Missouri Nail Technician Practice Test

Missouri licenses nail technicians as Class MO manicurists; these 63 questions practice its sanitation rule and licensing law.

How long, at the least, must implements stay in the disinfectant solution in a Missouri shop?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Missouri Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners or the NIC. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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All 63 questions

Sanitation requirements 21

  • A Missouri licensee applies liquid styptic to a cut. What does the blood spill procedure say about the container or its nozzle? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)1
  • A Missouri licensee cuts her own hand, bandages it and cleans the table. What is the last step of the procedure for a cut on the hand? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)1
  • A Missouri licensee has a communicable disease. Apart from what the Americans With Disabilities Act provides, what does the disease control rule require? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(E)
  • A Missouri manicurist cuts her own finger and the table is soiled with blood. What does she put on before cleaning and disinfecting it? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)1
  • A Missouri manicurist has dermatitis on her hands. What does the disease control rule have her wear? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(E)
  • A patron's finger is nicked during a Missouri manicure. What does the blood spill procedure have the licensee do first? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)2
  • After a patron's cut is bandaged in a Missouri shop and the work area is soiled with blood, what is done with contaminated objects? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)2
  • Besides a clean, sanitized spatula, what may dispense a cream or emollient in a Missouri establishment? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(C)
Show all 63 questions (55 more)

Sanitation requirements, continued

  • How are implements dried after disinfection under the Missouri rule? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(D)
  • How long, at the least, must implements stay in the disinfectant solution in a Missouri shop? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(D)
  • How must powder be used in a Missouri cosmetology establishment? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(C)
  • In Missouri's blood spill procedure for a licensee's own cut, how is the injury covered? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)1
  • In Missouri's patron blood spill procedure, what comes between stopping the service and cleansing the patron's cut? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)2
  • What clothing must every operator wear while working in a Missouri cosmetology establishment? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(G)
  • What does Missouri's cosmetology sanitation rule say about open powder boxes and common powder puffs? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(C)
  • What does the Missouri rule say about a student or apprentice taking the training kit out of the school or establishment while in training? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(H)
  • What must the dust-tight cabinet, covered container or drawer that holds a Missouri licensee's disinfected implements be kept free of? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(D)
  • Where do nail clippings go in a Missouri cosmetology establishment? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(I)
  • Where does a soiled towel go in a Missouri establishment once its use is completed? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(A)
  • Which implements must be disinfected with an EPA-registered disinfectant under the Missouri rule? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(D)
  • With what are the hands cleaned at the end of the Missouri blood spill procedure, once contaminated objects and gloves are disposed of? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(F)

Facilities, products and prohibited practices 11

  • A board inspector asks a Missouri licensee to verify that the chemicals in the service products are safe for public use. What must the licensee be able to provide? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(K)
  • How does the Missouri rule treat a licensee who uses a razor-type callus shaver during a manicuring service? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(L)1
  • How much light does the Missouri rule require in waiting rooms, storage areas and corridors? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(1)(A)
  • How much light must a Missouri establishment provide in areas where the classified occupations of cosmetology are practiced? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(1)(A)
  • Of what must the floors, walls, ceilings, equipment and contents of a Missouri practice area be constructed? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(1)(B)
  • What does the Missouri rule say about a razor-type callus shaver, such as a credo blade, in a licensed cosmetology establishment? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(L)1
  • What is the hottest water the Missouri sanitation rule lets an establishment's hot water faucets supply? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(1)(C)
  • What must every Missouri cosmetology establishment and school post in plain view of the public about razor-type callus shavers? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(L)2
  • Which floor covering does Missouri's cosmetology sanitation rule say may be used? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(1)(B)
  • Which nail service products may no Missouri cosmetology licensee use? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(J)
  • Which products does the Missouri rule call acceptable for nail services? 20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(J)

License, training and examinations 21

  • A Missouri exam candidate holds a temporary permit and fails the examination. What does the rule say about another permit? 20 CSR 2085-7.010(2)
  • A Missouri manicurist candidate sits a written and a practical examination. What score does the cosmetology licensing rule ask on each? 20 CSR 2085-7.010(1)(E)
  • A person fails a portion of the Missouri examination three times. What additional school training is required? 20 CSR 2085-7.010(3)(B)
  • By the Board's State Law Test page, how long does a test taker have once the Submit button is clicked? Missouri Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners, State Law Test page
  • The effective date of a Missouri licensee's new address has passed. Within how long must written word of the change reach the board's office? 20 CSR 2085-4.020(2)
  • For how long does the Missouri board recognize the training hours a student completed, counted from the date the student license was issued? 20 CSR 2085-7.010(1)(C)
  • For reciprocity, what share of Missouri's training hours does the board treat as a substantially equal number? 20 CSR 2085-7.030(1)
  • How long must an applicant have practiced in another state for Missouri to grant a license without examination on that ground? RSMo 329.130
  • How many hours must a Missouri manicurist apprentice serve under a licensed cosmetologist? RSMo 329.050.1
  • How many hours must a Missouri student complete in a licensed school for the classification of manicurist? RSMo 329.050.1
  • How many hours of Missouri's manicurist course of study are required for state law? RSMo 329.040
  • How much classroom training must a Missouri manicuring student earn before performing on any patron of the school? RSMo 329.040.3
  • Under Missouri's definition of the manicurist class, pedicuring includes massaging and cleaning which parts of a person? RSMo 329.010(5)
  • What does Missouri's reciprocity rule have every reciprocity applicant complete? 20 CSR 2085-7.030(3)
  • What education must a Missouri applicant for examination have? RSMo 329.050.1
  • What is the youngest age at which Chapter 329 lets a Missouri applicant qualify for examination or licensure? RSMo 329.050.1
  • What must a Missouri licensee carry at all times when providing professional services? 20 CSR 2085-4.040
  • Which class does Missouri law give the manicurist license? RSMo 329.010(5)
  • Which manicuring does Chapter 329 of the Missouri statutes not apply to at all? RSMo 329.032.1
  • Which subject takes the most hours of Missouri's manicurist course of study? RSMo 329.040
  • Within what time may the holder of an expired Missouri license have it restored without examination, on paying a delinquent fee and the renewal fee? RSMo 329.120

Establishments, posting and practice away from the shop 10

  • A corporation owns a Missouri establishment and the owners of its stock change. What does the establishment rule require? 20 CSR 2085-10.020(2)(D)
  • A Missouri establishment's fee covers how many licensed cosmetologists, estheticians, manicurists or apprentices before an additional fee is due? RSMo 329.045.1
  • A Missouri manicurist provides a service outside a licensed establishment. What must she deliver to the person served? 20 CSR 2085-7.020(3)(A)
  • An unlicensed friend offers to give free manicures inside a licensed Missouri establishment. What does the rule say? 20 CSR 2085-10.060(3)
  • How does Missouri's rule on practice away from an establishment define a licensee's principal establishment? 20 CSR 2085-7.020(1)(B)
  • How must a Missouri licensee transport supplies and implements in a portable kit? 20 CSR 2085-7.020(4)(A)
  • Missouri operator licenses need not hang at each work station. What other posting does the establishment rule allow? 20 CSR 2085-10.010(3)(A)
  • What does the Missouri rule say about posting a license that has been photocopied or reproduced? 20 CSR 2085-4.030(1)
  • When must a licensed Missouri establishment be open to inspection by the board? 20 CSR 2085-4.060(1)
  • Where must a Missouri establishment keep the board-approved form that names the employees practicing there? 20 CSR 2085-10.030(1)(A)

How this list was compiled: Examinations: the Candidate Information Bulletin posted by the Missouri Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (MO Cosmetology CIB 2026.01.05; https://pr.mo.gov/boards/cosmetology/provcib.pdf) gives the Class MO - Manicurist license the NIC Nail Technology written and practical examinations, and the examiner's page for the Board (https://provexam.com/test-information/missouri-state-brd-of-cosmetology-barber-exam) lists Nail Technician Theory at 110 questions, 90 minutes, passing score 75. The Board's Online Exams page lists a State Law Test (https://pr.mo.gov/cosbar-exams.asp; https://pr.mo.gov/cosbar-pin.asp). Outline of the written examination: the National Nail Technology Theory Examination bulletin of the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC), effective September 1, 2025 (https://prov-testing.github.io/nic_cib/nail_technology_national_theory_english_2025.html). Facts: Missouri Code of State Regulations, Title 20, Division 2085, Chapters 4, 7, 10 and 11, in the Secretary of State's current edition (sos.mo.gov), and Chapter 329 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri on the Revisor of Statutes' site (revisor.mo.gov). Each question names its rule or section and links to it. Read 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 a real examination, the sample questions in a bulletin, a practice product, a textbook or a prep course.

How it works

Unofficial practice for the Missouri manicurist license: 63 questions written from 20 CSR 2085 and Chapter 329, RSMo. Not affiliated with the Missouri Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners, the NIC or the examination administrator.

Read the full guide

Which exams a Missouri manicurist takes

The Board's bulletin gives Class MO candidates the NIC Nail Technology written and practical examinations; the examiner lists the theory test at 110 questions in 90 minutes. The Board also posts a State Law Test on its Online Exams page.

How the 63 questions divide

Twenty-one are sanitation requirements, the blood spill steps among them; 11 are facilities, products and the callus shaver ban; 21 are the license, training and examinations; 10 are establishments and practice away from the shop. Nail science belongs to the national manicure theory test on this site.

  • Implements stay in the disinfectant solution not less than five minutes (20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(D)).
  • No liquid product containing methyl methacrylate; ethyl or butyl methacrylate products are acceptable for nail services (20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(J)).
  • A credo blade may not be used, offered or even kept on the premises (20 CSR 2085-11.020(2)(L)).

Questions and answers

How many hours is nail tech school in Missouri?

No less than 400 hours in a licensed school for the manicurist classification, or 800 as an apprentice under a licensed cosmetologist (RSMo 329.050). A student earns 50 classroom hours before working on patrons of the school (RSMo 329.040).

What score passes the Missouri manicurist exam?

Seventy-five on the written examination and seventy-five on the practical, by 20 CSR 2085-7.010. A person who fails a portion three times needs at least 40 more school hours in each subject failed, up to 160.

Is there a Missouri state law test for nail technicians?

The Board's Online Exams page offers a State Law Test and allows one hour once it starts. Its form lists students, apprentices, exam applicants with out-of-state hours and reciprocity applicants. No outline or pass mark is printed for it.

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