Politics & Government
When Military Spouses Move, Will State Licenses Follow?
There's a new push from the White House to ease the burden on military spouses by allowing state employment licenses to be more portable.
If there is one thing we military families know how to do, its move. We are experts at packing our lives up and unpacking them in a new duty station every few years. We are good at starting over and over and over in our social lives, but sometimes our professional lives are not so easily transitioned.
Many military spouses who have careers that require state licenses meet with particularly challenging circumstances when they move across state lines. As a matter of fact, the professional licenses problem is the number one employment complaint among military families.
The challenge occurs when military spouses who work in careers that require a professional state license like teachers, cosmetologists, nurses, real estate agents and lawyers move across state lines and need to apply for new licenses in the state they move to. Many times this requires time and fees and even state-specific training in order to acquire a new license to practice in the new state.
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The federal government can do nothing to force state standards across the board nor can they force changes to the rules because each state puts in place its own laws for licensing.
The federal government would like to make it easier for military spouses to obtain and keep licenses as they move across state lines. There are already 11 states that are actively supporting this effort. In order to pressure the remaining state to also comply the White House released a “best practices” report which asks states to either accept out-of-state licenses held by military spouses or to allow them to practice while they work to obtain the new state license.
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The federal government is not the only voice that states will hear calling for easier licensing. The National Military Family Association is also working on a state-by-state basis to encourage the passing of these laws sooner than later.
There is something that we can do to help them. The National Military Family Association will be presenting the data that they collect form a survey that will reflect your voice as a military spouse in this situation. You can help them collect the information they need by taking the survey here.
If you would like information on which 11 states are currently participating in making licensing easier for military spouses you can visit this interactive DOD website.
