# Learned professional — FLSA overtime exemption duties tests by category (29 CFR Part 541)

For Learned professional, cfr section is § 541.301; salary or compensation requirement is $684 per week (or $455 per week if employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands by employers other than the Federal government, or $380 per week if employed in American Samoa by employers other than the Federal government), exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities; how it must be paid is Compensated on a salary or fee basis; cfr citation is 29 CFR Part 541, recorded from its source on 2026-08-19; source re-checked 2026-09-16.

- **Exemption category:** Learned professional _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **CFR section:** § 541.301 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Duties test:** To qualify for the learned professional exemption, an employee's primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction. This primary duty test includes three elements: (1) The employee must perform work requiring advanced knowledge; (2) The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and (3) The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Salary or compensation requirement:** $684 per week (or $455 per week if employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands by employers other than the Federal government, or $380 per week if employed in American Samoa by employers other than the Federal government), exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **How it must be paid:** Compensated on a salary or fee basis _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **CFR citation:** 29 CFR Part 541 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> § 541.300 General rule for professional employees. (a) The term “employee employed in a bona fide professional capacity” in section 13(a)(1) of the Act shall mean any employee: (1) Compensated on a salary or fee basis pursuant to <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.600> § 541.600 at a rate of not less than $684 per week (or $455 per week if employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands by employers other than the Federal government, or $380 per week if employed in American Samoa by employers other than the Federal government), exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities; and (2) Whose primary duty is the performance of work: (i) Requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction; or (ii) Requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor. (b) The term “salary basis” is defined at <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.602> § 541.602 ; “fee basis” is defined at <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.605> § 541.605 ; “board, lodging or other facilities” is defined at <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.606> § 541.606 ; and “primary duty” is defined at <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-541.700> § 541.700 . [ <https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/69-FR-22260> 69 FR 22260 , Apr. 23, 2004, as amended at <https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/81-FR-32549> 81 FR 32549 , May 23, 2016; <https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/84-FR-51306> 84 FR 51306 , Sept. 27, 2019; 89 32971, Apr. 26, 2024; <https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/91-FR-27835> 91 FR 27835 , May 15, 2026] § 541.301 Learned professionals. (a) To qualify for the learned professional exemption, an employee's primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction. This primary duty test includes three elements: (1) The employee must perform work requiring advanced knowledge; (2) The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and (3) The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541

Last verified: 2026-09-16. Review by: 2027-02-15.
Part of [FLSA overtime exemption duties tests by category (29 CFR Part 541)](https://referencesource.org/flsa-overtime-exemption-duties-tests/).