When we last covered the PA Licensure Compact in our November 2023 blog: The Realities of PA Military Life, only two states had adopted the Compact. At the time, my family and I were bracing ourselves for a classic Maine winter. Think snowbanks taller than your car and possible moose sightings on a grocery run.
Fast-forward to July 2025: My family has since swapped our snow shovels for tornado sirens and relocated to Kansas, courtesy of my husband’s Army service. Now, our basement is stocked with emergency snacks instead of snow pants and sleds.
So, what’s new?
The Compact is picking up steam, with two states (North Carolina and Massachusetts) recently added since Iowa joined in late May. Nineteen states have now passed legislation, with five more somewhere in the legislative process. For those keeping score, the current roster is shown in the image (taken from the PA Compact website).
For PAs, this means improved license portability, less red tape, faster job transitions, and ultimately better patient care. In short: a win for everyone.
A Military Spouse’s Perspective
Since 2018, my family has relocated four times with the Army: Iowa → Texas → Virginia → Maine → Kansas. With each move came a new licensure application, more paperwork, and delays in getting back to clinical practice. Sure, the military reimburses some costs associated with obtaining professional licensure after a PCS (permanent change of station), but the process can take months (or years) and requires enough patience to rival a saint.
For PA military spouses like me, the Compact is more than a policy shift. It is recognition that mobile clinicians need systems that move with us, not against us.
Iowa has always held a special place in my journey. I’m a proud University of Iowa PA school grad, it’s where I met my husband, and where I practiced for the first six years of my career before military moves led me elsewhere in the name of Uncle Sam. I kept my Iowa license active through all the relocations, even when I wasn’t actively practicing there. I hoped that someday it would be useful again, and now, thanks to Iowa’s adoption of the Compact, it will be!
Looking Ahead
The Compact is a practical, long-overdue solution to the real-world challenges PAs face, especially those in telemedicine, locum tenens PAs, clinicians who practice across state lines, and military spouses. It reduces barriers, supports career continuity, and expands access to care.
And personally? When the Army sends us packing again next June to our next duty station, I will be ready to roll, with no major re-application process necessary.
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