Washington State Reciprocity
Learn about the simple process to receive your esthetics license in Oregon and transfer it to Washington.
AESTHETICS INSTITUTE
Washington State Reciprocity
Oregon and Washington have "reciprocity" when it comes to granting esthetics licenses to qualified applicants.
“Reciprocity” means that it is not difficult for people living in the state of Washington to attend the Aesthetics Institute, take their exam and receive their esthetics license from the state of Oregon, and also receive the equivalent license from the state of Washington. No extra testing or classes are required!
Nearly 1/3 of the students who attend the Aesthetics Institute live in Washington and plan on practicing esthetics there when they graduate.
We are happy to help our students navigate through the process of receiving your license in Washington.
Washington State Reciprocity
As of 2023, the state of Washington has reciprocity with both of our esthetics programs, Masters Esthetics, our general esthetics course, and Advanced Esthetics, our course for licensed estheticians.
You would finish each respective course, take your license or certificate test in Oregon, and apply with reciprocity for your license in Washington.
Here is where some of the terminology between the two states get a little confusing, so please read carefully:
In the state of Washington, the “Masters Esthetics” license is often considered equivalent, more or less, to Oregon’s “Advanced Esthetics” certificate regarding specific reciprocity for licensing purposes.
At the Aesthetics Institute, our brand name for our beginning level esthetics course that requires no previous esthetics experience is called “Masters Esthetics” and has had this name since 1985, long before Washington started calling their second-level esthetics license “Masters Esthetics”.
If you attend our school and enroll in our Masters Esthetics program, get your general esthetics license from the state of Oregon, you are eligible to apply with reciprocity for Washington’s general esthetics license, as well.
But please note that the exact scope of practice for estheticians can vary from Oregon to Washington.
Also be aware that state governments and oversight boards regularly change laws and reciprocity rules concerning esthetics licensing.
It is your responsibility to do your own research and perform due diligence to ensure all of this information is correct and current.
Please see both Oregon and Washington state government websites for more information to start your research.
