Data story · October 21, 2026 · All data stories
Whether a job needs a license is often described as a yes or a no. The government’s survey of job requirements shows that for nearly half of occupations a license is either rare or near-universal, and for the rest the share varies widely.
The picture
This chart counts the 383 detailed or broad occupations with a published figure by the share of workers whose jobs require a license, certification or certificate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey, 2023).
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey (2023 estimates); counts by MajorPays. Occupations with a suppressed figure are left out.
What stands out
- Both ends are crowded. 116 occupations (30%) have a requirement for fewer than one worker in five, and 66 (17%) have it for at least nine in ten.
- The rest vary. 201 occupations (52%) fall between 20% and 90%, spread over a wide range. In those occupations, whether a license is needed may depend on the employer, the state or the specific role.
- In total, 163 of 383 occupations (43%) have a license, certification or certificate required for at least half of workers.
What this does and does not say
The survey counts requirements that employers report for the jobs in the sample. It does not say which state issues a license, how long it takes to get one or what it costs, and requirements for the same job can differ by state. A certificate here can be an employer or industry credential, not only a government license. For the state licensing picture and the certifications linked to a career, see the individual career pages, which use CareerOneStop data.
When a career page says a license is required, the next step is to check the rules of the state where you plan to work with its licensing board.
How we computed this
We use the published share of workers whose jobs require a license, certification or certificate for each detailed or broad occupation, group the shares in brackets of 10 percentage points and count occupations in each bracket. The share reflects workers, not job openings, and occupations are not weighted by employment.
MajorPays shares information, not advice. Figures are group statistics from U.S. government sources, not predictions for any person, and MajorPays does not rank schools or places. See our methodology.