Occupational Licensing in Utah

What is Occupational Licensing?

An occupational or professional license is a permit issued by the government that lets someone work in a particular field. In Utah, more than one out of six workers must now get an occupational license before they can legally do their jobs. But many licenses don’t even improve service quality or protect the public from actual harm.  

Licenses Create Barriers to Working in Utah

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 Utah takes 130 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 Utah, it takes at least 1,600 hours of classes to get a license in cosmetology. On average, a cosmetology program in the state costs $14,393, while the average student takes out $5,410 in federal student loans. But despite such a hefty investment, many cosmetologists barely earn enough to get by: Half of cosmetologists make less than $26,060 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 $1.9 billion and leads to nearly 20,000 fewer jobs each year. 

Licensing Lawsuits by the Institute for Justice in Utah 

After Jestina Clayton had her hair-braiding business shut down by the state cosmetology board, the Institute for Justice filed a civil-rights lawsuit on her behalf. The Board wanted to force Jestina to obtain a cosmetologist license, even though the state’s cosmetology schools aren’t required to teach African-style natural hair braiding techniques. A federal judge sided with Jestina and ruled that the Board’s actions violated her constitutional right to earn an honest living, setting an important precedent for economic liberty in Utah. 

More recently, IJ successfully challenged a Utah law that only allowed Utah residents to become licensed private investigators, no matter how talented or experienced someone from out-of-state may be. Shortly after IJ filed its lawsuit on behalf of Jeremy Barnes, Utah lawmakers repealed its residency requirement. 

Recent Licensing Reforms in Utah 

Utah has been a pioneer for overhauling occupational licensing in recent years. The state repealed experience requirements across multiple different contractor licenses, making it significantly easier to enter those trades. Utah lawmakers have also exempted shampooing hair and blow dry bars from cosmetology licensing, approved multiple reforms that eased licensing barriers for ex-offenders, and enacted a new “sunrise” and “sunset” review process to examine all proposed and existing occupational regulations.  

In addition, Utah approved universal recognition for out-of-state licenses. Under the law, licensed workers who move to the state will be free to work when they arrive and will no longer have to waste their time and money trying to obtain another permission slip from the government. 

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

Licensing boards in Utah must consider whether an applicant has been rehabilitated and offer a predetermination process. This lets applicants see if their criminal record could disqualify them, before they invest in any costly training or classes. In addition, Utah has banned boards from considering arrest records as well as convictions older than 7 years, excluding violent, sexual, or fraudulent offenses. Overall, Utah received a B- for its protections in IJ’s Barred from Working report.  

How You Can Help

If you are an Utah 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 Utah workers have the economic liberty they deserve.