Bureaucracy can take its toll...
As in every other state, people in Missouri who wish to pursue employment in certain occupations are required to obtain approval from the government before being legally authorized to perform that service. Luckily, Missouri has the fewest statewide licensing requirements of all the states. Nonetheless, government regulations throughout Missouri at the state, county, and city levels require licenses for many occupations. That’s why we’ve created “Show-Me: The Licensing,” an interactive map displaying a survey of licensing information at multiple government levels throughout Missouri. The economic issues and effects of licensing are outlined in the accompanying documentation of this online survey and the related case study of massage therapy in Missouri and Kansas. But with “Show-Me: the Licensing,” the Show-Me Institute has created an online tool to help Missourians know which licenses are required at which levels of government throughout the state.
Our interactive map provides links to the primary websites of many of the licensing agencies. We list all the statewide licenses, and the licensed required by counties and cities can be seen by clicking on each jurisdiction. Fortunately for the Missouri economy, the large majority of Missouri counties license only the occupations that the state requires them to regulate: generally plumbers, electricians, auctioneers, and notary publics, depending on the county. Larger counties and cities, however, license many more occupations. The information provided by this tool can help Missourians make choices, such as where to live or work, by keeping this licensing information in mind. We must protect against allowing the existing practitioners of any occupation to raise barriers to enter the profession, which decreases competition, raises prices, and hurts Missouri consumers. People should not need a permission slip from the government in order to work in Missouri!