Can a Licensed Professional Counselor transfer a license to Alabama as a military spouse?

We checked Alabama's licensed professional counselor licensing rules and couldn't find a military-spouse provision written specifically for licensed professional counselors. That's usually not an oversight on our end: in most of these states the military-spouse licensing law runs through a separate division that doesn't cover this board, so it never reaches the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling. It does not leave you stuck — here's the path that still works.

1. Start with the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling's compact/out-of-state route — Alabama is a compact member (above), so a valid out-of-state license should transfer without re-testing.
2. Invoke VAEIA 2022 / 50 U.S.C. § 4025a in writing, attaching your sponsor's PCS orders. It legally forces Alabama to recognize your valid out-of-state licensed professional counselor license on a military move — no separate state rule required.
3. If they can't finalize a permanent license within 30 days, ask for a temporary license — the statute requires the board to issue one so you can keep working.
4. Keep your receipts: DoD reimburses up to $1,000 per PCS for relicensing, and MyCAA covers up to $4,000 toward portable credentials.

Call the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling to confirm the current military-spouse timeline before you move — and if you find an official AL provision we missed, tell us and we'll source it.