State licensing boards · verified July 2026
Do welders need a license?
The short answer
In most of the United States, no. As of July 2026, 39 states require no license at all to work as a welder, 1 leave licensing to cities and counties, and 10 regulate the trade at state level. Where no license exists, the credential employers actually look for is AWS (American Welding Society) certification, plus ASME Section IX qualification for pressure work.
Which states license welders?
10 states regulate this trade at state level. Some license the individual worker; others regulate only the contracting business, which means an employee works under someone else's credential rather than holding one personally. The distinction matters if you plan to work for yourself.
Which states leave it to cities and counties?
In 1 state there is no statewide credential, and the requirement depends on the city or county you work in: New York. A license earned in one city in these states does not automatically travel to the next one, so check the municipality rather than the state.
Which states require nothing?
39 states impose no licensing requirement on welders at all. Their occupational licensing directories list the trades they regulate, and this one is not among them. That is a positive finding rather than missing research: each of these states was checked against its own published list.
| State | What the state publishes |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama does not license welders as an occupation - there is no state welder license, certification, or welding trade board. The only state credential that can touch welding work is Alabama's general contractor license |
| Alaska | Alaska does not issue any welder license or certificate of fitness. The state's Certificate of Fitness program (Alaska DOLWD, Mechanical Inspection Section) covers only electricians, plumbers, asbestos abatement, explosive handlers, hazardous paint handlers, boiler OPERATORS (Classes 1-4) |
| Arizona | Arizona has no welder license - welding is not a licensed occupation and individual tradespeople working for wages are exempt from contractor licensing under A.R.S. 32-1121(A)(11). The state regulates welding only at the business level: a person or company that contracts construction work |
| Arkansas | Arkansas does not license welders. The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing's directory of every licensing board it administers - covering electrical, HVAC/R, elevator, fire protection, contractors |
| Colorado | Colorado does not license welders at the state level. Welding does not appear among the professions regulated by the Department of Regulatory Agencies' Division of Professions and Occupations |
| Connecticut | Connecticut does not license welders. The Department of Consumer Protection's complete list of licenses, permits and registrations (850+ credential types) includes occupational trades such as electrical, plumbing and pipefitting, heating and cooling, sheet metal, elevator, and fire protection work |
| Delaware | Delaware does not license welders. The Division of Professional Regulation's list of 37 professional licensing boards and commissions includes electricians |
| Florida | Florida does not license welders. Florida Statutes Chapter 489, which defines every state contractor license category regulated by DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board |
| Georgia | Georgia does not license welders. The Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division board list (roughly 45 boards) includes electrical contractors, plumbers, conditioned air contractors, low voltage contractors, utility contractors and residential/general contractors |
| Idaho | Idaho does not license welders. The Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) licenses construction trades such as electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, elevator technicians, and public works contractors |
| Illinois | Illinois does not license welders. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's comprehensive list of regulated professions contains no welder or welding entry |
| Indiana | Indiana does not license welders. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's list of licensed professions (which includes trades such as plumbing) contains no welder or welding entry. Welders in Indiana work on industry credentials - AWS Certified Welder or ASME Section IX performance |
| Iowa | Iowa does not license welders. The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) licenses building trades including electricians, plumbers/mechanical professionals, and boiler-related occupations |
| Kansas | Kansas does not license welders at the state level. The state's official business licensing directory (Kansas Business One Stop) lists no welding or welder license, and Kansas has no general state contractor license either - trades such as plumbing |
| Kentucky | Kentucky does not license welders. The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction - the state's construction-trades regulator - licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and/or fire alarm contractors and building inspectors |
| Maine | Maine does not license welders. The Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation's statewide list of regulated professions includes trades such as electricians, plumbers, boiler operators/inspectors and oil/gas technicians |
| Maryland | Maryland does not license welders. The Maryland Department of Labor's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing regulates 25 professions - including electricians, plumbers |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts does not license welders as an occupation: the Division of Occupational Licensure's boards cover trades like electricians, plumbers, pipefitters and sheet metal workers |
| Michigan | Michigan does not issue an occupational license for welders. LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes licenses boiler installers, electricians, elevator workers, mechanical contractors, plumbers and mobile home trades |
| Minnesota | Minnesota has no occupational license for welders. Two state-enforced qualification regimes apply to specific welding work: welders on high-pressure piping systems must be qualified to ASME Section IX (2021) under Minnesota Rule 5230.5920 |
| Missouri | Missouri does not license welders: the Division of Professional Registration's roster of roughly 40 licensing boards includes no welding or welder board, and Missouri has no statewide contractor license either. Unlike some neighboring states |
| Montana | Montana does not license welders. Welding does not appear anywhere on the Montana Department of Labor & Industry's roster of professional and occupational licensing boards and programs (which does license electricians, plumbers, boiler operators, crane operators) |
| Nebraska | Nebraska does not license welders. The State of Nebraska's official One Stop License Portal, which aggregates the state's occupational and business licenses across agencies (electrical licenses, elevator mechanic/contractor licenses, etc.), contains no welding license, certification |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire does not license welders; welding is not among the professions regulated by the NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (which does license electricians, plumbers) |
| New Jersey | New Jersey does not license welders. Welding is absent from the Division of Consumer Affairs' A-Z list of licensed professions and occupations (which includes electrical contractors and master plumbers), and the NJ Department of Labor's official My Career NJ occupation profile for Welders, Cutters |
| North Carolina | North Carolina has no state occupational license for welders - anyone can work as a welder, with AWS Certified Welder and ASME Section IX credentials serving as the de facto industry requirements. The one state-run credential is the NCDOT Field Welder Certification Program |
| North Dakota | North Dakota does not license welders at any level of government - welding does not appear among the occupations licensed through the ND Secretary of State or any state trade board. The working credential path is industry certification: AWS Certified Welder for structural work and ASME Section IX |
| Ohio | Ohio has no state license for welders. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB), within the Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance, issues state licenses only to electrical, HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania does not license welders. The state's own contractor licensing page states the Commonwealth 'currently has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors |
| South Carolina | South Carolina does not license welders. Title 40 of the SC Code (Professions and Occupations) contains no welding chapter, and the Contractors chapter (40-11) has no individual welder license - welding appears only as a component of contractor classifications (e.g.) |
| South Dakota | South Dakota does not license welders. The Department of Labor and Regulation's complete directory of state occupational licensing agencies covers trades such as electricians and plumbers but contains no welding board or welder license. Welders qualify through industry credentials |
| Tennessee | Tennessee does not issue a welder license. The Department of Commerce and Insurance's list of regulated professions contains no welding credential, and the Board for Licensing Contractors regulates only general contractors, home improvement contractors, limited licensed electricians |
| Texas | Texas has no occupational license for welders - welding does not appear on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's list of regulated programs. The one state-run credential is TxDOT's Steel Structures Welding Certification |
| Utah | Utah does not license welders. The Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) license list covers dozens of occupations - including construction trades such as electrical, plumbing, and contracting - but welder/welding is not among them. Welders qualify through industry certifications |
| Vermont | Vermont does not license welders. The Office of Professional Regulation's comprehensive list of regulated professions contains no welding credential, and the trades Vermont does license outside OPR (plumbers and electricians) |
| Virginia | Virginia does not license welders. DPOR's Tradesmen Program licenses electricians, plumbers, HVAC workers, gas fitters, elevator mechanics and related trades, but welding is not among them and no other Virginia board regulates the occupation. Welders qualify through industry certification |
| Washington | Washington has no state welder license. The Department of Labor & Industries licenses electrical professionals, plumbers, and construction contractors and inspects boilers and elevators, but welders are not a licensed occupation. For structural welding |
| West Virginia | West Virginia does not license welders as an occupation, the WV Division of Labor's licensing section covers contractors, HVAC technicians, plumbers, crane operators, elevator and boiler safety |
| Wyoming | Wyoming does not license welders. Among construction trades, only electricians are state-licensed (through the State Fire Marshal's Office), and none of Wyoming's professional licensing boards covers welding or any other construction trade. Welders work on industry certifications such as AWS |
Source: state occupational licensing directories and boards. Verified July 2026.
What do you need instead of a license?
No license does not mean no credential. The qualification employers and inspectors actually ask for is AWS (American Welding Society) certification, plus ASME Section IX qualification for pressure work. It is issued by an industry body rather than a state, which is why it works across state lines where a license would not, and why it is worth holding even in the 10 states that do regulate the trade.
Why does this vary so much between states?
Occupational licensing is a state power, and states have made genuinely different judgments about which trades carry enough public-safety risk to justify a license. Work that can burn a building down or contaminate a water supply tends to be licensed everywhere. Work whose failures are commercial rather than dangerous is usually left to employers and industry certification. Where a state regulates the contracting business but not the worker, the reasoning is usually consumer protection rather than technical competence: the state wants someone accountable for the contract, not a skills test.
Sources and verification
How this was compiled
All 50 states were checked individually against the state's own occupational licensing directory, licensing board, or statute. Each state's source is linked in the tables above. Records whose sources were ambiguous were independently re-verified before publication.
Last verified July 2026 · 50 state records · Found an error? Report it and it will be corrected and logged on the corrections page.
See welders pay and outlook, price a credential with the license cost estimator. Every state page for this trade is listed on the trades index.
Licensing requirements change between our verification sweeps. This page is informational only, so confirm with the board for your state before making decisions. Not legal advice.