Military Spouse Licensure and Expedited Reviews for Military Personnel

Military Spouse License

For the purpose of obtaining a Massachusetts Military Spouse Educator License, please see the following definitions:

• Military Spouse: An individual who is the spouse of a military service member who is: (1) in the armed forces of the United States, a reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard of another state; and (2) serving in the Commonwealth or in a bordering state while living in the Commonwealth.

• Military Spouse License: An educator license issued to a Military Spouse who has a bachelor's degree, holds a valid educator license from another state, and has not satisfied the testing requirements for a Massachusetts educator license. The Military Spouse License is valid for three years of employment.
  • Eligibility:
    • Bachelor's Degree, and
    • Valid educator License from another state that is comparable to the license sought
    • Is the spouse of an active military service member who is stationed in the Commonwealth or residing in the Commonwealth and stationed in a border state

To Apply for the Military Spouse License:

Create an account in our Educator Licensure and Renewal System (ELAR) https://gateway.edu.state.ma.us/stardust/login. Once you have created your account, you can submit your Military Spouse license application(s) and payment(s) directly in the ELAR system. At this point you will be able to upload supporting documentation to include:

• Official transcript that verifies possession of a bachelor's degree. The transcript should include the Registrar's signature, degree conferred and conferral date. If the degree was awarded in a different name, please include proof of a name change, such as a marriage certificate may be needed.
• Completed Military Spouse Affidavit

Expediting an Educator Licensure Application for Military Personnel

If you are a veteran, or current service member, then you may request an expedited review of your application for a Massachusetts educator license or endorsement.

The Office of Educator Licensure defines a veteran as follows: Veteran: an individual who served at least 180 days of active duty, other than for training, or was discharged after serving 30 days due to a service-connected disability in the US Armed Forces and was discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions. Honorable conditions include Honorable and General Under Honorable discharges.

To request an expedite of your Massachusetts educator licensure application, after you have applied, (in ELAR or hardcopy ), passed the Communication & Literacy Skills MTEL exam and uploaded /submitted official college transcripts, please forward the following accordingly:

If you are a Veteran, please forward

• A cover letter with your name, MEPID or MA license number, requesting that your licensure application be expedited due to your veteran status
• One of the following:
  • Photocopy of DD214 form , with Discharge under Circumstances other than Dishonorable;
  • Identification and Privilege Card

If you are a current service member, please forward:

• A cover letter with your name, MEPID or MA license number, requesting that your licensure application be expedited due to you or your spouse's military status
• One of the following:
  • Photocopy of military orders assigning duty station;
  • letter from Commanding Officer;
  • letter from Personnel;
  • Identification and Privilege Card

Please note that a licensure application must be in a "ready for review" status in order to be expedited. You may upload your supporting documents into your ELAR account or mail the information to:

Office of Educator Licensure
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
135 Santilli Highway
Everett, MA 02149

Please note that if you upload your documents to request an expedite then you must contact the Office of Educator Licensure via the Licensure Call Center at 781-338-6600 to inform staff that you have uploaded the documents. The Call Center is open each business day from 9–1 and 2–5.

If you are an educator that is licensed in another state, please visit our page dedicated to out-of-state applicants to assist you in determining which Massachusetts license you should be applying for, what might be required, etc. In addition, information regarding licensure requirements may be obtained through using the Licensure Requirements Tool.

Last Updated: November 24, 2023