The New York nail specialty written exam

The test in brief

A New York nail specialist sits a multiple-choice written exam based on the pre-licensing curriculum, with 2½ hours to finish. The result comes back as pass or fail. A pass stays valid for five years. Neither the question count nor the passing score is published.

The 250-hour course

Nail specialty is set out in 19 NYCRR 162.1. Of its 250 hours, 37 are left unassigned for the school to place, and 5 are orientation. The rest are fixed by subject.

The biggest by far is liquid and powder nail extensions, at 50 hours. Nail wraps follow at 25, then manicuring and hand and arm massage at 20 and gel nails at 20. Pedicuring takes 15 hours and tip application and design 12.

A group of ten-hour subjects covers the science: anatomy and physiology of the nail, hand, arm, foot and leg; bacteria and infectious diseases, with nail, foot and skin disorders; and methods of infection control. Safety and health and business practices get 8 hours each, retailing techniques and job skills 6 each, and client consultation and nail art 4 each.

Where candidates lose marks

Extension work is what most nail students spend their hands-on time doing, so it tends to feel familiar. The ten-hour science subjects are easier to neglect, and infection control in particular is something a written test can probe in detail: which step comes first, what a product is for, what is reusable and what is not. Read those chapters as carefully as the services.

How our nail exams are built

Each of our three nail specialty practice exams has 100 questions, which is our length. We spread them by curriculum hours, leaving out orientation and the unassigned block, so extensions carry the most questions and nail art the fewest. Every wrong answer comes with a sentence on why it is wrong.

A practical exam too

The appearance enhancement law requires both a practical and a written examination for nail specialty. Only waxing is limited to a written exam.