Staffing agency license in Oklahoma: repealed in 2017, fee caps still in force

Oklahoma stopped licensing employment agencies in 2017, but it did not repeal the whole law. House Bill 1233 removed the license, the Commissioner of Labor's rulemaking power and the Department of Labor's enforcement role, and left in place the definitions, a fee schedule for agencies that charge job seekers, contract and refund rules, and criminal penalties that applicants can ask prosecutors to pursue. For firms paid only by employers, the remaining law mostly does not apply. For any agency that charges candidates, it still sets hard limits.

This page covers the 2017 repeal, the rules that survived it, PEO registration with the Oklahoma Insurance Department and the employer accounts every Oklahoma staffing firm needs. For other states, see employment agency license requirements.

The 2017 repeal

Before November 1, 2017, 40 O.S. § 53 provided that no person could "open, operate or maintain an employment agency in the State of Oklahoma without first procuring a license from the Administrator," the Commissioner of Labor. The application and each renewal cost $250, and applicants needed a year of Oklahoma residence and a year of experience as a placement counselor. House Bill 1233 (Laws 2017, c. 51, § 6) repealed § 53 effective November 1, 2017.

The same bill, according to the House bill summary, removed the definitions of "Administrator" and "Director," took away the Commissioner's authority to make rules under the act, gave any court of competent jurisdiction (rather than the Commissioner) the power to order agencies to refuse service to an employer that does not honor contracts made through them, and clarified how agency fees are calculated. The Department of Labor no longer has a role.

Who the surviving law covers

Under 40 O.S. § 52(e), a "private employment agency" is a business operated for profit in Oklahoma that secures employment, or advertises that it can, for applicants with employers other than itself, "where any applicant may become liable for the payment of a fee to the private employment agency, either directly or indirectly." The exclusions include:

• nonprofit educational, religious, charitable, fraternal and benevolent organizations that charge no fee;
• government employment services;
• "any temporary help service that at no time advertises or represents that its employee, with the approval of the temporary help service, may be employed by one of its client companies on a permanent basis";
• newspapers and general information services;
• union hiring halls that charge applicants nothing beyond union dues; and
• organizations that charge only for services other than securing employment, under a contract with a prominent disclosure statement.

Fee caps for agencies that charge job seekers

40 O.S. § 54 caps the service fee for permanent employment as a share of the first full month's gross compensation:

The pay bands have not kept up with wages, so in practice almost every modern job falls into the last row, where the fee is whatever the written agreement says. The other rules in § 54 bite harder:

• A job that ends within 60 days is "temporary employment," and the fee may not exceed 20% of the amount earned. The fee for temporary employment may never exceed the permanent fee.
• No fee may be collected before the applicant has obtained employment.
• No fee may be charged for registering, for starting a search or investigation, or for other employment-related aids.
• For straight-commission jobs, the first three months' gross earnings are averaged to set the monthly figure.
• A finance company that buys an applicant's fee contract is not a holder in due course until the 60-day temporary period has run.

Contracts, refunds and records

Under 40 O.S. § 55:

• Every agency signs a written agreement with each applicant covering the services and the time and method of payment, with definitions of "Temporary Employment," "Permanent Employment" and "Method of Payment," and gives the applicant a copy. The agency may never collect more than the stated fee or agreed percentage of the first year's income.
• If a permanent job ends within the temporary period, the agency refunds any overpayment requested within six months, within 10 days of receiving the employer's verification of dates and earnings. This refund rule does not apply to an agency acting as a search consultant retained and paid solely by the employer.
• Numbered receipts in duplicate for every payment, with copies kept two years, and a record of each placement: employee, employer, nature of work, pay and the agency's charge.

Enforcement is now criminal and complaint-driven. Under § 57, any applicant or employee may ask a district attorney or the Attorney General to prosecute. A violation is a misdemeanor with a fine of $50 to $100, or the fee charged if greater, for each offense, up to six months in county jail, or both. Section 47, a 1917 provision, separately makes employers that bring workers into or across the state through an agency honor the contract or pay their transportation home within 12 hours.

PEO registration with the Oklahoma Insurance Department

Professional employer organizations are licensed by the Oklahoma Insurance Department under 40 O.S. §§ 600.1 to 600.9. The department's PEO page and 2025 fee schedule list:

• Fees. $500 for an initial full license, $250 for annual renewal, and $250 for an exempt or group-member registration. Reinstatement within 90 days costs double the renewal fee.
• Financials. A minimum net worth of $50,000, or a bond or securities of $50,000.
• Quarterly reports. Independent CPA certification within 90 days after each quarter that payroll taxes, health and workers' compensation premiums and retirement contributions were paid.
• Exempt registration. Available to a PEO licensed in a state with equal or greater requirements, with no Oklahoma office, no Oklahoma solicitation and 25 or fewer Oklahoma covered employees.

Health care staffing and employer accounts

I found no Oklahoma statute requiring nurse or health care staffing agencies to register as of October 2026. Bills aimed at health care staffing agency charges were introduced in 2024 (Senate Bill 1757) and 2025 (Senate Bill 668); the Legislature's site shows SB 668's last action as a February 2025 committee referral, and I found no sign that either became law.

• Unemployment insurance with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
• Workers' compensation, administered through the Workers' Compensation Commission. See staffing agency insurance requirements.
• Withholding with the Oklahoma Tax Commission, and Secretary of State registration.
• E-Verify obligations; see E-Verify requirements in Oklahoma.

Next door, Kansas still has a $25 license for job-seeker-paid agencies with the same temp-to-perm quirk in its temporary help exclusion (see staffing agency license in Kansas), and Texas regulates personnel service fees without licensing (see staffing agency license in Texas).

An Oklahoma checklist

OKLAHOMA CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Model:
  [ ] Employer-paid only: outside 40 O.S. 52-57; keep it that way
  [ ] Temp staffing: no applicant fees; temp-to-perm ads reviewed
  [ ] Any applicant fee: written agreement with required
      definitions; no fee before employment; 20% cap if job ends
      within 60 days; refunds within 10 days; numbered receipts
  [ ] Co-employment of client workforce: OID PEO license ($500;
      $250 renewal); $50,000 net worth; quarterly CPA reports

Employer accounts:
  OESC UI; workers' comp; OTC withholding; SOS; E-Verify  [ ]
Next review: [date]

Re-check if you start charging candidates anything, including career services bundled with placement, because one applicant fee brings the 1967 fee and contract rules back into play.