Moving between states / Georgia

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Moving from Minnesota to Georgia as a CDL holder

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

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Georgia leaves you roughly $1,023 a year more than Minnesota does, because Georgia's rate is lower.

SalaryMinnesota state taxGeorgia state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,758$2,076+$682
$60,000$4,137$3,114+$1,023
$90,000$6,206$4,671+$1,535

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: Minnesota to Georgia

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Minnesota certificate stays on the Minnesota Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Registry; to work in Georgia you apply to the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry (Georgia Department of Community Health, administered by Credentia) 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: Minnesota to Georgia

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Minnesota is not in the compact, so your Minnesota licence is single-state. Apply to the Georgia 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 Georgia 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: Minnesota to Georgia

Exam required. Georgia licenses electricians through the Georgia State Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Electrical Contractors and does not reciprocate with any state. Your Minnesota hours count toward eligibility, so get them certified in writing by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry before you move and book the Georgia exam early.

No statewide program in Georgia pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Going the other way? Minnesota has Harmony new-home rebate. See moving from Georgia to Minnesota.

Openings filed in Georgia

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

Your own route from Minnesota to Georgia

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 Georgia employers.

Plan my move to Georgia

Same move, by trade

CNA: Minnesota to Georgia · RN or LPN: Minnesota to Georgia · Electrician: Minnesota to Georgia · All licences: Minnesota to Georgia

From Minnesota to the states next to Georgia

Florida (no state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · South Carolina (progressive, top rate 6.2%)

To Georgia from the states next to Minnesota

North Dakota · South Dakota · Iowa · Wisconsin

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

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