Purpose: This article intends to review the literature to address the concern that prevalent licensure exemptions in social work undermine public safety. Methods: It reviews (1) the rationales for licensure exemptions, (2) the effects of exemptions on the public and the social work workforce, and (3) critical gaps in the extant evidence to recommend future research agendas to fill the gaps. Results: A review of the literature revealed that concerns about duplicated regulations and potential labor shortages justified licensure exemptions but with little empirical evidence. Limited evidence was found to support the claim that exemptions minimize the effects of licensure. Extant evidence, albeit scant, implies that licensure may not eliminate lower-quality services but benefit incumbent social workers with higher earnings. Conclusions: Recognizing the gaps in the literature, it recommends empirical research and discusses available data to assess the effects of exemptions on public safety and socioeconomic (in)equity within the workforce.

目的：本文旨在回顾文献，以解决社会工作中普遍的执照豁免损害公共安全的担忧。方法：它审查（1）执照豁免的理由，（2）豁免对公众和社会工作人员的影响，以及（3）现有证据中的关键空白，以推荐未来的研究议程以填补空白。结果：对文献的回顾表明，对重复法规和潜在劳动力短缺的担忧证明了许可豁免是合理的，但几乎没有经验证据。发现有限的证据支持豁免使许可的影响最小化的说法。现有的证据虽然很少，但表明许可可能不会消除低质量的服务，但会使现有的社会工作者受益，并获得更高的收入。结论：认识到文献中的差距，它建议进行实证研究并讨论可用数据，以评估豁免对劳动力中公共安全和社会经济（不）公平的影响。