Military spouses and license portability: the SCRA and the OT, PT, and SLP compacts
A federal law, 50 U.S.C. 4025a in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), says a servicemember’s or spouse’s covered license is considered valid for the scope of practice in a new state when they move on military orders and apply to that state’s licensing authority. The same law says it does not apply to someone who holds a covered license to practice in multiple states through an interstate compact; that person follows the compact or the state’s law. The OT Compact, the PT Compact, and the ASLP-IC each let active-duty members and their spouses designate a home state on their own terms, quoted below. This page does not say which states follow the federal law in practice.
Quoted from official pages checked November 10, 2026. Confirm current requirements, fees, and dates on those sites. This page is not legal advice and does not guarantee eligibility, certification, or licensure.
Sources read on November 10, 2026: 50 U.S.C. 4025a (U.S. Code, 2024 edition, on govinfo.gov), the Justice Department’s Professional License Portability page (updated December 19, 2025), Military OneSource’s Transferring Professional Licenses page, the Occupational Therapy Compact model legislation and the OT Compact Commission’s military identification policy (both PDF, posted on its governance documents page), the PT Compact’s Guidance on Home State for Military and Spouses (PDF) and eligibility page, and the ASLP-IC’s home page, compact legislation (PDF), and Rule on ASLP-IC Military Identification and Audit (PDF). Fees and fee waivers on those pages are not copied.
The federal law
50 U.S.C. 4025a(a) states: “If a servicemember or the spouse of a servicemember has a covered license and relocates residence because such servicemember receives military orders for military service in a State other than the State of the licensing authority that issued the covered license, such covered license shall be considered valid for the scope of practice in the State of the new residence if such servicemember or spouse submits to the licensing authority of such State an application described in subsection (c).”
The application in subsection (c) includes “Proof of military orders described in subsection (a).”, for a spouse “a copy of the marriage certificate”, and a notarized affidavit. On temporary licenses, subsection (b) says that if the licensing authority “cannot carry out such requirement during the 30 days after receiving an application described in subsection (c), the licensing authority may issue to the applicant a temporary license that confers the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as a permanent license.” Subsection (d) says the licensing authority “may conduct a background check of the applicant”.
On compacts, subsection (e) states that if a servicemember or spouse “has a covered license to operate in multiple States pursuant to an interstate compact described in section 1784 of title 10” then “the servicemember or spouse of a servicemember shall be subject to the requirements of such compact or the applicable provisions of law of the applicable State; and” “this section shall not apply to such servicemember or spouse of a servicemember.”
What the Justice Department and Military OneSource say
The Justice Department’s page states: “In January 2023, Congress added a new provision to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) allowing servicemembers and their spouses to have their professional licenses and certificates recognized in certain circumstances when they relocate due to military orders.” It continues: “In December 2024, Congress made significant changes to this portion of the SCRA.” It says the updated provision “went into effect on December 23, 2024.”
It states: “Under the updated law, servicemembers or spouses who hold a covered license to operate in multiple States pursuant to an interstate compact are subject to the requirements of the compact or the applicable provisions of law in the new State and are no longer eligible for portability under the SCRA.” On what a board may ask for: “When a servicemember or spouse applies for SCRA license portability, anything demanded in excess of the requirements detailed in the SCRA is illegal.” On scope: “The scope of practice for your license may change if you move to a new state due to military orders.”
Military OneSource states: “The new SCRA provision identifies occupational licensure compacts as an exception to using the provision. If available, an occupational licensure compact is to be used for licensure portability.” It describes the change as a “2023 update to the SCRA” and says: “This applies to most professional licenses.” The Justice Department’s page, asked whether any licenses are excluded, answers “No.” and dates the current version to December 2024. The two agencies’ wording is left side by side.
OT Compact
The OT Compact model legislation defines “Active Duty Military” as “full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders” under 10 U.S.C. Chapters 1209 and 1211. Its Section 6 states: “Active Duty Military personnel, or their spouses, shall designate a Home State where the individual has a current license in good standing. The individual may retain the Home State designation during the period the service member is on active duty.”
The OT Compact Commission’s military identification policy, which states an effective date of January 8, 2026, says applicants “who claim military or military spouse status for the purpose of seeking privileges to practice through the OT Compact must provide verification of that status upon request.” The OT Compact’s practitioner FAQ and Before You Apply pages, read the same day, do not discuss military status.
PT Compact
The PT Compact’s guidance states: “To be eligible for a compact privilege in another state, your home state must be an active compact state AND you must have a state-issued PT or PTA license in that same state.” It defines the home-state options for active-duty members and spouses: “Home of record: the state in which the military personnel entered the military”; “Permanent Change of Station or ‘PCS’: the state of the duty station to which the active-duty military member and/or spouse is currently assigned”; and “State of current residence: the state in which the active-duty military member or military spouse is maintaining legal residency”.
Its eligibility page states that such applicants “will need to provide documentation supporting your military status and home state.” It gives as examples: “Examples of supporting documents for military status include (1) marriage license/certificate; (2) military ID; (3) Current PCS order.”
ASLP-IC (audiology and speech-language pathology)
The ASLP-IC home page lists among the compact’s benefits: “Improves portability for military spouses”. The compact legislation lists among its purposes: “Support spouses of relocating active duty military personnel;”. Its Section 6 states: “Active duty military personnel, or their spouse, shall designate a home state where the individual has a current license in good standing. The individual may retain the home state designation during the period the service member is on active duty.”
The ASLP-IC Commission’s Rule on Military Identification and Audit states that it became effective July 29, 2026. Each compact’s own rules decide how a privilege is issued; the existing compact pages on this site are not changed by this page.
What this page does not do
It does not say which states’ boards follow 50 U.S.C. 4025a, how long any board takes, or whether any person qualifies. It copies no fees or fee waivers. For help, the Justice Department points servicemembers and spouses to military legal assistance. It is not legal, billing, or compliance advice. Confirm current rules with the agency that publishes them, your employer, and your state board.