A License to Preach in Methodist and related churches was the official authorization

Authorization

Authorization is the function of specifying access rights to resources, which is related to information security and computer security in general and to access control in particular. More formally, "to authorize" is to define access policy...

 of a person to preach the Gospel

Gospel

A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

 and to do other tasks of ministry so authorized (often including administering the Sacraments). Such a license was usually issued by a District Superintendent or Bishop and was required to be reaffirmed at regular intervals (usually annually).

In the United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

today this practice is continued in the issuing of Local Pastor's Licenses, authorizing such persons to preach, administer the Sacraments, and do other tasks of ministry in the local church to which such person is appointed.