Licensed by NYS
American Barber Institute is licensed by the New York State Department of Education. Our curriculum, programs, and classes are professionally evaluated and approved by the State.
Home / About
American Barber Institute · Est. 1996
The People Behind Your Career Change
If you're weighing whether to become a barber, you deserve to know who's guiding the decision. American Barber Institute has helped New Yorkers trade uncertain jobs for a licensed, portable trade for 30 years — this is who we are, why our guidance is worth trusting, and how our two NYC campuses turn beginners into working, licensed barbers.
NYS-Licensed
Est. 1996
500-Hour Master Barber
Manhattan & Bronx
By the Numbers
Three decades. Two campuses. One craft.
1996
Founded — 30 years guiding New Yorkers into the trade
500
Hours in the full NY Master Barber curriculum
2
NYC campuses — Midtown Manhattan & the Bronx
100
Percent of instructors who are ABI graduates
Why Trust This Guidance
Thirty years of watching careers change
The advice on this site isn't theory. It comes from a school that has spent 30 years walking people through exactly the decision you're facing right now — leaving one line of work to learn a licensed craft.
American Barber Institute was established in 1996 at our first school on West 29th Street, later moving about ten blocks to 48 West 39th Street in the heart of Midtown Manhattan — minutes from Penn Station, Grand Central, and Times Square. Our two-floor, 3,000-square-foot facility keeps theory on one floor and hands-on practice on the other, and it's fully handicap accessible.
Since then we've opened a second campus in the Bronx at 121 Westchester Square, bringing bilingual, career-focused barber training to more of the city. Both campuses run the same 500-hour Master Barber curriculum and start new classes the first Monday of every month, so there's rarely a long wait to begin.
Want the full picture of the program itself? Read the 500-Hour Master Barber Program or see what training day-to-day actually looks like.
The Credential Behind Us
A New York State-licensed school
When we tell you what a New York barber license actually requires, this is the authority behind it.
Credentialed instructors
Every teacher's credentials are reviewed and licensed by the NYS Department of Education — so the person guiding your hands is state-recognized, not just experienced.
Built for the State Board
The full 500-hour curriculum is the exact requirement for a New York Master Barber license, structured around the written and practical State Board exam.
A barber's license can't be offshored, doesn't expire when a company downsizes, and lets you work anywhere in the state. That's why we treat it as a career change — not a course.
Who Teaches You
Every instructor once sat where you're sitting
The people who would train you already made this exact career change themselves. Every current ABI instructor is a former ABI student — they walked in unsure, earned a license, built a career behind the chair, and came back to teach the next person considering the same leap.
That matters when you're deciding. Your questions about the exam, the money, the hours, and the first weeks on the floor get answered by people who lived through the same doubts and came out the other side licensed and working.
Mentorship isn't a marketing word here; it's the whole model. Instructors bring deep experience behind the chair and a genuine desire to see beginners succeed — because they remember being beginners. Choosing where to train means choosing who you learn the craft, and the business, from.
Every instructor is a graduate. Every one of them made the leap first.
Our Mission
A trade you own for life
Our mission is to prepare people to become thoroughly qualified barbers, ready for lifetime careers — not a job you clock into, but a licensed skill you carry anywhere.
We believe a barber's license is one of the most portable, resilient credentials in the workforce. It lets you work for a shop, rent a chair, or open your own place. That's why we frame barbering as a genuine career change rather than a short course, and why our whole site is built to help you decide honestly before you commit.
When graduates want it, we help them find work in the field and develop the mindset to keep it. We've earned a reputation with NYC shop owners as a reliable source of quality professionals — which is exactly why our graduates get hired. Explore the honest case for barbering as a career, the seven paths a license opens, or real student stories.
See It Before You Decide
What a barbering school actually looks like
If you've never set foot in a barbering program, these three short videos show what a training floor really is — the teaching, the clients, and the day-to-day of learning to cut.
How the Path Works
From deciding to licensed, in four steps
The route into barbering in New York is more predictable than most career changes. Here's the whole arc.
Step 1
Decide it fits your life
Figure out the money, the hours, and the timeline before you commit. Our Why Barbering case and Tuition & Funding guide exist for exactly this stage.
Step 2
Complete the 500-hour program
New York requires 500 hours for a Master Barber license. Full-time, that's roughly 4 months; on weekends, about 6–7. You choose the pace.
Step 3
Pass the NY State Board exam
The curriculum is built around the written and practical exam. Passing it makes you a licensed Master Barber, legally able to work anywhere in New York.
Step 4
Start earning behind the chair
Work for a shop, rent a chair, or open your own. See the seven career paths a license opens.
Is It Right For You
What makes a good fit
Barbering isn't for everyone — and an honest guide says so. It tends to suit people who:
- Like working with people and don't want a desk job
- Want a licensed skill they can take to any city or state
- Value flexible hours and the option to be their own boss
- Prefer a hands-on trade over more years of general schooling
- Want to start earning in months, not years
What You'd Need To Begin
The entry bar is low
One reason barbering is such an accessible career change: the requirements to start training in New York are modest.
- A Social Security card and valid photo ID
- A high school diploma or GED — or pass the ATB entrance exam
- To be at least 17 years of age
- No prior experience — beginners start from zero every month
- Something that shows your current address, like a lease or utility bill
- A $500–$550 down payment to lock in your seat, then weekly payments while you train
Common Questions
About ABI, answered
Is American Barber Institute a licensed school?
Yes. ABI is licensed by the New York State Department of Education. Our curriculum and programs are State-evaluated and approved, and every instructor is credentialed by the NYS Department of Education.
Where are ABI's campuses located?
We have two NYC campuses: Midtown Manhattan at 48 West 39th Street — minutes from Penn Station and Grand Central — and the Bronx at 121 Westchester Square. Both run the same 500-hour Master Barber program.
How long has ABI been training barbers?
Since 1996 — 30 years. We began on West 29th Street in Manhattan and later moved to our current Midtown facility, then expanded to the Bronx.
How long does the program take?
New York requires 500 training hours. That's about 4 months full-time or 6–7 months on a weekend schedule, followed by the State Board exam. New classes start the first Monday of every month.
Your Move
Mission & Values
What We're Here to Do
The mission of American Barber Institute is to deliver high-quality training that prepares students to pass the New York State Board of Barbering license exam and step into their careers as licensed Master Barbers.
Alongside the craft itself, ABI grounds every student in the fundamentals, professionalism and business ethics they need to succeed in the barber industry — the shop-floor habits and the client-facing polish that separate a licensed graduate from a working barber.
Our end goal is simple: send our students out with the skills and standards it takes to become part of the New York workforce — ready to build a chair, a clientele and a career of their own.
Done researching? Take the next step.
Talk to our admissions team about timelines, schedules, and whether now is your moment. New classes start the first Monday of every month at both campuses.