Economy, finance and labor

Executive Order 13966: Increasing Economic and Geographic Mobility

President: Donald J. Trump

Asked agencies to review occupational-licensing barriers and report changes and opportunities for state, territorial and tribal reform.

Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13966 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13966 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13966 do?

EO 13966 stated occupational-licensing reform principles, including attention to military spouses and people moving between jurisdictions. Agency heads were to review their authorities and report to OMB within 90 days and every two years thereafter. No completed report was verified.

Later record checked September 26, 2026: The signed order called for occupational-licensing reports and recommendations. A direct later federal report or implementation step tied to it was not established by this review.

Administration position: Any policy rationale or projected benefit in the order is the administration’s position. This index record does not treat those claims as independently established facts.
SignedDecember 14, 2020
IssuerPresident Donald J. Trump
TermFirst presidential term

Before and after

Before the order

Occupational licensing was governed mainly by state law before this federal policy review.

After the order

Agencies were directed to review licensing barriers and propose actions; the order did not itself repeal state licenses.

The requested agency and White House reports have not been located in the reviewed public record.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Federal agency headsReview licensing-related authorities and submit findings to OMBWithin 90 days and every two years
Domestic Policy leadershipReport recommended federal changes and state incentives to the PresidentWithin 120 days and every two years

What happened next

Executive Order 13966 signed.