Earth Driller, Water Well Licensing
States Licensed
51
of 50 states and D.C.
Burden Rank
12th
for average burdens 1st is worst
Combined Rank
3rd
for states licensed x average burdens 1st is worst
Change from 2017 to 2022, if any:
- ↑
- Burden increased
- ↓
- Burden decreased
- ↕
- Mixed burden change
- N
- New license
- E
- Eliminated license
2022 Licensing Burden Rank
How does my state compare to others?
Compare NowDefinition
Earth drillers operate a variety of drills, such as rotary, churn and pneumatic, to tap sub-surface water for the creation of water wells. This report looks at what is required to run one’s own business as an earth driller only.2022 Snapshot
- Days lost range from 0 (10 states) to 2,203 (Virginia)
- Fees range from $0 (Nebraska) to $1,140 (Nevada)
- 47 states require 1+ exam
- 27 states set minimum age
- 3 states set minimum grade
Changes Since 2017
- No licenses created or removed
- Fees changed most often and usually increased; Arkansas and Washington decreased days lost to education and experience, while Wisconsin raised it
- Burden rank and combined rank stayed the same because of burden changes in similarly ranked occupations
2022 Licensing Burden in Detail
Data Notes: 2022 data collected between February 3, 2020, and March 18, 2022. Fees include charges for application review and license issuance; exams; background checks, credit reports and fingerprinting; recovery fund contributions; third-party certification; and certain fees for training courses. Calendar days lost were estimated based on required education and experience; except for amounts smaller than one day, days lost are rounded to whole days and thus may not reflect very small changes between 2017 and 2022. Appendix A details methods for estimating days lost and calculating burden ranks. Complete data, including revised 2017 data, are available at https://ij.org/report/license-to-work-3/ltw3-data/.