More than 100,000 female military spouses employed in licensed professions face the daunting task of obtaining a new job when they relocate, which typical military families do every two or three years. To avoid also having to acquire a local occupational license, they rely on the portability of licenses across state lines.
Fortunately, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) of 2003, and its 2023 Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act (MSLRA) amendment, legally guarantee an efficient system to facilitate that license transition for military spouses.
Unfortunately, too many spouses and the regulatory agencies guiding them remain uninformed about these laws.
Recently, the Department of Justice (DoJ) cited “concerning trends,” in which many “service members and their spouses report that they are deterred from applying for license portability because they are misdirected by frontline staff.”
In response, the DoJ is currently making an effort to educate everyone concerned about the rules, some of which are new and therefore potentially less familiar. The staff working with relocating military families must be trained in detail on these issues, and the licensees should also be prepared to protect their rights in case they encounter uninformed staff.
Insist On Directions To Military Portals
Some staff members continue to direct military personnel and families to a generic license application site, instead of the page designed especially for relocating military personnel.
According to a letter from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, “We have found that, even in cases where applicants ask explicitly about SCRA portability, they have been told that no such pathway exists.”
This is unacceptable, and educating staff on this simple step should be a high priority.
Expect Reimbursement
Although each branch of the military has its own specific rules, all of them reimburse up to $1,000 for business-related costs incurred due to a PCS (Permanent Change of Station).
Allowable expenditures include occupational license fees, when procuring a new local license is still mandatory. Members and spouses can also use the stipend for certifications or even entrepreneurship-related expenses.
Know The Three Criteria (Two Times)
In order to be eligible for license relief, a member or spouse must meet three standards:
- Already have a license covered under SCRA
- Be relocating to satisfy military orders
- Submit the proper application to the license authority of the new state
As of 2024, a covered license is simply a license in any profession, including the legal field, “which is in good standing with the licensing authority that issued such license.” This standing includes three criteria:
- Has not been revoked or had discipline imposed by any state
- Does not have an investigation relating to unprofessional conduct pending in any state
- Has not been voluntarily surrendered while under investigation for unprofessional conduct in any state.
Review Changes Under A Microscope
Recent and proposed changes require frequent and close examination, because keeping your knowledge current might save you time, money, and aggravation. Some interstate compacts might have promised you a license last year as you researched your future home. However, these agreements sometimes change yearly, and they might hold some surprises for which you will not be prepared.
The responsibility to share accurate and timely knowledge with military families sits within those departments. However, with frequent changes of both protocol and personnel, staff members struggle to keep up.
Future Improvements
More effort from everyone involved, aimed especially at frequent training, will spare service members and their families unnecessary struggles when they move. They make such difficult and frequent sacrifices already; they should never face chaos around a licensing structure that should be predictable and smooth.
In addition, the law still needs to go much further to remove the remaining red tape around occupational license portability in general. By the nature of military life, spouses of service members must climb these unnecessary barriers more often than the average worker. But the barriers should not exist, period, and more legislation providing for license reciprocity needs to be passed.