The renewal cycle is the length of your license term — how often you must complete CE and renew. TDLR trades split into two cycles:
- Biennial (every 2 years): cosmetology and barber licenses — with 4 hours of CE per cycle (held your license 15+ years? You may only need 2 hours)
- Annual (every year): electrician licenses — 4 hours of CE per year, and ACR contractor licenses — 8 hours of CE per year
Every cycle runs from the anniversary of your issuance date, so expiration dates are personal rather than seasonal. The practical difference between the cycles is rhythm: an electrician or ACR contractor takes CE and renews every single year, while a cosmetologist or barber does it every other year.
Multi-trade professionals juggle different clocks. A barber who also holds an electrician license has a 2-year license and a 1-year license expiring on unrelated dates — each with its own CE requirement and its own renewal fee. CE for one trade never counts toward another.
What it means for your renewal
Know which cycle each of your licenses is on and treat them independently. Annual licenses are the easiest to lose track of precisely because the renewal comes around so often — and the duplicate-credit rule means you shouldn't just retake the identical course each period.