Business Licensing Reform: A Toolkit for Development Practitioners

Licenses provide the permissions businesses need to perform their core activities. When combined with registrations, permits, and inspections, entrepreneurs face a confusing web of red tape. Excessive requirements can lie in the “stock” of existing licenses, the “flow” of future licenses, or both. Policies geared toward simplification and transparency can help, from one-stop shops to web-based licensing applications and online license catalogs.

This guide gives project managers the tools for reforming business licensing regimes at the national level. Good licensing regimes rest on laws, have clear appeals procedures, and validity across sub-national jurisdictions. With guidance on identifying levers of reform, designing programs, involving stakeholders, and assessing impacts from start to finish, the reform process is broken down into four distinct phases: foundations, preparation, design, and implementation. The authors provide case studies to illustrate how and why some reform programs succeed while others fail, and instructions on getting licensing fundamentals - like pricing and scope - right.

Download the toolkit (PDF, 1.1MB).