New Jersey Nail Technician Practice Test

New Jersey's manicurist theory exam ends with state law; these 66 questions come from the Board's own rules.

How long is New Jersey's ultrasonic unit cycle for a manicuring implement, unless the maker says otherwise?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling or the NIC. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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All 66 questions

Implements, ultrasonic units and pedicure tubs 17

  • A manicuring implement has passed inspection after the ultrasonic unit. Where does it go next under the New Jersey rule? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)4
  • A New Jersey shop applies a bleach wipe at 6 percent sodium hypochlorite to a pedicure tub between clients. What contact time does the rule give? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(c)1iii
  • After the ultrasonic cycle, what is a manicuring implement inspected for in New Jersey? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)3
  • Between clients, what are the interior surfaces of a New Jersey pedicure tub brushed with? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(c)1i
  • Between clients, what does a New Jersey shop use to wipe a pedicure tub dry after draining and rinsing it? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(c)1ii
  • Each time the chamber of the ultrasonic unit is filled with water, what must a New Jersey shop do? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)2iii
  • For the end-of-day cleaning of a pedicure tub, how much 6 percent bleach goes into one gallon of water in New Jersey? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(c)2iii
  • How are the brushes used on pedicure tubs disinfected at the end of the day in New Jersey? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(c)2iv
  • How long does the degassing cycle of the ultrasonic unit run under the New Jersey rule? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)2iii
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Implements, ultrasonic units and pedicure tubs, continued

  • How long is New Jersey's ultrasonic unit cycle for a manicuring implement, unless the maker says otherwise? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)2
  • How often must the water and cleaning solution of the ultrasonic unit be changed in a New Jersey shop? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)2i
  • What must each work station of a New Jersey manicuring shop have for sanitized implements and tools? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.6(a)4
  • When a reusable manicuring implement is sanitized in New Jersey, what is used before cleaning? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)1
  • Which machine for cleaning metal implements and tools is on the list of what a New Jersey manicuring shop must contain? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.6(a)3
  • Which of these must a New Jersey licensee discard after each use? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(d)
  • Which parts of a pedicure basin are removed, cleaned and disinfected at the end of the day in New Jersey? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(c)2i
  • With what is the chamber of the ultrasonic unit disinfected at the end of each day in New Jersey? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)2ii

Infection control and safety rules 19

  • A New Jersey manicuring shop stocks acetone and monomer. What does the personnel rule say of the Safety Data Sheets for such hazardous chemicals? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(e)2
  • A New Jersey manicurist has an infectious disease that could reasonably be expected to be transmitted while rendering services. What does the rule say? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(c)
  • A New Jersey shop licensed after May 18, 2009 has laundry facilities. Where must they be? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.1(e)
  • After implements are cleaned with a mild alkaline detergent, what are they rinsed with under New Jersey's sanitizing steps? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(a)2
  • During a pedicure consultation a New Jersey manicurist sees signs that give reasonable grounds to believe the patron has a contagious disease the service could transmit. What follows? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(d)
  • How does New Jersey's personnel rule say all practitioners shall be attired? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(b)
  • How is liquid waste disposed of in a New Jersey shop? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(e)4
  • How much artificial light must a New Jersey shop licensed after May 18, 2009 have? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.1(b)
  • How often must all floors in a licensed New Jersey shop be thoroughly cleaned? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.1(g)
  • New Jersey bars animals and pets from licensed premises. Which animals does the rule except? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.6
  • New Jersey bars styptic pencils. What does the same rule let a licensee use? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.4(b)
  • New Jersey's first sanitizing step is cleaning with a mild alkaline detergent. What is that cleaning meant to remove? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(a)1
  • New Jersey's personnel rule lists the times a practitioner washes hands or uses a waterless agent. Which of these is on the list? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(a)
  • What may a New Jersey practitioner use in place of washing the hands? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(a)
  • What may a New Jersey shop use in lieu of laundered and sanitized linens? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.1(h)
  • What water supply must all licensed New Jersey shops have? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.1(c)
  • Where in a licensed New Jersey shop may a person smoke? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.1(j)
  • Which claim must the label of a New Jersey shop's EPA-registered chemical disinfectant carry? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(a)3
  • Who must ensure that manufacturers' written recommendations and current Safety Data Sheets are available in a New Jersey shop? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.3(e)

Nail services, hair removal and prohibited practices 12

  • A New Jersey manicuring shop wants to add a tanning bed, an ancillary service that hair, barbering and skin care shops may offer. What does N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.11 say? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.11
  • A patron's nail shows a sign of infection. What may a New Jersey licensee NOT do to that nail? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.5(a)1
  • A pedicure patron asks to have a callus shaved with a credo blade. What does New Jersey's prohibited practices rule say? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.15(b)1
  • An artificial nail has become loose. What does the New Jersey rule require? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.5(a)2
  • Besides a sign of infection, which conditions of a nail bar a New Jersey licensee from covering it with polish or an overlay? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.5(a)1
  • Besides manicuring, pedicuring and the removal of superfluous hair, which service does a New Jersey manicuring license authorize? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(a)5
  • By which method may the holder of a New Jersey manicuring license NOT remove superfluous hair? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(a)5
  • The notice every New Jersey manicuring shop must display says the shop is licensed for manicuring and pedicuring and what else? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.6(b)
  • What must a New Jersey shop give every client who receives acrylic nails? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.5(a)4
  • Where does waste from applying acrylic nails go in a New Jersey shop? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.5(a)3
  • Which nail product ingredient may no New Jersey licensee, shop or school use? N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.4(a)
  • Which pedicure service does New Jersey's prohibited practices rule bar a licensee from providing or offering? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.15(b)4

New Jersey State Law 18

  • A manicurist licensed in another state may send New Jersey an affidavit of work experience in place of proof of training after practicing how long? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(e)3
  • A New Jersey licensee chooses inactive status. What may the licensee not do? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(l)
  • A New Jersey licensee loses the license. What must be brought to the Board's office, besides the fee and a notarized affidavit? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.5(a)
  • A New Jersey manicurist renews on time. How long does the renewed license run? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(i)
  • A New Jersey shop documents each time it verifies a practitioner's license. For how long is that documentation kept? N.J.A.C. 13:28-4.4(d)
  • An applicant does not finish the New Jersey licensure application process. After how long does the Board administratively close it? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(g)
  • How does New Jersey's manicuring curriculum divide its hours between class instruction and practical instruction? N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.33
  • How many hours does New Jersey's manicuring curriculum give to State laws, rules and regulations and administrative shop operations? N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.33
  • How many hours does New Jersey's manicuring curriculum give to the removal of unwanted hair? N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.33
  • How many hours is the manicuring course that an applicant for a New Jersey manicurist license must have completed? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(e)1
  • How many times does payment of the initial examination fee entitle a New Jersey applicant to take the practical portion? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.2(d)
  • In which order does a New Jersey applicant take the two parts of the examination? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.2(b)
  • The New Jersey Board sends each licensee a notice of renewal. What is the least lead time the rule gives before the license expires? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(h)
  • Up to how long after a shop license expires may the New Jersey Board, in its discretion, still renew it? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.4(b)
  • What proof of education must accompany a New Jersey application for licensure? N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(d)
  • When a New Jersey shop verifies a practitioner's license, what else must be reviewed? N.J.A.C. 13:28-4.4(a)
  • Which licenses may the experienced practicing licensee who oversees a New Jersey manicuring shop hold? N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.13(a)5
  • Which unit of New Jersey's manicuring curriculum is given the most hours? N.J.A.C. 13:28-6.33

How this list was compiled: Outline: the New Jersey Manicurist Theory Examination Candidate Information Bulletin of the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC), effective 8/1/2020, posted by the test administrator of the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling (https://www.prometric.com/files/njsbch/NIC_NJ_MANICURIST-CIB.pdf): 115 items, of which 105 are weighted, 120 minutes, eleven domains, the last two of them Hair Removal Procedures (5 items) and New Jersey State Law (5 items). Facts: New Jersey Administrative Code Title 13, Chapter 28 (State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling), read section by section in the public copy of Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/title-13/chapter-28). Each question names its 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

Sixty-six unofficial practice questions for the New Jersey manicurist license, each from a section of N.J.A.C. 13:28. Not affiliated with the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, the NIC or the test administrator.

Read the full guide

How the theory examination is laid out

The NIC bulletin for New Jersey, effective August 1, 2020, lists eleven domains, from infection control (15 items) to nail enhancement services (18), hair removal procedures (5) and New Jersey State Law (5).

Which parts these questions practice

Seventeen are on implements, the ultrasonic unit and pedicure tubs, 19 on infection control and safety, 12 on nail services, hair removal and prohibited practices, 18 on state law. Anatomy, chemistry and enhancement steps stand in no New Jersey rule; the national manicure theory test on this site asks them.

  • Manicuring implements get an enzyme pre-soak, then a 10-minute ultrasonic cycle, before the disinfectant (N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.2(b)).
  • A loose artificial nail comes off whole, and a nail showing infection or damage is never covered (N.J.A.C. 13:28-3.5).
  • Credo blades, skin scrapers and fish pedicures are prohibited practices (N.J.A.C. 13:28-2.15).

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the New Jersey manicurist theory exam?

115 items, of which 105 are weighted and count toward the score, with 120 minutes allowed, by the NIC bulletin the test administrator posts. N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.2 asks not less than 75 percent on theory before the practical.

How many hours do you need for a nail tech license in NJ?

A 300-hour course of instruction in manicuring (N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1). The curriculum rule gives 120 hours to class and 180 to practical instruction, with 55 hours for manicuring and pedicuring and 40 for removal of unwanted hair.

Can a New Jersey manicurist do waxing?

Yes. The manicuring license covers removing superfluous hair from the face, neck, arms, legs or abdomen with depilatories, waxing or tweezers, never by electrolysis (N.J.A.C. 13:28-1.1(a)5).

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