Moving between states / Alaska

Flag of IdahoIdahotoFlag of AlaskaAlaska, Truck driver

Moving from Idaho to Alaska as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Idaho has to do to work in Alaska, what the move does to your pay, and who in Alaska 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 Alaska resident you surrender the Idaho CDL at a Alaska 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 Alaska. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Alaska leaves you roughly $3,180 a year more than Idaho does, because Alaska has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryIdaho state taxAlaska state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,120$0+$2,120
$60,000$3,180$0+$3,180
$90,000$4,770$0+$4,770

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: Idaho to Alaska

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Idaho certificate stays on the Idaho Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare); to work in Alaska you apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program) 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: Idaho to Alaska

Endorsement needed. Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Idaho multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement before you move; it commonly takes six to twelve weeks. Your Idaho licence stays valid for compact states.

Electrician: Idaho to Alaska

Reciprocity likely. Alaska licenses electricians at state level through the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, and State certificate of fitness for journeymen; Alaska takes part in the western reciprocity group, so a journeyman card from a partner state can be endorsed. Your Idaho licence comes from the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Electrical Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

  • Permanent Fund Dividend: roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year. For every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year.

Openings filed in Alaska

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

Your own route from Idaho to Alaska

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 Alaska employers.

Plan my move to Alaska

Same move, by trade

CNA: Idaho to Alaska · RN or LPN: Idaho to Alaska · Electrician: Idaho to Alaska · All licences: Idaho to Alaska

From Idaho to the states next to Alaska

To Alaska from the states next to Idaho

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

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