Moving between states / Alabama

Flag of HawaiiHawaiitoFlag of AlabamaAlabama, Truck driver

Moving from Hawaii to Alabama as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Hawaii has to do to work in Alabama, what the move does to your pay, and who in Alabama is hiring from out of state.

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Alabama resident you surrender the Hawaii CDL at a Alabama driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Alabama. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Alabama leaves you roughly $2,520 a year more than Hawaii does, because Alabama's rate is lower.

SalaryHawaii state taxAlabama state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,080$1,400+$1,680
$60,000$4,620$2,100+$2,520
$90,000$6,930$3,150+$3,780

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Hawaii to Alabama

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Hawaii certificate stays on the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric); to work in Alabama you apply to the Alabama Nurse Aide Registry (Alabama Department of Public Health) for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Hawaii to Alabama

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Hawaii is not in the compact, so your Hawaii licence is single-state. Apply to the Alabama board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Alabama is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: Hawaii to Alabama

Reciprocity likely. Alabama licenses electricians at state level through the Alabama Electrical Contractors Board, and Journeyman and contractor licences are state-issued; the board reciprocates with a short list of states for journeymen who passed a comparable exam. Your Hawaii licence comes from the Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

  • Remote Shoals: up to $10,000. For remote workers moving to the Shoals area (Florence, Muscle Shoals).

Openings filed in Alabama

65 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Alabama employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Hawaii to Alabama

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Alabama employers.

Plan my move to Alabama

Same move, by trade

CNA: Hawaii to Alabama · RN or LPN: Hawaii to Alabama · Electrician: Hawaii to Alabama · All licences: Hawaii to Alabama

From Hawaii to the states next to Alabama

Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Florida (no state income tax)

To Alabama from the states next to Hawaii

Everything about working in Alabama · All moves between states · All 50 states

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