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FreedomRankings

Occupational Licensing in Washington

Washington requires a licence for 139 of the 246 occupations the Archbridge Institute tracks, against a national median of 124. It ranks 11 of 51 on their index, where 1 is the most burdensome.

Licensed occupations
139
With any entry barrier
167
National rank
#11
In the Pacific
#2

Moving to Washington with a licence

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

Every licensed occupation in Washington

All 139, alphabetically. Archbridge tracks 246 occupations in total, so anything absent here is either unlicensed in Washington 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 Washington board before acting on any of it.

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