RALEIGH, N.C. — A proposal moving through the North Carolina General Assembly could reduce the amount of formal training and bureaucracy for people who want to professionally braid hair, while maintaining state certification and safety requirements.
Senate Bill 808, the Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners Amendments, would create a separate state certification specifically for hair braiders. Under the latest version of the legislation, an applicant would complete at least 24 hours of approved hair-braiding instruction, pass an examination administered by the North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners and pay the required fees.
The change would create a significantly shorter pathway than North Carolina’s existing natural-hair-care specialist license, which currently requires 300 hours of education. SB 808 would also reduce that broader natural-hair-care requirement from 300 hours to 150 hours.
The distinction matters because the bill narrowly defines hair braiding as braiding, twisting or wrapping hair without chemicals, adhesives or heat applied to natural hair. The definition allows decorative elements such as beads and thread as well as minor trimming associated with braiding.
For people interested only in braiding hair professionally, the legislation could therefore eliminate the need to complete training covering a much broader range of natural-hair-care services.
The proposal could also expand where braiders can work. Certified hair braiders and licensed natural-hair-care specialists would be permitted to braid at fairs, street festivals, farmers markets, local fundraisers and similar events approved by the state board.
The legislation does not eliminate regulation of hair braiding. Braiders would remain subject to state oversight, including certification, an examination, annual renewal and continuing-education requirements. The latest proposal sets the hair-braider certification fee at $10 per year.
That creates the central policy question surrounding the legislation: how much training should North Carolina require for a profession whose practitioners may perform braiding without providing chemical or other broader cosmetology services?
Supporters of reducing occupational barriers can point to the dramatically shorter pathway to legally enter the profession. Maintaining certification, examinations and continuing education, meanwhile, preserves a state role in sanitation, safety and consumer protection.
SB 808 was introduced by Republican Sens. Amy Galey, Tim Moffitt and Norman Sanderson. The Senate approved an earlier version, and the legislation subsequently underwent changes in House committees.
As of September 25, 2026, SB 808 has not become law. The General Assembly’s official legislative history lists its most recent action as a June 30 referral to the House Rules, Calendar and Operations Committee.
If lawmakers ultimately approve the current language, the major cosmetic-art changes are scheduled to take effect December 31, 2026.
For North Carolina’s professional hair braiders, the debate is ultimately about where the state should draw the line between occupational access and consumer protection.
Source: North Carolina General Assembly — Senate Bill 808, Sixth Edition; nonpartisan Legislative Analysis Division.