Licensure is necessary when the regulated activities are complex, require specialized knowledge and skill and independent decision making.
The first nurse licensure and registration program was initiated in 1901 in New Zealand when the Nurses Registration Act 1901 was enacted into law.
The first licensure laws in the United States came in 1903.
In the US, applicants must successfully pass the NCLEX exam prior to being granted a license.
In the United States, some states such as Louisiana have sought to loosen licensure requirements as unnecessary barriers to employment.