Licensing officer

Licensing officers process licence applications and provide advice on licensing legislation. They also perform investigative duties to ensure the applicant is eligible for the requested licence, ensure licence fees are paid in a timely manner, and ensure compliance with legislation.

The following job titles also refer to licensing officer:

fire protection specialist
licensing compliance officer
licensing standards officer
business permit licensing officer
restaurant licensing officer
driver licensing officer
license inspector
patents officer
building authority officer
licensing examiner
building permit licensing officer
technology licensing officer
fire protection licensing officer
alcohol licensing officer

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Licensing officer is a Skill level 3 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to licensing officer.

passport officer
grants administrator
customs officer
immigration adviser
immigration officer

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of licensing officer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of licensing officer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

grants management officer
court jury coordinator
intelligence officer
civil service administrative officer
court administrator

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of licensing officer.

• Public service concession: The procedures involved in the granting of rights, land or property by a government to a private company which enters an agreement with the government to operate or make use of certain services, and what qualifies or may qualify as a concession.
• Licences regulation: The requirements and rules that must be compliant for a permit or licence.

These skills are necessary for the role of licensing officer.

• Prepare licence agreements: Make the legal contract ready, granting permission to use equipment, services, components, applications and intellectual property.
• Grant concessions: Grant rights, land or property from governments to private entities, in compliance with regulations, and ensuring the necessary documentation is filed and processed
• Assess licence applications: Assess the applications from organisations or individuals requesting a specific licence in order to ascertain whether they are eligible for this licence, and to either approve or deny the application.
• Assess breaches of licence agreements: Assess cases where the licence agreement is potentially breached by the licence holder in order to evaluate the nature of the breach, determine appropriate consequences such as the revoking of the licence or issuing a fine, and to ensure compliance with legislation.
• Issue licences: Issue official documentation which grants licence holders with official permission to perform certain activities, after having investigated the application and processed the necessary documentation.
• Manage licensing fees: Handle and inspect licensing fees for a service/product provided under intellectual property right.
• Monitor compliance with licensing agreements: Ensure that licensee is well aware of all terms, legal aspects and renewal aspects of the license that has been awarded.
• Manage import export licenses: Ensure the effective issuing of permits and licenses in import and export processes.
• Advise on licencing procedures: Advise individuals or organisations on the procedures involved in requesting a specific licence, instructing them on the necessary documentation, the application verification process, and licence eligibility.
• Correspond with licence applicants: Correspond with individuals or organisations who requested a specific licence in order to investigate the case further and gather more information, to offer further advice, inform them of further steps which need to be taken, or to inform them of the decision made in the evaluation of the application.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of licensing officer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Intellectual property law: The regulations that govern the set of rights protecting products of the intellect from unlawful infringement.
• Office software: The characteristics and functioning of software programs for office tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, email and database.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of licensing officer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Undertake inspections: Undertake safety inspections in areas of concern to identify and report potential hazards or security breaches; take measures to maximise safety standards.
• Comply with legal regulations: Ensure you are properly informed of the legal regulations that govern a specific activity and adhere to its rules, policies and laws.
• Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
• Keep task records: Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.
• Think analytically: Produce thoughts using logic and reasoning in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Respond to enquiries: Respond to enquiries and requests for information from other organisations and members of the public.
• Conduct research interview: Use professional researching and interviewing methods and techniques to gather relevant data, facts or information, to gain new insights and to fully comprehend the message of the interviewee.
• Check official documents: Check an individuals’ official documentation, such as driver’s licenses and identification, to ensure compliance with legal regulations, and to identify and assess individuals.
• Ensure proper document management: Guarantee that the tracking and recording standards and rules for document management are followed, such as ensuring that changes are identified, that documents remain readable and that obsoleted documents are not used.
• Collect licence fees: Collect payments due for the processing of a licence, such as the initial granting of a licence or a licence renewal, ensuring that the correct amounts are paid and procedures are compliant with regulations.
• Use Microsoft Office: Possess the ability to work with the standard programs contained in Microsoft Office at a capable level. Create a document and do basic formatting, insert page breaks, create headers or footers, and insert graphics, create automatically generated tables of contents and merge form letters from a database of addresses (usually in Excel). Create auto-calculating spreadsheets, create images, and sort and filter data tables.

3354 – Government licensing officials

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References

1. Licensing officer – ESCO