Florida · Cosmetology and barber licensing
Florida cosmetology license lookup on the DBPR portal.
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Licensing Portal is the search for cosmetologists, specialists, salons and barbers in Florida. This page explains the four search modes, the filters, what a result row shows and where to find discipline.
Short answer: open the DBPR Licensing Portal and choose Search by Name, Search by License Number, Search by City or County or Search by License Type. Pick Cosmetology as the License Category (Barbers is a separate category). Results show License Type, Name, Name Type, License Number/Rank and Status/Expires; clicking the name shows complaints and discipline. This page does not look anyone up.
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Result
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The four search modes
The portal’s License Search page, headed Licensee Search Options, lists four choices: Search by Name, Search by License Number, Search by City or County, and Search by License Type, with Search, Clear and Back buttons. The same page links the related services DBPR offers, including Verify a Licensee, View Application Status, Unlicensed Activity Search and Continuing Education Course Search. The portal describes itself as covering the professions and businesses regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and its licence-category list includes Cosmetology and, separately, Barbers, so a barber is found under the second category, not the first.
Filters on the name search
The Search License by Name form read on November 11, 2026 groups its filters under License Information: License Category, License Type, City, County, State, an Include Historic Licenses checkbox and Licenses Per Page (10 to 50). County offers all 67 Florida counties plus Out of State and Unknown; State lists every U.S. state plus armed-forces and foreign addresses. The name boxes themselves sit above these filters and did not render in the copy read, so their exact labels are not quoted here. Ticking Include Historic Licenses brings back lapsed records, which is how to confirm that someone once held a licence that has since expired.
What a result row shows
Results come back as a table with five columns: License Type, Name, Name Type, License Number/Rank and Status/Expires. Two notes sit above the table. One says to see DBPR’s glossary of terms for an explanation of the license status shown in the results; the other says that for additional information, including any complaints or discipline, you click on the name. A status word on its own is therefore not the whole record: open the name for the detail page before relying on it. When nothing matches, the portal says there were no records found matching the search criteria.
Public records and contact
The portal warns that under Florida law email addresses are public records and cites section 455.275(1), Florida Statutes, which requires Chapter 455 licensees to provide an email address DBPR may use for official communication. General licensee data such as mailing addresses can be taken in bulk from a free download site the portal links. The Customer Contact Center answers at 850.487.1395, and DBPR’s address is 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee.
Worked example
A salon owner in Orlando wants to confirm a new hire’s cosmetology licence. She opens the portal, chooses Search by Name, sets License Category to Cosmetology and County to Orange, and searches. The result row shows the licence type, the number and a Status/Expires entry; she clicks the name, reads the detail page for complaints or discipline, and saves it with the date. For a barber the same steps apply with Barbers as the category. If she only had a licence number she would use Search by License Number, which returns a single record without the common-name problem.
What this page does not cover
The Board of Cosmetology’s own pages, which list licence types, renewal dates and continuing-education hours, returned an error when fetched for this build, so none of those rules are stated here. This page does not search the portal, store what you tick, or copy any record.
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- Florida DBPR Licensing Portal: License Search (search modes, related services, public-records notice) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- Florida DBPR Licensing Portal: Search License by Name (filters and licence categories) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedA Florida barber is listed under the Cosmetology category on the DBPR portal.
What the source saysThe DBPR name-search form lists Barbers and Cosmetology as two separate License Categories, so a barber search under Cosmetology returns nothing. [1]
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Often assumedThe DBPR search only finds current Florida cosmetology licences.
What the source saysThe Search License by Name form has an Include Historic Licenses checkbox that brings back lapsed records. [1]
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Often assumedThe DBPR results table is the complete record for a Florida licensee.
What the source saysThe results page says that for additional information, including any complaints or discipline, you click on the name, and points to a glossary for the meaning of the status word. [2]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a Florida cosmetology license?
Open the DBPR Licensing Portal, choose one of the four search modes and set the License Category to Cosmetology. Results show licence type, name, number, rank and Status/Expires.
Are barbers under the Cosmetology category?
No. The DBPR category list has Barbers as its own category, separate from Cosmetology.
Can I search by city or county?
Yes. Search by City or County is one of the four modes, and the name search also has City, County and State filters.
Where do complaints and discipline show?
On the licensee’s detail page. The results table says that for additional information, including any complaints or discipline, you click on the name.
What does the status word mean?
DBPR points to its glossary of terms for an explanation of the license status shown in the search results.
Can I find an expired Florida cosmetology license?
Tick Include Historic Licenses on the name search to bring back lapsed records.
Does this page verify a license?
No. It explains the official search and links to it. Nothing typed or ticked here is sent anywhere.
Guide only — not a verification tool
This page describes an official register and links to it. It does not check anyone’s licence status, does not copy or proxy the register, and nothing you type or tick here is transmitted anywhere. Registers change and licensing rules differ by state; use the official source linked above and contact DBPR to confirm anything that matters. This is general information, not legal advice.