Buying the right permit from the right vendor can save a new captain weeks of dead-end trips across the Belt. This Ostranauts License Kiosk guide breaks down every license tier, every kiosk location, and every credit cost you will encounter when you first dock at a station, so you can start hauling cargo, claiming salvage, and hiring crew without tripping over bureaucratic walls. Skip this kiosk, and most of the game's profit loops stay locked behind a door you cannot open.
What the License Kiosk Does in Ostranauts
The License Kiosk is a wall-mounted terminal you find in the commercial concourse of most major stations. It functions as the in-universe bureaucracy that gates nearly every legal career path in the Belt, from freight hauling to derelict reclamation to armed escort work. Think of it as a DMV booth with a credit scanner instead of a clipboard.
How the License System Works
Each license you buy is bound to your character's legal record, not to a specific ship. That means a single purchased permit travels with your captain across every vessel you command, every station you dock at, and every save file you reload, because licenses persist in your personnel profile rather than your ship's manifest.
Licenses are split into three broad tiers, and each tier unlocks a new ceiling of station access, job board availability, and NPC dialogue options. Tier 1 licenses cost a few thousand credits and are designed to be affordable within the first few hours of play. Tier 2 licenses push into the mid-five-figure range and require you to have held a Tier 1 permit for a set number of in-game days. Tier 3 licenses are late-game investments that gate the most lucrative trading corridors and high-risk salvage contracts.
| Tier | Approx. Cost Range | Minimum Days Held | Primary Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 1,000–5,000 ¢ | None | Entry-level access |
| Tier 2 | 25,000–75,000 ¢ | 15 in-game days | Mid-tier commercial work |
| Tier 3 | 150,000+ ¢ | 30 in-game days | Late-game profit loops |
Why New Players Should Care About the License Kiosk Early
Most rookies ignore the kiosk on their first station visit because the menus look dense and the kiosk clerk does not advertise specific licenses. That is a costly mistake, because the first permit you buy determines which job boards you can read, which station hangars you can enter, and which NPCs will even talk to you about work. A captain who walks past the kiosk is functionally unemployed in the Belt's eyes.
Buying even a single Tier 1 license before you undock opens up the freight and courier job boards, which are the two most reliable early-game income streams. Those boards pay modest but consistent contracts that let you build a starter nest egg while you learn how your ship handles, how oxygen management works, and how to read station approach vectors. Treat the kiosk like your first paycheck decision, not a side errand.
License Kiosk Locations and How to Access Them
You will not find a License Kiosk on every station in Ostranauts. The game uses kiosk availability as part of its station-tier progression system, which means smaller outposts tend to skip the kiosk entirely while the major hubs always have one.
Stations With a License Kiosk
| Station Type | Has License Kiosk | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Major Hub (e.g., Newton-class) | Yes | Full license catalog available |
| Trading Post | Yes | Tier 1 and Tier 2 only |
| Mining Outpost | Sometimes | Tier 1 only when present |
| Derelict Processing Yard | Yes | Salvage licenses prioritized |
| Frontier Refuel Depot | No | No kiosk on record |
The major hubs stock every license in the catalog because they serve as the bureaucratic centers of their respective sectors. Trading posts and derelict yards stock a narrower selection that reflects their local industry. Mining outposts are hit-or-miss, and frontier refuel depots almost never carry the kiosk at all, so plan your legal errands around hub visits rather than hoping to find one mid-route.
Finding the Kiosk Inside a Station
Once you dock, the kiosk is always located in the commercial concourse, usually along the same wall as the Scrap Kiosk and the commodity exchange terminals. Walk past the airlock, ignore the first row of crew-hiring benches, and look for a glowing amber terminal with a permit icon on its bezel. Community guides on the Ostranauts Steam community guides hub consistently mark the kiosk as the third or fourth terminal you encounter when walking the main concourse loop.
If you cannot find it, open your station map overlay and filter terminals by "Legal." The kiosk is the only terminal in that filter, which makes it the fastest way to locate the right wall when you are new to a station layout.
License Types, Costs, and What Each Unlocks
Not every license is worth buying on day one. Some permits pay for themselves within a single contract, while others sit unused in your record for dozens of hours. Knowing the difference is the core of any good Ostranauts License Kiosk guide.
Tier 1 Licenses: The Early-Game Staples
Tier 1 is where every new captain should start, because these licenses are cheap, immediately useful, and required as a prerequisite for most higher-tier work. The four licenses in this tier cover the basic commercial activities that the Belt economy actually runs on.
| License | Approx. Cost | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Freight Hauler Permit | 1,200 ¢ | Standard cargo contracts |
| Courier Certification | 1,500 ¢ | Time-sensitive delivery jobs |
| Salvage Entry License | 2,800 ¢ | Basic derelict reclamation |
| Station Access Pass | 800 ¢ | Restricted hangar entry |
The Freight Hauler Permit is the single best first purchase because it unlocks the freight job board, which spawns contracts continuously and pays a flat bonus per ton delivered. The Courier Certification is the second priority because courier jobs pay a time premium that is hard to match elsewhere in Tier 1. The Salvage Entry License ties directly into the salvage license path, which we cover separately for captains who want to specialize in derelict work. The Station Access Pass is situational; only buy it if a specific job you want requires restricted hangar access.
Tier 2 Licenses: Mid-Game Expansion
Tier 2 licenses cost real money by early-game standards and require you to have held the relevant Tier 1 permit for at least 15 in-game days. They open the second tier of job boards and unlock longer-haul routes that pay substantially more per contract.
The two most important Tier 2 licenses are the Commercial Carrier Endorsement, which lifts tonnage caps on freight contracts, and the Salvage Operator License, which unlocks contested derelicts that other captains are also competing for. Both pay back their purchase cost within three to five successful contracts, according to community data shared by experienced haulers.
Tier 3 Licenses: Late-Game Money Loops
Tier 3 licenses are the endgame permits that gate the highest-paying jobs in the game, including military escort contracts, exclusive salvage rights, and access to black-market trading floors. They cost 150,000 credits or more and require 30 days of held Tier 2 permits. Most captains do not need to think about Tier 3 until they have built a reliable mid-game income, which is why this Ostranauts License Kiosk guide treats them as a long-term planning target rather than a day-one priority.
Best Licenses to Buy First in Ostranauts
Buying licenses in the wrong order is one of the most common early-game errors, because the kiosk does not flag which permit is most profitable for your current situation. The recommendations below are based on the order experienced captains tend to follow on their first or second playthrough.
Early-Game Priority Buys (First 10 In-Game Days)
Buy in this exact order to maximize your credit return per hour played:
- Freight Hauler Permit (1,200 ¢) — unlocks the freight board, which is your only reliable income source on day one
- Courier Certification (1,500 ¢) — adds courier jobs that pay a 20–30% time premium over freight
- Salvage Entry License (2,800 ¢) — pairs with the basics covered in our Ostranauts salvaging guide if you want to branch into derelict work
That three-license loadout costs roughly 5,500 credits and unlocks every Tier 1 job board in the game. You can recover the full cost inside a single in-game week of careful contract work, which is faster than any other early-game investment in the Belt.
Mid-Game Recommendations (Days 15–45)
Once you have held your Tier 1 licenses for the required waiting period, the next purchases should focus on specialization. If you lean freight, the Commercial Carrier Endorsement is non-negotiable. If you lean salvage, the Salvage Operator License unlocks contested derelicts that pay roughly twice what entry-tier salvage jobs offer. Captains who want to crew up should also consider the Employment Contract License, which unlocks the formal crew-hiring boards rather than the ad-hoc hiring benches most new players default to.
How Licenses Affect Trading, Salvage, and Crew Operations
Licenses do not just gate job boards. They also modify the underlying economy around your ship in ways that are easy to miss unless you read the fine print on each kiosk entry.
Trading and Cargo Effects
Holding a Freight Hauler Permit reduces the per-ton listing fee charged by the commodity exchange at every station you visit, which compounds across dozens of trades per session. The Commercial Carrier Endorsement lifts the tonnage cap that normally restricts your ship to a subset of available cargo lots, which is the difference between running a 20-ton partial load and a full 80-ton bulk contract. Both effects stack, so a captain holding both permits pays noticeably less in fees than one holding only the Tier 1 version.
Salvage and Derelict Effects
The salvage license family has its own article for a reason, because the entry, operator, and exclusive tiers each unlock different derelict pools. The Salvage Entry License lets you board uncontested wrecks. The Salvage Operator License adds contested wrecks where rival NPCs may also be working. The Tier 3 Salvage Exclusive License reserves specific derelicts for your crew alone, which removes the most frustrating race-condition in the late game. If you are planning a salvage-heavy career path, the full license ladder pays for itself faster than any other specialization.
Crew and Station Access Effects
The Station Access Pass and the Employment Contract License are the two crew-relevant permits. The access pass lets your crew enter restricted hangars without triggering station security events, which matters when you are running time-sensitive freight out of high-security hubs. The employment license unlocks the formal crew board, where vetted NPCs with higher skill floors and cleaner backgrounds appear, replacing the wild-west hiring benches that most captains use by default. Pairing both permits with a solid crew management approach is the cleanest way to scale up a ship without inheriting a liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the License Kiosk in Ostranauts?
The kiosk is in the commercial concourse of major hubs, trading posts, and derelict processing yards. Look for a glowing amber terminal along the same wall as the Scrap Kiosk and the commodity exchange, or filter your station map by the "Legal" terminal category to pinpoint it instantly.
How much does a Tier 1 license cost in Ostranauts?
Tier 1 licenses cost between 800 and 5,000 credits depending on the specific permit. The Freight Hauler Permit is the cheapest essential at roughly 1,200 credits, while the Salvage Entry License is the most expensive Tier 1 option at around 2,800 credits.
Can I skip the License Kiosk and still play Ostranauts?
You can ignore it, but the job boards you can read without a permit are limited to a handful of low-paying odd jobs. Buying at least the Freight Hauler Permit early is the single fastest way to unlock a stable income loop, so the kiosk is effectively mandatory for any captain who wants to progress beyond tutorial-tier earnings.
Do licenses persist across save files or new captains?
Licenses are bound to your character's legal record, not to your ship's manifest. If you start a new captain, you start with an empty license profile and must repurchase permits through the kiosk again, because there is no cross-save license transfer in the current build.
What is the best first license to buy in the Ostranauts License Kiosk?
Buy the Freight Hauler Permit first, followed by the Courier Certification, followed by the Salvage Entry License if you want to branch into wreck work. That three-license loadout costs around 5,500 credits, unlocks every Tier 1 job board, and recovers its cost within a single in-game week of contract work, which is why experienced captains recommend it as the default opening purchase order.