Imagine having to stop at state lines and earn a new driver’s license every time you traveled, despite years of safe driving experience. States recognize that the public benefit of mobility outweighs minor differences in standards. Even when you move to a new state, the process is usually limited: provide your out-of-state license to the DMV, pass a vision test where required, pay a fee and provide documents proving your identity and new address. Washington state does not require adults moving from another state to take a new driving test, even though states have different driving rules and licensing requirements.
Occupational licensing often works differently. Experienced workers who have already proven competence and are licensed elsewhere can still face costly delays, duplicative paperwork, extra schooling, training or other unnecessary barriers before being allowed to work in a new state. Reform is needed to get people to work more quickly, and I've written a policy brief that explains how.
Washington state lawmakers have repeatedly tried to help with workforce shortages and lower workplace barriers through profession-specific licensure compacts, allowing workers to take their skills across state lines. Recently, in the 2025 legislative session, they added cosmetology and respiratory therapist compacts to the mix. In the 2026 session that just ended in March, lawmakers passed legislation to join the Dietitian Licensure Compact.
Compact adoption is welcome and has wide bipartisan support. Compacts can get new state residents to work faster. But compacts address worker mobility one occupation at a time. Universal licensure recognition (ULR) offers a broader alternative. If a worker is already licensed and in good standing elsewhere, Washington state would simply recognize that credential unless there is a clear safety reason not to do so. As of 2025, 28 other states have adopted some form of ULR.
Right now, the state is building a patchwork for occupational licensing. ULR offers a broad solution for workers, patients, consumers and employers, while also giving state agencies and lawmakers a more coherent framework than the current compact-by-compact approach.
Read the full brief here.
