Occupational Licensing in Kansas
What is Occupational Licensing?
Occupational licensing is a permit issued by the government that allows someone to work in a particular field. In Kansas, 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 Kansas
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 Kansas takes 199 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 Kansas, it takes at least 1,500 hours of classes to get a license in cosmetology. On average, a cosmetology program in the state costs $16,860, while the average student takes out $8,363 in federal student loans. But despite such a hefty investment, many cosmetologists barely earn enough to get by: Half of cosmetologists make less than $20,700 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 $3.1 billion and leads to 29,400 fewer jobs each year.
Sunrise Review in Kansas
Under sunrise review, whenever a new job regulation is proposed, state regulators must determine whether the regulation is needed, its potential costs and burdens, and if there are any less restrictive alternatives. However, Kansas’ sunrise review process is in dire need of reform. The state has only released three sunrise reports across three different occupations. Even still, Kansas sunrise reports lack “independent research and meaningful analysis,” according to an IJ study.
Recent Licensing Reforms in Kansas
Working with the Institute for Justice, Kansas has exempted eyebrow threaders from licensure and also enacted universal recognition for out-of-state licenses. This allows licensed workers who move to Kansas to start working without having to waste their time and money getting another permission slip from the government. The state also made it easier for people with criminal records to find work.
Can You Get a License to Work with a Criminal Record in Kansas?
Licenses involving health care as well as any licensed job that requires at least a bachelor’s degree are effectively off-limits for people with criminal records. For other licenses, applicants can only be disqualified if they have been convicted of a crime that’s “directly related” to the license. Kansas also bans boards from using arrest records as well as vague terms like “good moral character” and “moral turpitude” to deny licenses. Overall, Kansas received a C- in IJ’s Barred from Working report.
How You Can Help
If you are an Kansas 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 Kansas workers have the economic liberty they deserve.
Are Occupational Licenses Preventing You From Working in Kansas ?
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The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm dedicated to the protection of constitutional rights, including the right of individuals to produce, procure, and consume homemade foods free from unnecessary and anti-competitive regulations.
Occupational Licensing Research

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
License to Work 3
This third edition of IJ’s landmark License to Work report finds that for lower-income Americans, licensing continues to be widespread, burdensome and—frequently—irrational. It also provides a blueprint for meaningful licensing reform.

Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Beauty School Debt and Drop-Outs
Cosmetology is one of the most widely and onerously regulated occupations for lower-income workers, yet little research has explored the experiences of aspiring beauty workers. This first-of-its-kind study takes advantage of federal educational…

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Barred From Working
Earning an honest living is one of the best ways to prevent re-offending. But strict occupational licensing requirements make it harder for ex-offenders to find work, thwarting their chances of successful reentry.

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
At What Cost?
Not only do state occupational licensing laws force people to spend a lot of time and money earning a license instead of earning a living, they also impose real economic costs. This study takes advantage…
Learn more about our Economic Liberty work.
Economic liberty—the right to earn a living in the occupation of your choice without unnecessary government interference—is at the heart of the American Dream. Unfortunately, all too many entrepreneurs find that this dream is under constant attack by unreasonable licensing, permitting and other requirements that stand in the way of honest competition.
Learn MoreReforming Occupational Licensing Nationwide
All Americans deserve the opportunity to earn an honest living. Yet occupational licenses, which are essentially permission slips from the government, routinely stand in the way of honest enterprise. Since our founding, IJ has fought to roll back oppressive occupational-licensing rules in more than two dozen distinct occupations, ranging all the way from tax preparers to florists to traditional African hair braiders. Learn more about IJ’s occupational-licensing work in all 50 states:
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky |Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Washington, D.C. | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming