Compliance Officers
Also called: Air Pollution Compliance Inspector, Certified Driver Examiner (CDE), Certified Driver License Test Administrator, Compliance Administrator (Compliance Admin), Compliance Analyst, Compliance Consultant, Compliance Coordinator, Compliance Examiner
Examine, evaluate, and investigate eligibility for or conformity with laws and regulations governing contract compliance of licenses and permits, and perform other compliance and enforcement inspection and analysis activities not classified elsewhere.
What compliance officers do
Typical tasks
- Warn violators of infractions or penalties.
- Evaluate applications, records, or documents to gather information about eligibility or liability issues.
- Advise licensees or other individuals or groups concerning licensing, permit, or passport regulations.
- Prepare reports of activities, evaluations, recommendations, or decisions.
- Report law or regulation violations to appropriate boards or agencies.
- Confer with or interview officials, technical or professional specialists, or applicants to obtain information or to clarify facts relevant to licensing decisions.
- Issue licenses to individuals meeting standards.
- Collect fees for licenses.
- Administer oral, written, road, or flight tests to license applicants.
- Visit establishments to verify that valid licenses or permits are displayed and that licensing standards are being upheld.
- Score tests and observe equipment operation and control to rate ability of applicants.
- Prepare correspondence to inform concerned parties of licensing decisions or appeals processes.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Compliance Officers salary
The median annual wage for compliance officers is $80,730 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $48,220 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $133,720. The mean annual wage is $88,400.
The mean hourly wage of $42.00 is 5.8× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Compliance Officers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $80,730 → in 3 years $87,400 → in 5 years $92,200 → in 10 years $105,300 (10-year range $90,500–$122,200). The model assumes pay growth of +2.7% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Compliance Officers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Compliance Officers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Compliance Officers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Compliance Officers United States | コンプライアンス推進担当 Japan | 労働基準監督官 Japan | 特許審査官 Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $80,730 | ¥5.29M ≈ $33,620 | ¥5.83M ≈ $37,094 | ¥9.81M ≈ $62,392 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $105,300 | ¥5.87M | ¥7.35M | ¥10.46M |
| Outlook score | 56 | 41 | 48 | 41 |
| AI replacement risk | 60% Moderate | 83% Very high | 61% High | 82% Very high |
| Workers | 417K | — | — | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Compliance Officers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Job Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★★☆ Demanding (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become compliance officers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as compliance officers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.