Is this recruitment agency licensed?
How 24 countries license private recruitment and employment agencies: the authority in charge, how to check an agency, what workers can be charged and where to report. 20 have an official online lookup. 4 have ratified the ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention.
| Country | Licensing authority | Online check |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Labour hire licensing is set by state laws, and this record covers state schemes only. In Victoria the Labour Hire Authority licenses providers under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic). In Queensland the Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit regulates the scheme under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (Qld). South Australia and the ACT are not yet covered in this record. | Official lookup |
| Canada | No general federal licence is covered in this record. In Ontario, the Director of Employment Standards licenses temporary help agencies and recruiters under Part XVIII.1 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Other provinces are not yet covered. | Official lookup |
| Germany | Bundesagentur fuer Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency), which carries out the AUeG under instructions from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Its leaflet names three Teams Arbeitnehmerueberlassung, in Duesseldorf, Nuernberg and Kiel, each covering a group of federal states. | Official lookup |
| Hong Kong, China | Commissioner for Labour, through the Employment Agencies Administration of the Labour Department. | Official lookup |
| India | Ministry of External Affairs, Overseas Employment and Protector General of Emigrants (OE and PGE) Division, which registers recruiting agents for overseas employment. | Official lookup |
| Ireland | The Minister (Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment) grants licences. The Licensing Section of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) handles applications, renewals and enquiries. | Official lookup |
| Japan | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) grants permits for employment placement businesses. | Official lookup |
| Kenya | National Employment Authority (NEA), which registers private employment agencies, according to Citizen Digital, the Nation and Kenyans.co.ke. | Official lookup |
| Malaysia | The Director General of Labour, through the Department of Labour of Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM) under the Ministry of Human Resources. In Sabah and Sarawak the Act gives this role to the Director of Labour of each state. | None found |
| Nepal | Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), which grants licences under the Foreign Employment Act, 2064 (2007). | Official lookup |
| Netherlands | No permit is required today. Lenders of workers must register in the Business Register (Handelsregister) of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK) under the Waadi. From 1 January 2027 the Wtta introduces mandatory admission (toelating) by the Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt (NAU), and the Netherlands Labour Authority enforces it from 1 January 2028. | Official lookup |
| Nigeria | Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, which licenses recruiters and private employment agencies. | Official lookup |
| Pakistan | Federal Government, on applications made through the Director General of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE), which licenses Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs). | Official lookup |
| Philippines | Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Republic Act 11641 of 2021 merged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) into the DMW, which absorbed all POEA powers and must regulate private recruitment and manning agencies. | None found |
| Poland | The marshal of the voivodeship (marszalek wojewodztwa), acting through the regional labour office, enters employment agencies in the register of employment agencies (KRAZ). The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy publishes the register data. | Official lookup |
| Saudi Arabia | Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), which operates the Musaned platform for domestic worker recruitment. | Official lookup |
| Singapore | Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Employment Agency Licensing Branch. | Official lookup |
| South Africa | Department of Employment and Labour. Section 13 of the Employment Services Act 4 of 2014, which provides for a registrar of private employment agencies, has not commenced according to the Law Library. The Minister said in 2022 that, as a transitional arrangement, agencies are governed by section 24 of the Skills Development Act read with Regulation 608 of June 2000. | None found |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), which licenses foreign employment agencies under the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act, No. 21 of 1985. | Official lookup |
| Uganda | Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, through its External Employment Unit. | Official lookup |
| United Arab Emirates | Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) licenses domestic worker recruitment agencies. This record covers domestic worker recruitment only. | Official lookup |
| United Kingdom | Fair Work Agency (FWA), an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade. GOV.UK says the FWA began operating on 7 April 2026 and replaced both the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA). It enforces the Conduct Regulations 2003 and issues gangmaster licences. | Official lookup |
| United States | This record found no general federal licence for recruitment or employment agencies. The federal rules covered here are narrow: farm labor contractors must hold a certificate of registration from the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), and H-2A employers must bar their recruiters from charging workers. State rules are not covered in this record. | Official lookup |
| Vietnam | Ministry of Home Affairs, through its Department of Overseas Labour Management. Law 69/2020/QH14 names the Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs as the licensing authority, but that ministry merged into the Ministry of Home Affairs, which took over its labour and employment functions from 1 March 2025, according to Dtinews. Viet Nam News reported in June 2026 that the department oversees the sending of workers abroad. | None found |
Fair recruitment
ILO Convention 181 and the employer pays principleThe ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) sets out how states should regulate private recruitment and employment agenciThe ILO General Principles for Fair RecruitmentThe ILO General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment, with a definition of recruitment fees and related costs, are nonHow to check a recruiter before you pay or signLicensing authorities in several countries give similar advice: confirm the licence on the official register, know the legal fee limit, keep