Morgantown, W.Va. (WVDN) — The Knee Regulatory Research Center—a nonpartisan research center focused on labor, health, and regulatory frontiers—announced the publication of its “Annual Licensing Database Snapshot.” The snapshot’s third installment tracks almost 100 notable professions for policymakers, researchers, and working Americans, serving as a state-by-state resource for those who wish to study data on specific occupational licensing requirements and analyze significant changes in licensure over time.
The 2025 Annual Licensing Database Snapshot can be accessed here.
The Knee Center published the first snapshot in 2023, tracking 50 occupations, and increased the total number to 77 in 2024. This year, the database adds 19 new occupations to the list, including psychologists, police officers, and structural engineers. It tracks a number of variables associated with occupational licensing requirements, including but not limited to:
- The type of regulation related to a profession (license, certification, and registration)
- Licensing fees paid to boards
- Degree and experience necessary for a license
- Exams for licensure
- Types of pathways to obtaining a degree
- Proof of citizenship, age, and “good moral character” requirements
- Continuing education or professional development requirements to maintain a license
- renewal fees
- License reciprocity or endorsement which measures the reciprocity for license
The Knee Center has been active in recent months, empowering various stakeholders to drive meaningful policy change through data-driven, peer-reviewed, and high-quality research. In November, the Knee Center announced the release of the Occupational Licensing Law Research Project Database (OLLRP), the first installment of a data project that tracks historical annual requirements to obtain licenses for key occupations in every U.S. state from 1991 to today. The first installment of the longitudinal, historical project starts with 10 universally or partially licensed occupations, including cosmetologists, physicians, and registered nurses, with more licensure data set for release in the months ahead. The OLLRP can be accessed here.
The release of the 2025 Annual Licensing Database Snapshot and the OLLRP comes at a time when occupational licensing is especially pertinent to tens of millions of working Americans. As of 2025, 21.6 percent of U.S. jobs require an occupational license. Overly burdensome licensure keeps qualified people out of the labor market and drives businesses to other states, in the name of quality and safety. And yet, economists have repeatedly found that higher fees and arbitrary additional education or experience requirements do not affect consumer safety or satisfaction.
“In order to study and pursue occupational licensing reform, policymakers and researchers need to have the highest-quality data at their disposal, and they can rely on our team at the Knee Regulatory Research Center,” said Dr. Conor Norris, Director of Labor at the Knee Center. “Tracking nearly 100 professions in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., it is the Knee Center’s duty to keep tabs on the numerous provisions associated with occupational licensure—from licensing fees to ‘good moral character’ requirements. As state legislatures continue to reassess occupational licensing laws, our goal is to provide them with the most relevant research so that their reforms are designed to reduce unnecessary burdens on professionals without sacrificing consumer protection.”
