Virginia Nail Technician Practice Test

53 questions on the Board's own regulation: drill bits, pedicure units, sanitation and the license law the written exam tests.

A Virginia nail technician soaks used drill bits before scrubbing them. In what?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Virginia Board for Barbers and Cosmetology or the NIC. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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All 53 questions

Nail care: implements, drill bits and pedicure units 16

  • A pedicure basin is drained. What is soap or detergent then used to remove from its surfaces and walls? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(7)(b)
  • A regular client keeps her own implements at a Virginia salon in a sanitary container. What must be true of it? 18VAC41-20-270(D)(6)
  • A Virginia nail technician soaks used drill bits before scrubbing them. In what? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(2)(a)
  • A wooden cuticle stick is made for one client. What does Virginia say of disinfecting it for the next? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(3)
  • Disinfection of a Virginia pedicure basin is done. What is the last step the regulation names? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(7)(d)
  • Implements kept in one client's labeled container are used only on her. Does Virginia still require them to be disinfected? 18VAC41-20-270(D)(6)
  • Metal nippers have been washed with hot water and soap and rinsed. What comes before they go into the wet disinfectant? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(2)(c)
  • On which surface may a nail drill or other motorized instrument be used in Virginia? 18VAC41-20-270(F)(3)
  • To which natural nail may an artificial nail be applied under Virginia's client health guidelines? 18VAC41-20-270(F)(2)
  • What does Virginia's regulation have an acetone-soaked drill bit scrubbed with? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(2)(a)
  • What must a client do immediately before a nail care service in a Virginia salon? 18VAC41-20-270(F)(1)
  • When must a pedicure unit be cleaned and disinfected in a Virginia salon? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(7)
  • Where must a Virginia nail technician's wet disinfection unit be? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(1)
  • Which implements does Virginia treat as multiuse, able to be disinfected and used on another client? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(2)
  • Which pedicure units fall under Virginia's after-each-client cleaning procedure? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(7)
  • Whose directions does Virginia have a salon follow when it disinfects a pedicure unit? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(7)(c)
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Sanitation and safety standards 18

  • A cotton pad has touched blood from a nipped cuticle. How does Virginia have it thrown away? 18VAC41-20-270(D)(8)
  • A mobile nail salon is licensed in Virginia. What must be true while it provides services? 18VAC41-20-270(A)(2)
  • A nail salon stocks acetone and liquid monomer. Where must its Safety Data Sheets be? 18VAC41-20-270(E)(1)
  • A pedicure area has floor mats. What does Virginia's safety standard require of them? 18VAC41-20-270(C)(3)
  • A UV lamp and an e-file are plugged in at a Virginia nail station. What must the wall outlets have? 18VAC41-20-270(C)(5)
  • Acetone and liquid monomer are flammable. What storage does 18VAC41-20-270 require for such chemicals? 18VAC41-20-270(E)(3)
  • Besides a clean spatula or other clean tools, what may be used to take cream from a jar in Virginia? 18VAC41-20-270(D)(5)
  • Besides the Board's standards, whose regulations and guidelines must Virginia licensees adhere to? 18VAC41-20-270(G)
  • Clean towels for manicures are kept in a covered container. What kind does Virginia's regulation name? 18VAC41-20-270(D)(1)
  • Cleaned nippers go into the wet disinfection unit at a Virginia nail station. What is the shortest immersion the regulation allows? 18VAC41-20-270(B)(2)(d)
  • In place of the blood spill clean-up kit that Virginia lists item by item, what may a salon keep? 18VAC41-20-270(E)(2)
  • Nippers and a heated paraffin unit sit at a Virginia nail station. What does the safety standard require of sharp tools and heat-producing appliances? 18VAC41-20-270(C)(6)
  • The Virginia Department of Health inspects a nail salon. What must the salon do with the results? 18VAC41-20-270(H)
  • What floor surface does Virginia require in the work areas of a salon? 18VAC41-20-270(C)(2)
  • What may not be on the premises of a Virginia salon that provides nail care services? 18VAC41-20-270(F)(4)
  • Where must the bathroom available to a Virginia salon's clients be? 18VAC41-20-270(C)(4)
  • Which use of the salon bathroom does Virginia's regulation forbid? 18VAC41-20-270(C)(4)
  • With which local codes must the facility comply before regulated nail services are performed in it? 18VAC41-20-270(F)(6)

Virginia state law: license, training and salons 19

  • A licensed master barber wants to add manicures to his services. What does 18VAC41-20-260 require? 18VAC41-20-260(D)
  • A nail technician is licensed in a state that gives only a written examination. What does Virginia's endorsement rule let her do? 18VAC41-20-30(B)
  • A nail technician's license expired 45 days ago and she means to stay licensed. What must she pay? 18VAC41-20-180(A)
  • A salon's responsible management lets an unlicensed person do nail care. When is that not a ground for discipline? 18VAC41-20-280(14)
  • A shop gives a "free" manicure with every bottle of polish bought. How does Virginia treat that service? 18VAC41-20-15
  • A temporary license holder works under "direct supervision" in a nail salon. What does that require? 18VAC41-20-10(B)
  • An applicant's out-of-state nail training is not substantially equivalent to Virginia's. What may she document to sit for the examination? 18VAC41-20-20(B)(2)(b)
  • An apprentice trains in a Virginia nail salon. What must the sponsor require her to wear? 18VAC41-20-260(E)
  • The Board may inspect a licensed nail salon during "reasonable hours". What are they? 18VAC41-20-10(B)
  • How long is one "clock hour" of training in Virginia's barbering and cosmetology regulations? 18VAC41-20-10(B)
  • How many hours does the nail care outline give to sterilization, sanitation, bacteriology and safety? 18VAC41-20-210(F)(2)
  • How much of Virginia's required hours makes out-of-state training "substantially equivalent"? 18VAC41-20-10(B)
  • On how many clock hours, at the least, must a Virginia nail technician curriculum be based? 18VAC41-20-200(A)(5)(e)
  • The sole proprietor who holds a Virginia nail salon license dies. What becomes of the license? 18VAC41-20-120(C)
  • Under what name must a Virginia nail technician operate? 18VAC41-20-260(C)
  • What does "nail care" mean in the Code of Virginia? Code of Virginia 54.1-700
  • What does 18VAC41-20-120 say about passing a nail salon's license to another firm? 18VAC41-20-120(B)
  • Which subject takes half of the hours in Virginia's outline for nail care? 18VAC41-20-210(F)
  • Who besides a licensed nail technician may supervise the holder of a nail technician temporary license? 18VAC41-20-90(A)

How this list was compiled: Examination: the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology's page (https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/BarberCosmo) says the NIC theory and practical examinations are given by its examination vendor. The vendor's candidate bulletin for the Board (https://provexam.com/test-information/virginia-barbers-and-cosmetology-board) lists the Nail Technician theory examination at 120 questions, 10 of them unscored pilot questions, 90 minutes, passing score 75, in three content areas (scientific concepts 36 percent, nail technology procedures 55 percent, Virginia state law 9 percent), and the practical at 149 minutes, passing score 75. Facts: the Barbering and Cosmetology Regulations, 18VAC41-20, as amended effective December 1, 2025 (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency41/chapter20/), and Code of Virginia section 54.1-700. 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

Unofficial practice for the Virginia nail technician license, written from the Board's regulations and the Code of Virginia. Not affiliated with the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology, the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) or its examiner.

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What the questions cover

Sixteen are the nail care lines of the sanitation section, 18VAC41-20-270: drill bits, multiuse and single-use implements, pedicure units, artificial nails. Eighteen are its other sanitation and safety standards. Nineteen are license, training and salon law. Anatomy, nail disorders, product chemistry and enhancement steps are not asked; the national manicure theory test on this site has them.

  • A nail drill is used on the artificial nail surface only, and an artificial nail goes only on a healthy natural nail (18VAC41-20-270 F).
  • Pedicure units of every kind are cleaned and disinfected immediately after each client, then wiped dry with a clean towel.
  • Pass one examination and it need not be retaken, provided both are passed within one year of the first examination date (18VAC41-20-60).

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the Virginia nail technician exam?

The Board's candidate bulletin lists the Nail Technician theory examination at 120 questions, 10 of them unscored, in 90 minutes with a passing score of 75. The practical examination runs 149 minutes, with the same passing score.

Is Virginia state law on the nail technician written exam?

Yes. The bulletin's outline gives Virginia state law 9 percent of the theory questions, beside scientific concepts at 36 percent and nail technology procedures at 55.

How many hours is nail tech school in Virginia?

A nail technician curriculum is based on a minimum of 150 clock hours, 75 of them on nail procedures, with 255 required performances (18VAC41-20-200, -210 and -220). A clock hour is at least 50 minutes of instruction.

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