Occupational licensing

Occupational licensing is a legal system requiring government authorization to work in specified occupations. Laws typically set entry requirements and define the work reserved for license holders.

Professional licensure: Government authorization to practice a profession after meeting legally defined requirements. This is the common form of licensing for regulated professions such as medicine and law.
Occupational closure: The restriction of entry to an occupation through credentials, rules, or other exclusionary barriers. Licensing is a legal tool occupations can use to control entry and limit competition.
Occupational self-regulation: Governance of professional conduct by members of an occupation or their representative bodies. Licensing places authority in government, though professional bodies may advise or administer parts of it.
Medical licensing in the United States: State laws and institutions governing who may practice medicine in the United States. Medical practice became a prominent setting for state licensing and professional standards.
Scope of practice: The legally permitted duties and activities of a professional or occupational group. Licensing laws often reserve specific tasks for people holding a particular license.
Labor market regulation: Government rules that shape employment, wages, working conditions, or access to jobs. Occupational licensing is one form of regulation that governs entry into labor markets.
Deregulation: The removal or reduction of government rules governing an activity or industry. Deregulation can reduce or eliminate licensing requirements for an occupation.
Flexner Report: A 1910 survey of North American medical education commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation. Its recommendations helped reshape medical education amid the growth of professional regulation.
Occupational examination: A test used to assess knowledge or skills required for entry into an occupation. Examinations are a frequent licensing requirement, though they do not measure every job skill.
Credentialism: Reliance on formal qualifications as evidence of ability or as a condition of employment. Licensing makes credentials a legal condition for working in designated occupations.

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