A new South Dakota law removes a major barrier to hiring experienced workers from out of state—but most salon owners don't know it exists yet.
Most salon and personal care owners in South Dakota don't realize that a provision buried in HB1194 just opened a significant new hiring pathway. If you've ever wanted to bring in an experienced cosmetologist, nail technician, or esthetician from another state but hit a wall because their license type didn't match South Dakota's requirements, this change is for you.
HB1194 gives the South Dakota Cosmetology Commission authority to let out-of-state applicants substitute work experience for a portion of South Dakota's required education hours. This matters because many states categorize and license beauty professionals differently than South Dakota does. A worker with years of legitimate experience might hold a license that doesn't neatly fit into South Dakota's cosmetologist, nail technician, or esthetician boxes—and under the old rules, that was often a dead end.
Now, those applicants can count relevant work experience at a 2:1 ratio (two hours of work for every one hour of education required) to make up for missing classroom hours, up to certain limits.
The substitution caps depend on the license type:
For a salon owner, this means a skilled worker from out of state might now be licensable in South Dakota without requiring them to complete a full retraining program—a practical solution to the chronic staffing challenges many salons face.
This provision applies specifically to applicants whose out-of-state license type doesn't match South Dakota's categories. If someone holds a standard cosmetology license from another state, existing reciprocity rules may already apply. But if their credential is titled differently or covers a different scope of work, the work-experience substitution pathway now gives the Cosmetology Commission flexibility to evaluate their actual skills and experience.
The law itself is in effect, but the Cosmetology Commission must finalize administrative rules implementing this provision by September 1, 2026. Those rules will spell out exactly how applications are evaluated, what counts as relevant work experience, and how the 2:1 ratio is applied. The legal authority for this change is found in Section 2 (§ 36-15-19.2) on Page 2 of HB1194.
Until the rules are finalized, the commission is still operating under the previous framework. Once they're in place, salon owners should expect to see a new application pathway available for out-of-state candidates.
If you've had candidates from other states whose licenses didn't fit South Dakota's mold, keep their information on file. When the rules go live, you may have a second chance to bring them on board. In the meantime, stay in touch with your state licensing board for updates on the rule-making process.
Source: South Dakota HB1194, Section 2 (§ 36-15-19.2).