--- title: HB 107. Professions and businesses; issuance of digitally verifiable licenses for certain military spouses and transitioning military service members; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb107 cite_as: HB 107, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb107 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb107.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb107/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69459 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb106.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb108.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 235 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb107.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 107 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-17 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Bethany Ballard - Josh Bonner - David Clark - Todd Jones - Angie O'Steen - Karen Mathiak text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB107/2025 upstream_id: 1929533 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - military spouse licensing - professional licensing - digital licenses - occupational regulation --- # HB 107. Professions and businesses; issuance of digitally verifiable licenses for certain military spouses and transitioning military service members; provide ## Text 25 LC 55 0392 House Bill 107 By: Representatives Ballard of the 147th, Bonner of the 73rd, Clark of the 100th, Jones of the 25th, and O’Steen of the 169th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 1 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 general provisions of professions and businesses, so as to provide for the issuance of digitally2 verifiable licenses for spouses of military service members, spouses of transitioning service3 members, and transitioning military service members; to provide definitions; to provide for4 the adoption of rules and regulations; to provide for the issuance of physical licenses upon5 request; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Chapter 1 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to general9 provisions of professions and businesses, is amended by adding a new Code section to read10 as follows:11 "43-1-37.12 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:13 (1) 'Digitally verifiable license' means a license that:14 (A) Can be accessed electronically;15 (B) Has a digital signature;16 H. B. 107 - 1 - 25 LC 55 0392 (C) Can be mathematically identified; and17 (D) Is equivalent to the possession of a physical license.18 (2) 'License' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 43-1-34.19 (3) 'Other board' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 43-1-34.20 (4) 'Service member' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 43-1-34.21 (5) 'State' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 43-1-35.22 (6) 'Transitioning service member' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code23 Section 43-1-34.24 (b) No later than July 1, 2026, each professional licensing bo ard and other board shall25 adopt rules and regulations implementing a process by which spouses of service members,26 spouses of transitioning service members, and transitioning service members may qualify27 for digitally verifiable licenses for each profession, business , or trade for which licenses28 are issued. Such digitally verifiable licenses shall be issued for all types of licenses issued29 by such professional licensing board or other board, including, but not limited to,30 temporary licenses, licenses by endorsement, expedited licenses, or a combination thereof. 31 Such rules and regulations shall include a process by which a p hysical license shall be32 issued upon request in addition to or in the place of a digitally verifiable license.33 (c) Any professional licensing board or other board created after June 30, 2026, shall adopt34 within one year of its creation the rules and regulations required by subsection (b) of this35 Code section."36 SECTION 2.37 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.38 H. B. 107 - 2 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would require state professional licensing boards to offer digitally verifiable licenses to military spouses, spouses of transitioning service members, and transitioning service members by July 1, 2026. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law already allows military spouses and transitioning service members to get expedited or temporary professional licenses in certain fields. This bill adds a new requirement that professional licensing boards and other boards create a way to issue these licenses in a digital, electronically verifiable format, in addition to traditional paper licenses. The bill defines a 'digitally verifiable license' as one that can be accessed electronically, carries a digital signature, can be mathematically verified, and counts as equivalent to a physical license. Every existing professional licensing board and other board must adopt rules implementing this digital licensing process by July 1, 2026, covering all license types they issue, including temporary licenses, licenses by endorsement, and expedited licenses. People can still request a physical license instead of or alongside the digital one. Any new licensing board created after June 30, 2026 has one year from its creation to adopt these rules. ### What it does - Requires all Georgia professional licensing boards and other boards to adopt rules for issuing digitally verifiable licenses by July 1, 2026. - Defines a digitally verifiable license as one accessible electronically, digitally signed, mathematically verifiable, and legally equivalent to a physical license. - Applies the digital licensing requirement to spouses of service members, spouses of transitioning service members, and transitioning service members themselves. - Covers all license types a board issues, including temporary licenses, licenses by endorsement, and expedited licenses. - Requires boards to let applicants request a physical license instead of or in addition to the digital version. - Gives any licensing board created after June 30, 2026 one year from its creation to adopt these same rules. ### Who it affects Military spouses, spouses of transitioning service members, and transitioning service members seeking professional licenses in Georgia, as well as the state's professional licensing boards and other boards, which must build new digital licensing systems and rules. ### Why it matters Military families who move frequently often face delays getting professional licenses recognized in a new state. A digital, instantly verifiable license could let these spouses and transitioning service members prove their credentials faster to employers, without waiting on mailed paperwork. ### Key provisions - New Code Section 43-1-37 defines 'digitally verifiable license,' incorporating existing definitions of 'license,' 'service member,' and 'transitioning service member' from O.C.G.A. § 43-1-34 and § 43-1-35. - Subsection (b) sets a July 1, 2026 deadline for all professional licensing boards and other boards to adopt rules for issuing digitally verifiable licenses. - Subsection (b) requires the digital licensing option to cover every type of license a board issues, including temporary, endorsement, and expedited licenses. - Subsection (b) requires boards to create a process for issuing a physical license upon request instead of or alongside the digital one. - Subsection (c) requires any board created after June 30, 2026 to adopt the same rules within one year of its creation. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-17) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Bethany Ballard, Josh Bonner, David Clark, Todd Jones, Angie O'Steen, Karen Mathiak - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69459 > The history, votes, and amendments (235 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb107.md?full=1