Why North Carolina should embrace neighbor-state license recognition

When “Samantha,” a licensed real estate agent from Tennessee, moved to Charlotte to be closer to her aging parents, she thought she’d hit the ground running in North Carolina’s fast-paced housing market. With six years of experience, glowing reviews from clients, and a spotless professional record, Samantha assumed her license would transfer easily. Instead, she hit a bureaucratic wall.

Despite holding an active license in good standing just across the border, Samantha was forced to restart the process — pay new fees, sit for additional exams, and delay her ability to earn a living in her chosen profession. And Samantha is hardly alone.

Fortunately, lawmakers in Raleigh are considering a practical solution: House Bill 763 passed the North Carolina Senate this week and is currently before the House for concurrence. It is known as the Neighbor State License Recognition Act. This bill is more than a simple administrative tweak — it’s a declaration that North Carolina values economic freedom, workforce mobility, and the right to earn a living.

WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO

House Bill 763 would require occupational licensing boards in North Carolina to recognize out-of-state licenses for applicants from neighboring states — specifically Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia — if certain conditions are met.

To qualify, an applicant must:

• Hold an active license in good standing for at least one year in the other state;
• Be in good standing with no disqualifying disciplinary actions;
• Have no disqualifying criminal record;
• Not have had a license revoked or surrendered due to disciplinary action;
• Pay any relevant North Carolina licensure fees.

The legislation would apply to a wide range of licensed occupations — from real estate and cosmetology to HVAC contractors and barbers. These are workers who have already demonstrated their competence, passed background checks, and complied with continuing education. There’s no reason they should be asked to start from scratch simply because they crossed state lines.

COMMON-SENSE SAFEGUARDS

Importantly, the bill includes verification steps and allows for discretion by each occupation’s licensing board. It also carves out certain highly sensitive professions — such as those with differing legal or technical standards across state lines — that are excluded from license recognition under this bill. Licenses for the following professions would not be eligible for automatic recognition.

• Physicians and physician assistants
• Dentists and dental hygienists
• Engineers
• Attorneys
• Land surveyors
• Nurses and nurse aides
• Funeral service licensees

These exceptions make sense and reflect a careful balance between protecting public safety and removing unnecessary barriers to entry. House Bill 763 doesn’t eliminate licensing requirements — it simply says that, if another state has already vetted a qualified professional, barring a good reason, North Carolina should give them the green light to work.

A WIN FOR ECONOMIC LIBERTY

This bill is a natural fit with the John Locke Foundation’s longstanding position on occupational licensing. In the 2021 report, “The Right to Earn a Living,” Locke’s Jon Sanders, director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life, lays out the need for reforms to ensure licensing laws don’t become gates that block honest people from entering the workforce.

“Other than outright prohibition, occupational licensing is the state’s most restrictive regulation on a person’s right to work,” said Sanders. “Locke’s top policy recommendation for licensing is to pass a Right to Earn a Living Act, which would require any licensing to be demonstrably necessary… and limited only to legitimate health, safety, and public welfare objectives.”

Occupational licenses were originally intended to protect consumers — but in practice, they often protect entrenched interests. They create artificial scarcity in the labor market, drive up prices, and punish newcomers like Samantha who simply want to put their skills to work.

As the labor market becomes more mobile, states must adapt. North Carolina should want to attract qualified professionals, not drive them away. By embracing neighbor-state license recognition, we can fill workforce shortages, increase competition, and expand consumer choice — all while maintaining standards of safety and accountability.

LET THE MARKET WORK

At its core, this bill is about trust — trusting other states to license responsibly, trusting skilled professionals to do their jobs, and trusting consumers to choose the best service providers. It’s about shifting from a protectionist mindset to a free-market mindset.

If someone has been safely and successfully cutting hair in South Carolina or selling homes in Virginia, why should North Carolina make them jump through hoops to do the same work here?

House Bill 763 is a step toward modernizing our approach to occupational licensing. It encourages talent to flow across borders, honors professional experience, and affirms a fundamental principle: In North Carolina, we believe that the right to earn a living should be respected — not regulated into oblivion.