Salon and Booth Requirements and Infection Control

About 12 of every 30 questions on a South Dakota Laws and Rules practice exam come from this topic.

Sources checked November 14, 2026

The Commission doesn't publish the length, time limit or outline of its Laws and Rules exam. This practice exam's 30 questions, 60-minute timer and section weights are our estimate; the 75% pass mark is official.

What to know

No one may operate a salon or booth in South Dakota without a license, and the license type follows the services offered: cosmetology, nail, esthetics or limited, with a limited application stating the practices to be offered and listing its facilities and equipment; the license expires annually, is not transferable, and a violation of SDCL 36-15-51 is a Class 2 misdemeanor. A new license is required when the address, sole owner, any partner or the controlling corporate ownership changes, the commission may issue a 90-day temporary permit and inspects during it, and a move, sale or closure must be reported to the commission immediately. A premises must hold a salon license before any booth license is issued there, a salon must ensure everyone providing licensed services has the required booth or individual license, and a salon and a school may run at the same time only if the public would not see them as one enterprise. A licensed nursing facility or assisted living center that offers cosmetology only to its residents and does not advertise as a salon needs no salon license. Licensees may share a work station if they keep the minimum equipment and sanitary requirements and do not work at it at the same time, each needs a booth license when the shared space is in a booth, the commission may not require more space than one licensee needs, and the salon operator answers for a violation that cannot be traced to one of them. Services may be given only in a licensed salon or booth, except paid demonstrations, documented services for clients unable to come in because of imprisonment, disabling sickness or other disability, and documented limited services (nonpermanent hair styling, nail polish and makeup) at special events such as weddings. Where no station is shared, a salon needs 120 square feet of working space for the first licensee plus 60 for each additional one (120 for a limited salon), shampoo bowls on a central sewer with hot and cold running water, a restroom inside the building, and a mechanical exhaust system where nail services are offered; a home salon needs a permanent floor-to-ceiling partition with its door kept closed and a separate exit outside. Each salon or booth needs a first aid kit, a 5-pound ABC extinguisher for each 1,500 square feet and a nail waste container emptied at least daily, nail electric files must be designed for the human nail with proof on demand, and knives, straight razors, credo blades and similar callus tools, UV sterilizers used for infection control, MMA liquid monomer and roll-on wax are prohibited. ARSD 20:42:05:01 requires every licensee to put used linens in a covered container, use clean linens and disinfected implements on each client, and wash hands with soap and water or an equally effective cleansing solution before any service. Creams, fluids and powders are kept in clean, closed, labeled containers and dispensed with a disinfected spatula, shaker, pump, spray dispenser or single-use item; electrical equipment is cleaned and disinfected after each service, and a bucket, basin or caddy used to store it is disinfected daily. Single-use items such as emery boards, sponges, orangewood sticks and electric-file sanding bands are discarded immediately after use, nail files are single-use unless metal, glass, crystal or fully glazed ceramic, and a multi-use item that cannot be cleaned and disinfected may not be used. Multi-use items are washed in soap and hot water, rinsed in clean warm water, disinfected, and stored in clean, closed, labeled containers; floors are cleared of hair after each service, and waste containers are emptied as needed and at closing. Under 20:42:05:06, when a client or licensee bleeds the service stops, gloves are used, the wound is dried with a new disposable towel and bandaged, single-use items are bagged and trashed, implements and the work area are disinfected, and gloves are removed before hand washing and returning to service. Microdermabrasion crystals are single-use, tips are disinfected after each client and discarded when worn, and pedicure foot spas are drained, cleaned, disinfected and dried after each client, have the screen cleaned and the system flushed for at least 10 minutes daily, and get a weekly soak of at least 6 hours in bleach (one teaspoon of 5.25 percent bleach per gallon) or a recommended whirlpool disinfectant. Wax may not be double-dipped, each end of a spatula is dipped once, contaminated wax is discarded and the pot disinfected, paraffin removed from skin is never reused, and human tissue may never be dipped directly into a paraffin warmer. Chemical exfoliants must be professional grade, used per the manufacturer, and may not remove tissue below the stratum corneum.

Where it comes from

• SDCL 36-15-37
• SDCL 36-15-51
• SDCL 36-15-51.1
• SDCL 36-15-51.2
• SDCL 36-15-51.3
• SDCL 36-15-54
• ARSD 20:42:03:07
• ARSD 20:42:03:08
• ARSD 20:42:04:01
• ARSD 20:42:04:01.02
• ARSD 20:42:04:02
• ARSD 20:42:04:02.01
• ARSD 20:42:04:04
• ARSD 20:42:04:04.01
• ARSD 20:42:04:04.02
• ARSD 20:42:04:04.03
• ARSD 20:42:04:06
• ARSD 20:42:04:07
• ARSD 20:42:04:08
• ARSD 20:42:04:08.01
• ARSD 20:42:05:01
• ARSD 20:42:05:06
• ARSD 20:42:05:07
• ARSD 20:42:05:08
• ARSD 20:42:05:09
• ARSD 20:42:05:10
• ARSD 20:42:05:11

Try a practice question

Ready for a full run? The South Dakota Cosmetology Laws and Rules Practice Test is 30 questions in 60 minutes, scored at 75%. For the official exam's details, see South Dakota Cosmetology Laws and Rules Exam Requirements.