Avoiding Liability Bulletin – September 2005
… What is the basic difference between a licensing act and a certification act with respect to a specific profession? In general, a licensing act or law defines the scope of the practice and prohibits anyone who is not licensed (unless exempt or otherwise allowed to practice) from performing services for money or other remuneration within that prescribed scope of practice. A certification law typically protects a specified title, but does not prohibit those who are not certified from performing the functions or services defined in the certification law, provided they do not use the protected title in order to hold themselves out to the public. Licensing is considered to be the strongest form of governmental regulation.
