Harrisburg, PA – The Department of State cut down licensing and business processing times by an average of 74% in 2025, establishing the Commonwealth as a national leader in government accountability. This achievement builds on the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to “work at the speed of business” and replace bureaucratic red tape with real results for Pennsylvanians.
“The foundation for this improvement started with Governor Josh Shapiro’s bold January 2023 Executive Order that demanded state agencies take immediate action and commit to performance standards, prompting a broad overhaul of license processing at the Department of State,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. “Along with the mandate came support to fill vacancies faster, retool processes, modernize systems, and cross train and support our staff.”
The Department’s successes in 2025 include:
- Sustaining average processing times of one business day for business filings since May 2025. The average processing time in 2023 was 13.6 days. This improvement was achieved even though the average number of business filings per month doubled from 2024 to 2025 due to the implementation of Act 122 of 2022’s Annual Reports. For comparison, there was an average of 20,306 filings per month in 2024, compared with an average of 69,757 per month in 2025. “This consistency proves that efficiency gains are not temporary but are now the standard for the Shapiro Administration,” Schmidt said.
- Drastically cutting processing times for apostilles and document certifications from seven business days to as little as one day.
- Achieving a one-day turnaround time milestone in July for charitable organization registrations, which historically took 10 days.
- Launching Spanish translations of the real estate licensing examinations to align with reforms such as Act 53 of 2020, which remove language barriers, ensure fairer licensing decisions, and open up economic opportunities for thousands of Pennsylvanians in the critical real estate sector.
- Earning the distinction of being one of only two states where five key health care boards – Dental, Medical, Nursing, Osteopathic Medicine, and Pharmacy – were all named Wellbeing First Champions for eliminating stigmatizing mental health language from licensing applications.
- Streamlining staff and facility licensing for pharmacies, which led to them being able to more quickly mobilize staff and open more than 120 new locations across the Commonwealth in the last two years.
Additionally, last year the Shapiro Administration announced that Pennsylvania is a full participant in three health care licensure compacts, making it easier for qualified doctors, nurses, and physical therapists to provide care across state lines. The Department also improved license processing times from 20 days in 2023 to four days in 2025 for pharmacists, from 43 days to five days over the same time span for doctors, and from 25 days to six days for nurses.
“Pennsylvania’s hospitals and health systems appreciate the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to streamline and remove barriers to clinician licensure,” said Nicole Stallings, president and CEO, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. “As hospitals and health systems continue their work to address current shortages and develop tomorrow’s health care workforce, quickly licensing doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals ensures they are ready to care for patients.”
To learn more about the Department of State’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, including how to apply for or renew a professional license, visit dos.pa.gov/BPOA. For more information on the Department’s Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, as well as how to form and register a business online, visit dos.pa.gov/corps.