What is the difference between Ordaining and Licensing a Minister?

This is a good question and often very misunderstood.  The decision to ordain or license clergy is mainly up to each individual church, ministry or denomination. In most cases Ordination gives the person broad authority to do all Christian services. However, again, it is up to the individual church, ministry or denomination to decide how much authority they are giving the person they ordain. There are no laws about the authority given by ordination or licensing, that is up the the church, ministry or denomination. The government is not involved in the ordaining or licensing of ministers or clergy. Also, there is no central data base of all ordained or licensed clergy in the USA.

Licensing is very much the same.  The church, ministry or denomination just like to use a different word for reasons of their own.

We, World Christianship Ministries, use both terms on your Ordination Certificate (Note this wording underneath where it says, Certificate of Ordination in the example below).