Moving between states / Massachusetts

Flag of VermontVermonttoFlag of MassachusettsMassachusetts, Truck driver

Moving from Vermont to Massachusetts as a CDL holder

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

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Massachusetts leaves you roughly $675 a year more than Vermont does, because Massachusetts's rate is lower.

SalaryVermont state taxMassachusetts state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,450$2,000+$450
$60,000$3,675$3,000+$675
$90,000$5,513$4,500+$1,013

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. In Massachusetts: plus 4% on income above about $1 million. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Vermont to Massachusetts

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Vermont certificate stays on the Vermont Board of Nursing (Licensed Nursing Assistant); to work in Massachusetts you apply to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Nurse Aide Registry 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: Vermont to Massachusetts

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

Electrician: Vermont to Massachusetts

Exam required. Massachusetts licenses electricians through the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians and does not reciprocate with any state. Your Vermont hours count toward eligibility, so get them certified in writing by the Vermont Division of Fire Safety, Electrical Licensing before you move and book the Massachusetts exam early.

No statewide program in Massachusetts 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? Vermont has New Relocating Worker Grant. See moving from Massachusetts to Vermont.

Openings filed in Massachusetts

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

Your own route from Vermont to Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts employers.

Plan my move to Massachusetts

Same move, by trade

CNA: Vermont to Massachusetts · RN or LPN: Vermont to Massachusetts · Electrician: Vermont to Massachusetts · All licences: Vermont to Massachusetts

From Vermont to the states next to Massachusetts

New Hampshire (no state income tax) · New York (progressive, top rate 10.9%) · Connecticut (progressive, top rate 6.99%) · Rhode Island (progressive, top rate 5.99%)

To Massachusetts from the states next to Vermont

New York · New Hampshire

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

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