license type? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.2(B)(3)
  • A Colorado nail technician rents a booth inside a salon that its owner has registered. Does the technician need a registration? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.6(A)(3)
  • An applicant trained as a nail technician in a foreign country. What must happen to that education before the Colorado examination? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.2(C)(3)
  • During an inspection, which conduct does Colorado's Rule 1.10 forbid? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.10(D)
  • Foreign work experience may replace contact hours for a Colorado applicant. For which hours may it not be substituted? C.R.S. 12-105-111(3.5)(a)
  • How many contact hours of training does Colorado's statute set for a nail technician? C.R.S. 12-105-111(3)(d)
  • May a Colorado licensee practice with an expired license once the grace period after expiration has passed? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.5(A)(2)(d)
  • What does "conspicuously displayed" mean in Colorado's rules? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.1(B)(6)
  • Which course topic does Colorado's Rule 1.2 list for nail technician training? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.2(A)(3)(e)
  • Within how long must a Colorado business owner tell the Director of a change in the information on the registration application? 4 CCR 731-1, Rule 1.6(C)(1)

How this list was compiled: Examination: the Colorado Nail Technician Test Taker Guide (footer 'NAIL TECH v1.6 EFF 6/23/26'), published for the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure by its testing vendor (https://test-takers.psiexams.com/cocos), prints the theory outline: 60 scored and 5 non-scored questions, 90 minutes, at least 70 percent, four topics at 50, 18, 10 and 22 percent. Facts: the Barber and Cosmetology Licensure Rules, 4 CCR 731-1, effective October 30, 2025, on the Colorado Secretary of State's site (https://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/DisplayRule.do?action=ruleinfo&ruleId=2313), and the Barber and Cosmetologist Act, C.R.S. title 12, article 105, in the 2026 printout linked from the Office's laws page (https://dpo.colorado.gov/BarberCosmetology/Laws). Each question names its rule or section and links to it. Read 2026-10-15 and again 2026-10-16. 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, a practice product, a textbook or a prep course.

How it works

This unofficial Colorado nail technician practice test asks only Colorado's own text: the infection control rule and the rules on scope and added training. Not affiliated with the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure or its testing vendor.

Read the full guide

What the Colorado nail technician exam is

Colorado candidates pass the practical test first, then schedule the theory test: 90 minutes for 60 scored and 5 unscored questions. Its outline gives safety and infection control 50 percent, client consultation and nail analysis 18, skin care 10 and nail care 22.

What this bank asks

Twenty-six questions on safety and infection control, 12 on electric files, nail products and nail services, 8 on scope and hair removal, and 10 on license law, which the outline does not list. What 4 CCR 731-1 does not cover (nail structure, disorders, massage, the steps of an enhancement) is not asked; for that, take the national manicure theory test on this site.

  • Hand sanitizer must be at every nail station for the client to use before a service (Rule 1.7(C)(1)).
  • Hair removal by a nail technician stops at the knee and the elbow, with wax or depilatories only (Rule 1.9(G)).
  • An electric file is a tool made for the professional nail industry, never a craft or hobby tool (Rule 1.9(F)).

Questions and answers

How many hours for a nail technician license in Colorado?

Twenty credit hours or 600 contact hours in an approved school or apprenticeship program (Rule 1.2; C.R.S. 12-105-111). The rules count a contact hour as at least fifty minutes of instruction.

What score do you need on the Colorado nail technician exam?

Seventy percent or more on each of the two tests, practical and theory, according to the Office's test taker guide. A candidate who fails the written examination waits at least thirty days before another (Rule 1.2(D)).

Are these actual Colorado nail technician test questions?

No. All 56 are our own, drawn from 4 CCR 731-1 and the Barber and Cosmetologist Act, with a link to the rule or section under each answer. The vendor's examination questions were not used.

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