US Professional License Lookup

Search the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational licensing database via the CareerOneStop API. Get license names, issuing authorities, contact information, and detailed requirements across all 50 states in one structured dataset.

Who uses this

• HR and hiring teams verifying that candidates hold the licenses required for a role before extending an offer
• Compliance and legal teams mapping licensing requirements across states for workforce planning or regulatory filings
• Background check providers augmenting screening reports with licensing data
• Staffing agencies identifying which states require a license for a given occupation before placing contractors
• Policy researchers and journalists analyzing occupational licensing burdens by state or profession

What you get

Each record includes:

Field	Description
id	Unique license ID in the CareerOneStop database
title	License name
state	Issuing state
description	Full text description of requirements and procedures
activeStatus	Whether the license record is active
educationRequired	Education level required (degree, certificate, etc.)
examRequired	Exam requirements (state exam, third-party exam, etc.)
continuingEduRequired	Continuing education obligations
experienceRequired	Experience requirements
licenseType	Stand-alone, endorsement, or renewal type
criminalBackground	Criminal background check requirements
veteransInfo	Expedited processing available for veterans/spouses
lastUpdated	Date the record was last updated by the state
agency.name	Issuing agency name
agency.address	Agency mailing address
agency.city	Agency city
agency.state	Agency state
agency.zip	Agency ZIP code
agency.phone	Agency phone number
agency.email	Agency email
agency.url	Agency website URL

Prerequisites

This actor requires free CareerOneStop API credentials:

1. Visit CareerOneStop API Registration
2. Complete the short registration form (name, organization, intended use)
3. You will receive a User ID and API Token by email within 1-2 business days
4. Enter those credentials in the actor input fields userId and token

Alternatively, set the CAREERONESTOP_USER_ID and CAREERONESTOP_TOKEN environment variables in the actor's environment configuration.

Input

{
  "userId": "your-careeronestop-user-id",
  "token": "your-careeronestop-api-token",
  "keyword": "contractor",
  "location": "CA",
  "sortColumn": "Title",
  "sortDirection": "ASC",
  "maxResults": 100
}

Input fields

Field	Required	Default	Description
userId	Yes*	—	CareerOneStop API user ID
token	Yes*	—	CareerOneStop API Bearer token
keyword	Yes	contractor	License name, occupation title, O*NET/SOC code, or 0 for all
location	Yes	CA	State (CA), city+state (Chicago, IL), ZIP code, or 0 for US-wide
sortColumn	No	Title	Sort by Title, Agency, or State
sortDirection	No	ASC	ASC, DESC, or 0 for relevance
maxResults	No	100	Maximum records to return (up to 5000)

*Can be provided as environment variables CAREERONESTOP_USER_ID and CAREERONESTOP_TOKEN.

Example queries

Search for all contractor licenses in California:

{ "keyword": "contractor", "location": "CA", "maxResults": 200 }

Search for nursing licenses nationwide:

{ "keyword": "registered nurse", "location": "0", "maxResults": 500 }

Search by O*NET code:

{ "keyword": "29-1141.00", "location": "0", "maxResults": 100 }

Get all licenses in Texas:

{ "keyword": "0", "location": "TX", "maxResults": 1000 }

Data source

Data is sourced from the CareerOneStop Licenses database, maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor. License information is collected from each state and updated every 4-6 months. Not all states submit complete license information.

Related actors

• OSHA Workplace Inspection & Violations Data — workplace safety inspection records
• California Secretary of State Business Leads — business entity registrations