A military spouse applies for reimbursement for relicensing after a military move to a new state in this undated photo. (Susan Roberts/U.S. Air Force)
The Justice Department this week issued new explainers about portions of a law that make sure professional licenses held by members of military families are recognized in different states.
Guidance that came out Monday includes a pair of letters to state authorities and a fact sheet on the revised license portability provision of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
The section of the law covered in the DOJ materials allows service members and their spouses who hold professional licenses to use the authorization in a new state when military orders require relocation.
“Military families are the backbone of American society,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement Monday. “Servicemembers and their spouses often sacrifice the stability of settling in one place during a critical time in their career.”
The guidance covers a broad range of state-licensed professions, including health care workers, teachers, attorneys, veterinarians and some skilled trades.
Congress added the license portability provision to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act in 2023 and updated it last year.
The intent of the legislation is to help curb military spouse unemployment. As of 2023, Labor Department data showed that roughly 34% of military spouses work in occupations that require a license.
Frequent moves across state lines make it difficult for those spouses to quickly transfer their license and find a new job.
The new DOJ guidance can be seen in light of a Texas case from 2023 in which Hannah Magee Portee, the wife of an active-duty Air Force officer, was denied the ability to use school counselor licenses from Missouri and Ohio.
A federal court rejected the Texas Education Association’s position and sided with Magee Portee.
“The sad reality is that these regulations frequently fall hardest on members of the military and their families, who, with each military move every two to three years, must apply for a new license or exit the workforce,” Jon Riches and Brandon Grable wrote in a Stars and Stripes opinion piece about the case.
The unemployment rate for military spouses is nearly six times higher than that of the general population, they added.
In the two letters issued by the DOJ on Monday, state licensing authorities are reminded that they must honor last year’s SCRA changes to “tackle the issue of military spousal unemployment.”
“The Department is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that servicemembers and their spouses do not face unreasonable barriers to continuing their careers while they uproot their lives in service to our country,” Dhillon said.
