COMMENTARY: Expo highlights Nevada’s crippling restrictions on barbers

This weekend, thousands of barbers from across the country descended on the Westgate for the Las Vegas Barber Expo. Yet beneath the glittering lights of the Strip remains one uncomfortable reality: Every barber traveling from out of state for this weekend’s expo comes from a place where it is easier to become a barber than in Nevada.

In 2022, the Institute for Justice ranked Nevada as the single most burdensome state for barbers. Nevada’s aspiring barbers must first attend school for at least 1,500 hours, finish an 18-month apprenticeship after they complete school and successfully pass a total of four exams before being given a license.

On top of this, applicants must subject themselves to invasive and unnecessary medical testing including a chest X-ray and a blood test, the results of which must be submitted to the state board. (Cosmetologists have no such requirement.) They must also submit to fingerprinting and pass an FBI background check.

By contrast, entry-level emergency medical technicians, people tasked with rendering medical aid in emergency situations, are required to undergo only 150 hours of training in Nevada.

Neighboring California, which ranks 39th nationally (meaning 38 other states have more onerous licensing requirements for barbering), requires only 1,000 hours of education with no additional apprenticeship requirement. Same with Utah, which ranks 47th.

This isn’t limited to barbering. Nevada ranks highest for most burdensome licenses across the board. It is the worst state for commercial landscapers and painters, the second-worst state for child care workers and sixth-worst for cosmetologists, among many others. Nevada also has the unfortunate distinction of being one of only two states (along with Washington, D.C.) that license interior designers.

It doesn’t have to be this way. With the 2025 legislative session on the horizon, Nevada lawmakers have the opportunity to lead the nation in reducing these unnecessarily burdensome restrictions, thereby empowering more Nevadans to earn an honest living in their chosen profession.

This is not a partisan issue. Criticism of burdensome occupational licensing has come from across the political spectrum — from the Obama administration to the Heritage Foundation. In the age of hyper-partisanship, one thing everyone can agree on is the need to open up more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Nevadans from all walks of life.

The Institute for Justice has worked for more than 30 years to break down barriers such as these and help get people to work. Through grassroots initiatives such as The Barber Project and Beauty, Not Barriers, we support working and aspiring professionals to reform the laws holding back their industries. We encourage Nevada’s lawmakers to begin easing the burden on barbers in the Silver State, so they have a fair shot to earn an honest living, like barbers in other states.

Barbers from across the country gathered in Las Vegas this weekend to share the joy and value their craft brings to them and their communities. State lawmakers should make sure that Nevada’s barbers aren’t ignored.

Jordan Banegas is assistant director of activism at the Institute for Justice. Tom Solomon is the institute’s activism special projects assistant.