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FreedomRankings

Occupational Licensing in Iowa

Iowa requires a licence for 127 of the 246 occupations the Archbridge Institute tracks, against a national median of 124. It ranks 25 of 51 on their index, where 1 is the most burdensome.

Licensed occupations
127
With any entry barrier
160
National rank
#25
In the West North Central
#2

Moving to Iowa with a licence

Iowa recognises out-of-state licences with some conditions — graded silver. Universal recognition is the reform that lets someone already licensed elsewhere practise after moving, instead of repeating the training; 28 of the 51 jurisdictions have some version of it.

Licensed here, rarely elsewhere

These are the occupations Iowa licenses that few other jurisdictions do — the clearest sign of where its rules go further than the national norm.

Every licensed occupation in Iowa

All 127, alphabetically. Archbridge tracks 246 occupations in total, so anything absent here is either unlicensed in Iowa or outside their list.

Where this comes from

The Archbridge Institute's State Occupational Licensing Index 2026, retrieved 2026-09-16. The index records whether an occupation needs a licence — it does not record fees or training hours, so nothing here says what a licence costs or how long it takes. The rank is Archbridge's own and is not part of the FreedomRankings score. Check the relevant Iowa board before acting on any of it.

More on Iowa: its freedom score and rank · school choice · homeschool laws