How are practical examinations given under Rhode Island's regulation?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.5.2(C)
How many items does NIC's Barber Styling theory bulletin list, and how many count toward the score?NIC National Barber Styling Theory Examination bulletin (effective June 1, 2025)
How much time does NIC's Barber Styling theory bulletin allow for the examination?NIC National Barber Styling Theory Examination bulletin (effective June 1, 2025)
In which languages besides English does the Department of Health's page say the written exams are available?Rhode Island Department of Health, Barbering, Hairdressing and Cosmetology page
Rhode Island's regulation sets one minimal passing score for the written and the practical barber exams. What is it?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.5.2
What does Rhode Island's statute have the board do after an examination has been given?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-2(b)
What is Rhode Island's written barber exam called on the Department of Health's licensing page?Rhode Island Department of Health, Barbering, Hairdressing and Cosmetology page
What share of NIC's Barber Styling theory outline is Facial Hair and Skin Care Services?NIC National Barber Styling Theory Examination bulletin (effective June 1, 2025)
Which domain is the smallest on NIC's Barber Styling theory outline?NIC National Barber Styling Theory Examination bulletin (effective June 1, 2025)
Which national examination does Rhode Island's regulation name as one the Department may use for the written test?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.5.2(B)
Who approves all written and practical examinations under Rhode Island's statute?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-2(a)
Show all 52 questions (41 more)
The barber license and apprentices 18
A barber from a state with equivalent requirements is entitled to a Rhode Island license on acceptance of credentials. On what condition about the other state?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-11(a)
A barber licensed in another state, whose standard the division finds substantially equivalent, applies in Rhode Island. What may the division do?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-8(c)
A barbering student works in a Rhode Island shop under a work-study arrangement. Who decides the level of procedures the student performs?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4(C)
A licensed barber supervises inmates registered as apprentice barbers in a shop serving a state correctional facility. What is the limit?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4.3(E)
An apprentice barber in Rhode Island serves with a licensed barber. For how long must that barber have held a current license?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-1(1)
Besides age, schooling and the examinations, what does section 5-10-8 ask about an applicant's standing in the country?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-8(a)
Does Rhode Island's definition of the practice of barbering reach chemical services?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-1(14)
How long a school course does Rhode Island's statute require for a barber license?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-9(5)
In a Rhode Island shop serving the general public, how many apprentice barbers may one licensed barber supervise?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4.3(E)
Other applicants may offer 25 years of experience in place of a diploma. What does the statute ask of a barber applicant since July 1, 1997?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-8(b)
Over how short a time, at the least, are those 840 hours of on-the-job training obtained in Rhode Island?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4.3(D)
The regulation allows a mix of school and apprenticeship. After 1,000 school hours, how much on-the-job training as a registered apprentice is asked?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4.3(D)
Rhode Island also licenses a barber who trained only as a registered apprentice. For how long must the certificate of registration have been held?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-9(5)
To whom may the holder of a Rhode Island demonstrator's permit show barbering work?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.6.1(B)
What must a U.S. born applicant send with a Rhode Island license application under the regulation?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.5.1(A)
When may a work-study student not work in a Rhode Island shop?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4(C)
Where must the supervising barber be while a Rhode Island apprentice barber works?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4.3(E)
Which service is in Rhode Island's practice of hairdressing and cosmetic therapy but not in the practice of barbering?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-1(15)
Hair design shops and sanitation 13
Clippers have been cleaned and disinfected after a patron in Rhode Island. What is the third step the regulation lists?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.6(B)(8)
How many patrons may one towel serve before it is laundered in a Rhode Island shop?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.6(B)(2)
Licensees may serve residents of federally recognized housing for the elderly in Rhode Island. Who is barred from doing so?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-23(d)
May barbering, manicuring, hairdressing and esthetics be practiced in the same Rhode Island shop?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-23(a)
The regulation gives a recipe for bleach used on a shop's environmental surfaces. How much bleach goes with two and one half cups of tap water?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.6(B)(9)
What does Rhode Island's regulation require of a shop's storage space?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.7(B)
What must a Rhode Island shop provide for debris such as cut hair?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.7(C)
What must each hand washing sink in a Rhode Island shop have?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.7(B)
What water supply must every Rhode Island salon have?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.7(B)
Which curlers fall under Rhode Island's ban on multi-use supplies?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.6(B)(15)
Which razor may be used for a shave in a Rhode Island shop under the regulation?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.6(B)(11)
Which shop license covers barbering in Rhode Island?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-1(9)
Who registers the manager of a Rhode Island shop with the Department?216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.3(A)(12)
The board, the division and enforcement 10
A Rhode Island license has been revoked under section 5-10-26. May it come back?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-27
After an appeal to the administrator of the division, where does a further appeal go under section 5-10-28?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-28
The division finds that a provision of the chapter has been violated. What must it do under section 5-10-32?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-32
How does section 5-10-30 class a violation of Rhode Island's chapter 5-10?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-30
How many of the seven members of Rhode Island's board of barbering and hairdressing are licensed barbers?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-3(a)
How many public members sit on Rhode Island's board of barbering and hairdressing?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-3(a)
In what capacity does the board supervise the operations of the division of professional regulation?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-2(b)
Which power does section 5-10-2 give the division for its proceedings?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-2(a)
Who appoints the chief field inspector the department of health may employ under section 5-10-3?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-3(d)
Who may remove a member of Rhode Island's board, and on what ground?R.I. Gen. Laws section 5-10-3(b)
How this list was compiled: Exam facts: the Rhode Island Department of Health's Barbering, Hairdressing and Cosmetology licensing page (https://health.ri.gov/licensing/barbering-hairdressing-and-cosmetology, last updated September 25, 2026), which lists a Barber Stylist Theory written exam given by the Department's testing service; 216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.5.2, which lets the Department use a national examination such as NIC's and sets the minimal passing score at 70 percent; and the National Barber Styling Theory Examination bulletin of the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC), effective June 1, 2025 (https://prov-testing.github.io/nic_cib/barber_styling_national_theory_english.html): 110 items, of which 100 are weighted, 90 minutes. Questions: R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 5-10 on the General Assembly's site (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-10/INDEX.htm); 216-RICR-40-05-4, effective May 30, 2025, on the Department of State's site (https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/216-40-05-4); the Department's page; and NIC's bulletin. 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 statute, the regulation, the Department page and the bulletin named. Nothing comes from the examination, a textbook, a prep course or a question pool.
How it works
This unofficial Rhode Island barber practice test asks our own questions on chapter 5-10 of the General Laws, the Department of Health's regulation and the exam outline. It is not affiliated with the Rhode Island Department of Health or NIC.
Read the full guide
What the Rhode Island barber exam is
The Department of Health's licensing page (updated September 25, 2026) lists a Barber Stylist Theory written exam, given by its testing service in English, Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese.
What this page practices
NIC's Barber Styling theory outline has four domains and no Rhode Island law. This bank asks the state's own text: the barber license and apprentices, hair design shops and their sanitary rules, the board and the division. Hair, skin and shaving theory is not asked.
One licensed barber supervises no more than one apprentice barber in a shop serving the public (216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.4.3).
Questions and answers
What score do you need to pass the Rhode Island barber exam?
The regulation sets the minimal passing score at 70 percent on the written examination and 70 percent on the practical (216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.5.2). Rounds on this page end with a score and no verdict.
How many questions are on the Rhode Island barber written exam?
The state's own pages print no count. Its testing service sends candidates to NIC's outlines, and NIC's Barber Styling theory bulletin, effective June 1, 2025, lists 110 items, of which 100 are weighted, in 90 minutes.
Can a barber use a straight razor in Rhode Island?
Not a multi-use one. The regulation prohibits a straight edge multi-use razor; only single use razors are acceptable, and each is discarded after use (216-RICR-40-05-4, section 4.7.6).
Are these the real Rhode Island barber exam questions?
No. Each was written for this page from chapter 5-10 of the General Laws, the Department's regulation and the published bulletin, with the section under each answer. Nothing comes from the examination or a textbook.
How many hours do you need for a barber license in Rhode Island?
Not less than 1,500 hours in an approved school, or two years as a registered apprentice barber (R.I. Gen. Laws 5-10-9). The regulation adds a third route: 1,000 school hours and at least 840 hours on the job.