102 Lower-income Occupations
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
State Profiles
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
Select A State
What is Occupational Licensing?
An “occupational license” is, put simply, government permission to work in a particular field. To earn the license, an aspiring worker must clear various hurdles, such as earning a certain amount of education or training or passing an exam. In the 1950s, only one in 20 U.S. workers needed the government’s permission to pursue their chosen occupation. Today, that figure stands at almost one in four.
Packer
License required in 6 states
102nd most burdensome licensing requirements among moderate-income occupations
88th most heavily regulated occupation among moderate-income occupations
What They Do
Packers pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials. This report looks at what is required to run one’s own packing or packaging business only.Licensing
Six states require packers to obtain licenses. Each requires only payment of a fee, ranging from $20 in Kentucky to $50 in Maine—$33 on average. These requirements make packer the least burdensome of the 102 occupations studied. However, because a few states license packers, the occupation ranks as the 88th most widely and onerously licensed.