licenses & feesstate

Military and Veterans’ Licensure — Six Provisions, Not One

A fee waiver for a relocating military spouse, expedited review and discretionary temporary licensure for servicemembers and veterans, licensure on two years of practice where you lack the education, and deployment protections on renewal.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: A waived initial fee for a relocating spouse, and expedited review for everyone else

The fee waiver is for a military spouse who must relocate because of a servicemember’s orders. A veteran gets expedited review and consideration of military experience rather than a waived fee, so we do not put a dollar figure on the veteran side.
The larger value is usually the experience route: two years of active practice plus the examinations can stand in for an education requirement you do not have.

Who is entitled to it

You are a servicemember or veteran, or a military spouse.
The character of service is other than dishonorable.
Your home is in Pennsylvania.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: With your application

1Identify yourself as a military applicant in the application itself and attach the documentation the Department accepts — a military ID, orders or statement of service for a servicemember; a DD214, DD215 or discharge orders for a veteran; a marriage certificate for a spouse.
2A military spouse relocating on a servicemember’s orders should ask for the initial licensure fee waiver by name — it does not apply itself.
3Look at the Military Occupational Crosswalk before you assume your service does not count. The Department has matched close to 300 military occupations to the initial requirements for the licences it issues.
4If you lack the required education, ask about licensure on active practice: two years of practice before applying, plus all the required examinations.
5If a deployment is about to cost you a licence, act within a month of returning — reactivation of an expired licence without a penalty is available where the lapse coincided with the deployment, and continuing education can be extended up to six months afterwards.

File with: The Department of State licensing board or commission that regulates your profession
Documents you will need: dd214 · proof of other licence · military orders
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

Worth knowingThe definition of military spouse is wider than it first reads: it includes the unmarried spouse of a deceased servicemember where the death occurred within one year of the application.

Worth knowingTemporary licensure here is discretionary rather than a right. A board may grant it; it is not obliged to, so treat it as something to ask for early rather than to rely on.

CorrectionThe fee waiver is not a veterans’ benefit in Pennsylvania. It is for a military spouse relocating on orders. A veteran expecting a waived application fee here will be disappointed — what they get is speed and credit for experience.

Sources

authority · published policyPennsylvania Department of State — Military and Veterans Licensure (Act 35 of 2022, H.B. 1868, PN 2652)

Why only one source type: The Department of State sets out all six provisions, the eligible categories and the accepted documentation on its own page. The Commonwealth’s consolidated statutes site refused every request we made, so we cite the department that administers the Act rather than the text.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.