What They Do
Compliance officers make sure that people and organizations meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Duties
Compliance officers typically do the following:
- Stay current on relevant laws and regulations and advise individuals and organizations on how to comply with them
- Develop and implement policies and procedures
- Assess compliance-related risks and find ways to reduce them
- Perform compliance audits and assessments
- Provide compliance-related training on a variety of topics
- Investigate potential violations of laws and regulations
- Document findings, recommendations, and other information
- Measure the effectiveness of compliance programs
Compliance officers must understand the rules that affect an industry and make sure that organizations and individuals follow them. They may identify compliance risks and offer guidance. They also might prepare reports, memos, and other documents.
Job tasks may vary by employer or position. For example, compliance officers who work for organizations might help businesses determine how to meet regulations and then may carry out staff trainings.
Some compliance officers provide advice on a broad range of topics. Others specialize in a particular area of compliance, such as healthcare, data protection, or the environment.
For information about other occupations in which workers focus on compliance, see the profiles on construction and building inspectors; financial examiners; occupational health and safety specialists and technicians; and tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents.
Work Environment
Compliance officers held about 418,000 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of compliance officers were as follows:
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | 37% |
| Finance and insurance | 12 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 9 |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 8 |
| Manufacturing | 4 |
Compliance officers usually work in an office, although work settings may vary. Travel or working outdoors may be required for some jobs. For example, a compliance officer may travel to deliver onsite training or to conduct an inspection.
Work Schedules
Most compliance officers work full time, standard schedules. They sometimes need to work longer hours, such as when conducting research for an investigation.
How to Become One
Compliance officers typically need a bachelor’s degree to enter the occupation. They often receive training on the job. Employers may prefer or require candidates to have experience related to the position.
Pay
The median annual wage for compliance officers was $78,420 in May 2024.
Job Outlook
Employment of compliance officers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 33,300 openings for compliance officers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.