Licenses and Certifications: What’s the Difference?
For American workers looking to kickstart a new career, or move their business across state lines, the difference between a
Occupational Licensing
Occupational licensing is a type of government regulation that requires people to undergo specific training or pass tests before they can be hired for a particular job. This may sound reasonable in theory, but in many states, special interest groups use licensing requirements as a political tool to make it hard (or impossible) for new workers to compete.
In This Series
We explore how and why occupational licenses get created, which states have the worst track records, and the stories of real people who have had to give up their careers because of these laws.