Professional license by endorsement for military spouses

It is a special, faster professional-license recognition system, designed for the spouse of a military member or certain federal employees who arrives in Puerto Rico due to a temporary duty transfer, so they do not have to stop working while their spouse's posting to the Island lasts.

A person legally married, under Puerto Rico law, to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Space Force, plus their Reserve components and the National Guard when activated) or to a federal employee of a public-safety agency specifically named in the law (ATF, CIA, CBP, DoD, DHS, DOJ, DEA, FBI, Federal Bureau of Prisons, ICE, Marshals, Secret Service, TSA, Coast Guard, Veterans Affairs, among others). The spouse must have temporarily relocated to Puerto Rico because their partner was posted on active duty for no more than six (6) years, and their permanent domicile must be a state or territory other than Puerto Rico. Excluded: anyone permanently domiciled in Puerto Rico, whose spouse is not on active duty, or who has already resided in Puerto Rico for more than six years.

• Hold a current Original Professional License or Certification authorizing practice in an Original State in one of the professions regulated by Puerto Rico's Department of State or Department of Health.Verified against the official source
• Have practiced the profession for at least one (1) of the last four (4) years before applying, unless the license is less than a year old or replaced with approved continuing education.Verified against the official source
• Submit an apostilled Certificate of Good Standing from the Original State, with no professional conduct that has caused or could cause disciplinary sanctions.Verified against the official source
• Submit an apostilled criminal-background certificate from the state, territory or country of residence during the last six months, and a current Puerto Rico Police certificate.Verified against the official source
• Submit a current child-support compliance certificate (ASUME) and current tax-debt and five-years-of-filings certificates from the Department of the Treasury.Verified against the official source
• Submit a sworn statement, before a notary authorized in Puerto Rico, confirming the original license, time practiced, absence of sanctions, and the marriage to the posted military member or federal employee.Verified against the official source

• Application for a Professional License by Endorsement, filed with the corresponding Department's Auxiliary Secretariats, accompanied by the internal-revenue stamp or other payment method set by the Regulation.

1. 1

   Step 1: Confirm your profession is on the regulated list

   The Department of State regulates 23 professions and trades under this law (from theatrical acting to roofing contractors), and the Department of Health regulates 30 health professions (from dentistry to massage therapy). The law also reaches any other profession regulated by another agency, present or future — but always excludes the practice of law and notarial practice.

2. 2

   Step 2: Gather the five apostilled certificates

   Certificate of Good Standing from the Original State, criminal background from the state or country you resided in during the last six months, Puerto Rico Police criminal background, child-support compliance, and tax debt with five years of Hacienda filings. All are apostilled where the law requires it.

3. 3

   Step 3: File the application and request the temporary license at the same time

   The Temporary Professional License is only granted if you filed, at the same time, the complete Endorsement License application with all its documents (Art. 3(10)). Don't request it separately: it goes together with the main application.

4. 4

   Step 4: The temporary license lets you work while the endorsement is reviewed

   It lasts up to six months, or until the endorsement application is decided, whichever comes last. If the endorsement application is resolved sooner, the temporary license loses validity and must be returned within ten business days (Art. 5(C)).

5. 5

   Step 5: The endorsement license lasts up to six years, tied to your residency

   It runs from when the Department approves the application until the spouse completes six uninterrupted years of Puerto Rico residency. No one who has already resided more than six years can qualify through this route (Art. 4(A)).

6. 6

   Step 6: At year six, return the license or become a resident

   Within ten business days of expiration, you must return the endorsement license to the Department that issued it. If you decide to stay and make Puerto Rico your domicile, you will need to meet the ordinary licensing requirements, including any exam.

Before the Auxiliary Secretariats of the Department that regulates your profession: the State Department's Auxiliary Secretariat of Examining Boards for the 23 professions and trades on its list, or the Health Department's Office of Regulation and Certification of Health Professionals for the 30 health professions. If another agency regulates your profession, the application goes to that agency.

• Requesting the temporary license separately instead of together with the complete endorsement application: the law requires it be filed at the same time.
• Not apostilling the certificates the law requires apostilled.
• Believing the endorsement license lasts a fixed six years: it actually ends when six years of Puerto Rico residency are completed, which may be sooner.
• Not returning the endorsement license within ten business days of its expiration.
• Confusing this law with Act 102-2025 on universal license recognition: this one only applies to spouses of military members and the federal employees named in Art. 3.
• Assuming it covers the practice of law or notarial practice: those are expressly excluded.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico

  Departamento de Estado

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov