Your Home State and the ASLP Compact

The ASLP Compact does not give you a license that works everywhere. It gives you privileges in other member states, and each of those privileges is derived from a single license: the one in your home state. Get the home state wrong and nothing else in the process works.

What counts as your home state?

The model law defines "home state" as "the member state that is the licensee's primary state of residence." The Commission's FAQ puts it more simply: your home state is "where you live, pay taxes and have your driver's license." It also lists what can verify a primary residence for legal purposes: a driver's license, federal income tax return, lease, deed, mortgage or voter registration, "or other verifying documentation as further defined by Commission Rules."

That means the home state is a fact about where you live, not a choice about which license is most useful. If you live in Tennessee and hold licenses in Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky, Tennessee is your home state for compact purposes. You cannot name Ohio because it has a lower fee or because your employer is there.

The model law adds that, for compact purposes, you hold only one home state license at a time (Section 4.B).

Why does CompactConnect ask you to attest to it?

Because it is the thing the whole privilege rests on. During registration and purchase, you attest: "I hereby attest and affirm that this is my legal name, my accurate personal information and licensure information, and that I am a resident of the Home State listed on this page."

The address attestation goes further. It says: "I understand that I am only eligible for a Compact Privilege if I am a licensee in my Home State as defined by the Compact. If I mislead the Compact Commission about my Home State, the appropriate board may take action against my License or Compact Privilege ... I may also be prohibited from obtaining other Compact Privileges for a period of two years." You also commit to notify the Commission and both your former and new home states if your home address changes.

Does your home state have to be issuing privileges?

Yes. The FAQ says your home state must be an ASLP-IC member, and that a state must pass legislation, onboard with CompactConnect and then begin issuing and receiving privileges. As of October 2026 that means your home state has to be Louisiana, West Virginia, Ohio or Tennessee. If you live in one of the 32 other enacted states, or in the Virgin Islands, you have to wait for your state to start issuing. See which states are issuing ASLP Compact privileges.

Your home license also has to be active and unencumbered, with no encumbrance on any other state license and no adverse action against any license or privilege in the previous two years (Section 4.A).

What happens when you move to another state?

It depends on where you go.

• From one member state to another. You must apply for a license in the new home state, and the old home state license is deactivated under Commission rules (Section 4.C). You can apply for the new license before you move (Section 4.D), but the new state will not issue it until you show satisfactory evidence that your primary residence has changed (Section 4.E).
• From a member state to a non-member state. Your old home license converts to a single-state license, valid only in that state, and all your privileges are deactivated (Section 4.F). The FAQ calls this "convert." Former privileges may be converted to single-state licenses by those states, at their discretion.
• From a non-member state into a member state. You get a license in the new state the ordinary way. Once that state is issuing and you meet the requirements, it becomes your home state.

The practical lesson for anyone moving: the compact never transfers your home license. A move between states always means a new full license where you now live. Our state license pages cover what each board asks for, and a comparison of a privilege and a state license helps with the timing.

Can you keep practicing in your old state after you move?

Possibly, but not on the strength of your old home license automatically. If you moved between member states that both issue, once your new home license is issued you could request a privilege back into the old state. If you want to keep a full license in the old state instead, check with that board how it treats a license held by a nonresident; the compact itself only says the former home license is deactivated "in accordance with applicable rules adopted by the Commission."

How does the home state rule work for military families?

Section 6 of the model law gives active duty military personnel and their spouses a different rule. They "shall designate a home state where the individual has a current license in good standing," and may keep that designation while the service member is on active duty. After designating, they change their home state only by applying for licensure in a new state. CompactConnect has a separate attestation for this, in which the applicant affirms they are active duty military or the spouse of such and hold an eligible license in the listed home state. Our post on SLP and audiology licensing for military spouses covers the federal rules alongside the compact.

Which home state mistakes cause trouble?

1. Using a work state as the home state. A travel SLP who lives in one state and works in another still has the state where they live as the home state.
2. Assuming a second license makes a second home state. Holding licenses in two issuing states does not give you two bases. You have one.
3. Forgetting the deactivation on a move. Moving to a non-member state ends every privilege at once. Plan the new license first.
4. Old data at the home board. CompactConnect pulls your name and license information from your home board. If it is wrong, the help pages tell you to contact your home state, so the fix happens at the board, not in your CompactConnect account.

Our ASLP Compact Readiness Review ($149 one time) starts with your home state: is it issuing, is your license there active and clean, and are your board records accurate. If you are moving, our License by Endorsement service ($599 per state) gets the new home license underway. See the ASLP Compact hub for the current map.