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FreedomRankings

Occupational Licensing in New York

New York requires a licence for 113 of the 246 occupations the Archbridge Institute tracks, against a national median of 124. It ranks 49 of 51 on their index, where 1 is the most burdensome.

Licensed occupations
113
With any entry barrier
126
National rank
#49
In the Middle Atlantic
#3

Moving to New York with a licence

New York has no universal-recognition law, so an out-of-state licence generally has to be earned again. 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 New York licenses that few other jurisdictions do — the clearest sign of where its rules go further than the national norm.

Every licensed occupation in New York

All 113, alphabetically. Archbridge tracks 246 occupations in total, so anything absent here is either unlicensed in New York 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 New York board before acting on any of it.

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