Interactive compare · 97 professions × 51 jurisdictions

Compare State Licensing Requirements

Pick any two states and a profession to see fees, education hours, exams, renewal cycles, and burden scores side-by-side, the same archive behind every profession and state page.

By ·Data as of 2026-05-15

Professions
97
States + DC
51
Requirement rows
4,947
Board-confirmed
2,717

What a compare lookup returns

Base state×profession row100%Education hours filled91.4%CE hours / cycle filled52.4%Renewal fee filled52.4%Reciprocity notes filled52.4%
Share of 4,947 state×profession rows carrying each independently filled field. Deeper CE / renewal / reciprocity layers are thinner; the tool shows "-" where the source left the cell empty.

State × profession compare

Select two states and a profession above

Then click Compare for a side-by-side breakdown of requirements, fees, and education hours.

Popular comparisons

Not sure where to start?

This tool compares 97 professions across 51 states -- here's how to use it well.

  • 2717 of the tracked requirement rows are board-confirmed, not category estimates -- worth checking which kind you're relying on. How rows are confirmed
  • See the full state-by-state licensing burden ladder before picking two states to compare. State burden rankings
  • Check whether your license transfers under an interstate compact before assuming you need to start over. Reciprocity guide

Requirements are compiled from NCSL and Institute for Justice research and verified against state board sites where possible; always confirm current rules with the licensing board before relying on any single row.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Institute for Justice, the PlainCredential comparison dataset (current as of May 15, 2026) contains 4,947 licensing requirement records; see the methodology.

Download the jurisdiction snapshot (same CSV as /statistics): licensing-statistics.csv (CC BY 4.0).

Compiled from official public sources by the publisher.

Every figure on PlainCredential is rendered directly from NCSL and state occupational- licensing board data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on NCSL and state licensing board data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.