Enhanced Military Spouse Licensure Portability

From 2011-16, states enacted legislation to modify licensing for military spouses. But many of these new laws did not do enough. Many provisions included “substantial equivalency” evaluations that require military spouses to continue to submit transcripts, test scores and training hours — along with previous licenses and work experience. States are continuing to make improvements to achieve reciprocity using a variety of approaches, which can be considered on a continuum.

The annual percentage of the military spouse population that moves across state lines is 14.5% — compared to 1.1% for civilian spouses. Up to 34% of military spouses in the labor force are required to be fully licensed; and of those spouses, 19% experience challenges maintaining their licenses.