Licensure and certification are the two primary types of credentialing.

• Licensure – Governmental agencies—federal, state, or local—grant licenses to individuals to practice a specific occupation, such as a medical license for doctors. State or federal laws or regulations define the standards that individuals must meet to become licensed. Licenses are typically mandatory.
• Certification – Non-governmental agencies, associations, and even private sector companies may grant certifications to individuals who meet predetermined qualifications. These qualifications are generally set by professional associations (for example, National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators) or by industry and product-related organizations (for example, Novell Certified Engineer). Certification is typically an optional credential, although some state licensure boards and some employers may require certification. For many occupations, more than one organization may offer certifications.

Credentialing is important for several reasons:

• Federal, state, or local law may require specific credentials to legally perform some jobs.
• Employers may choose to hire only employees who have certain credentials, or to pay those employees more.
• Credentials may improve an employee's prospects for promotion.
• Credentialed Service Members demonstrate to prospective civilian employers that their skills are on par with their civilian peers.
• Civilian credentialing can contribute to military career development, and may be accepted for self-development requirements and in performance evaluations.

Credentialing boards determine the requirements for licensure and certification. Typically they require a combination of the following:

• Education
• Training
• Work or professional experience
• Examinations
• Other unique job-related requirements

For some credentials, boards may have requirements related to:

• Residency
• How recently the training or experience took place
• Periodic renewal, typically every one to three years
• Continuing education requirements or reexamination requirements associated with renewal

State-Specific Requirements

While most certifications are national (have the same requirements in every state), requirements for occupational licenses vary by state. Not all states license the same occupations and for those that do, requirements can differ substantially. If you hold a license in one state but plan to relocate to another state, you need to find out if that state requires a license for your occupation and if it recognizes your license.

Some states will give consideration to individuals licensed in another state. For example the licensing board may:

• Recognize licenses granted by other states as equivalent, called “reciprocity.”
• Issue a license based on the individual having met similar requirements out-of-state, called “endorsement” or “license by credentials.”
• Credit equivalent out-of-state training, education, and examinations.

Even if a state recognizes another’s license, you may still need to take an exam or pay a fee. Check with the state licensing board to find out more about the specific requirements.

You can obtain state licensing board contact information from the “Licensed Occupations” section of the U.S.Department of Labor’s America’s Career Information Network.

The Navy certainly thinks you'd benefit from having civilian credentials – that's what COOL is all about! The Navy supports civilian credentialing for active duty members because it improves the professionalism of Sailors. In fact, if a credential is related to your duties, the Navy pays for credential exams, and it has incorporated civilian credentials into the Navy Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs) to encourage Sailors to earn specific certifications at certain points in their Navy careers. LaDR-designated credentials are considered during promotion evaluations, for example.

So you can increase your effectiveness as a Sailor and improve your chances for promotion while on active duty, and at the same time better prepare yourself for civilian employment when you do get out. Also note that Navy stops paying for tests if you have less than a year in service left, so it's a good idea to take care of credentialing sooner than later.

If you're still undecided, you can use the following information to help decide whether or not to pursue a credential while on active duty:

1. Ask yourself if you like what you are doing in the military and if you expect to pursue a civilian career in this field.
2. If you do expect to continue in your military occupational field, search COOL using "Find & Select Credentials" at the top of the page to determine whether the civilian counterpart for your field requires a license or certification.
   • If there are license or certification requirements, determine whether the Navy requires or encourages you to obtain the credential while in the military. Make sure you keep your credential current and renew it, if necessary, during your military career.
   • If the Navy does not require the credential during your military service, then consider obtaining it on your own during your military service.
3. If you don’t expect to continue in your military occupational field, search COOL using "Find & Select Credentials" at the top of the page to determine whether the civilian occupation you are interested in requires a license or certification. Consider what would be required to obtain the credential during military service.
4. Some factors you might consider when thinking about credentialing are:
   • What are my prospects for obtaining civilian employment without the credential? Remember, licensure is typically mandatory while certification is usually optional.
   • What delays in obtaining civilian employment might I face if I wait until after I leave the military to obtain the credential?
   • What will obtaining the credential while in the military entail and will I be able to fulfill the requirements while carrying out my duties?
   • What costs are associated with the credential and will the military or VA subsidize any of them? Refer to the COOL Credentialing Costs section for more information.
   • Will I need to renew my license or certification during military service and, if so, what is required?

First note that there are time of service requirements you must meet before you can get a voucher for a credential exam payment. Even if you do not meet these requirements, you can still get civilian credentials, the exams just won't be paid for by Navy.

It is a good idea to identify what credentials you need as soon as possible before transitioning, because obtaining a credential may take some time. Ideally, you'd have your credentials in hand by the time you leave the service.

In deciding if you want or need a civilian credential when you transition out, it might help to consider the following five basic scenarios:

1. The civilian equivalent of your Navy rating, job, designator, or collateral duty/out of rate assignment does not require a license or certification.
   • You do not necessarily need to pursue credentialing, but having a credential may still give you an advantage.
2. Your military training and experience provides all of the necessary credentials to practice the occupation as a civilian.
   • For example, the Navy requires Information Systems Technicians (IT) to obtain their A+ Certification as part of the IT "A" School. In this case, you should be good to go– of course, there may be additional credentials that give you added advantage.
3. Your military training and experience provide certification in the field, but not a license.
   • Your transition to the civilian workforce may be relatively seamless because certification and licensure requirements are often similar. However, you may still need to obtain a license from the appropriate government agency.
4. Your military career provides education, training, or experience necessary to become licensed or certified, but not the formal license or certification from the credentialing board.
   • You may have to follow an administrative process that typically requires completing an application, documenting military training and experience, and possibly taking an exam.
5. Your military education, training, or experience may need supplementation to meet licensure and certification requirements.
   • If you are in this situation you may experience a period of unemployment or underemployment until you are able to meet the requirements. See the COOL Costs and Resources page to learn about available resources.

If you are already out of the service, Navy will not pay for credential exams. But outside of that, your decision-making process regarding credentials is very similar to what is described in the I'll Be Transitioning Soon topic. Note that you may be able to use your GI Bill benefits to pay for necessary training, education and exam fees related to credentials. Refer to the Credentialing Resources topic on the Costs & Resources page for details.