Occupational Licensing in Illinois

What is Occupational Licensing?

Occupational licensing is a permit issued by the government that allows someone to work in a particular field. In Illinois, nearly one in five workers must now get an occupational license before they can legally do their job. But many of these licenses are too strict, and they don’t even improve service quality or protect the public from actual harm.

Licenses Create Barriers to Working in Illinois

Occupational licenses often impose high barriers to entry. That makes it much harder for people to find work or to start a new business. According to the Institute for Justice’s report, License to Work, the average license for low- and moderate-income jobs in Illinois takes 234 days of education and experience. And those required classes can be very expensive.

For instance, cosmetology is one of the state’s most popular licenses. In Illinois, it takes at least 1,500 hours of classes to get a license in cosmetology. On average, a cosmetology program in the state costs $17,658, while the average student takes out $7,705 in federal student loans. But despite such a hefty investment, many cosmetologists barely earn enough to get by: Half of cosmetologists make less than $27,040 a year.

All told, the state’s licensing requirements come with heavy costs. A separate study by IJ, At What Cost?, estimated that occupational licensing costs the state’s economy $9.6 billion and leads to 85,000 fewer jobs each year.

Can You Get a License to Work with a Criminal Record in Illinois?

Licensing boards in Illinois can only disqualify applicants who have been convicted of a crime “directly related” to the license and must consider whether an applicant has been rehabilitated. The state also bans boards from using arrests as well as sealed and expunged records to disqualify applicants. Overall, Illinois received a B- for its laws in IJ’s Barred from Working report.

How You Can Help

If you are an Illinois resident and you want to help fight against these unfair and unnecessary licensing laws, there are a few ways you can get involved. You can donate to the Institute for Justice, sign up for our email updates, and share our message with your network. Together, we can make sure that all Illinois workers have the economic liberty they deserve.