In American English, license is both a noun and a verb, and licence isn’t used. In all other varieties of English, licence is the noun, and license is the verb. Licence is far more common because the verb is seldom useful. But in British English, for instance, you might say, “I am not licensed to perform oral surgery, but I am studying to earn my licence.”
Examples
These American publications use license as both a noun and a verb:
A judge on Monday threw out a legal challenge to Illusions magic bar’s entertainment license … [Baltimore Sun]
During the 90-minute operation, the camera scanned 1,758 license tags. [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Egypt said the American-backed pro-democracy groups were not licensed and were illegally funded. [Los Angeles Times]
In publications from outside the U.S., licence is the noun:
A pub where a man was shot in the legs last weekend has had its licence suspended by Knowsley Council. [BBC]
Fleet separation means that only those who fish can own a licence … [Globe and Mail]
Fears that young drivers in Marton and Taihape will drive without licences because of a lack of testing facilities in their towns are unfounded … [Manawatu Standard]
And license is the verb:
Greenlight Music can license 1m songs at launch from the EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner catalogues … [Financial Times]
The content is licensed through a copyright management solution called CreativeCommons … [Mail & Guardian Online]
Mr McGowan said his party’s liquor licensing reform policy also would cut the licence fee from $3100 to $500 … [Sydney Morning Herald]
