Initial Applications in Multiple States

[MasonFiber]

Good morning all. I wanted to ask the community about what problems, if any, could arise from having an initial application for licensure open in multiple states simultaneously. The reason I'm asking is that I applied to Tennessee in July of last year and still haven't heard back from the board. Granted, not all of the delay has been entirely on their part, more on that below. But I'm wondering if I would have better luck submitting an initial application in another state. There are multiple states I'll need to be licensed in for my job.

A breif history: I applied first to Alabama, and since Alabama is decoupled I passed the PE exam before getting four years experience. Alabama denied my application because all my PE supervision was remote, and the Alabama board won't accept remote supervision for more than half of your four years. Next I applied to Tennessee. From July to November there was a problem with one of my references, but they neglected to tell me about that until the second time I asked about my application. It's been almost four months now since my application was complete and sent to the board for review.

If someone familiar with the application process in Tennessee could shed some light on why it could take this long, that would be appreciated.

 

[MasonFiber]

Update: I found out yesterday I got my Tennessee license. I guess all it took was posting about it here, lol.

 

[steel]

Having multiple applications to different states simultaneously should not ever be an issue. Most states have a question on the application asking if you've ever been denied licensure in a jurisdiction or if you have any regulatory charges pending against you. As long as you answer those two questions truthfully, you're fine.

Now, if you suspect that one jurisdiction may deny you licensure (let's say you have a criminal conviction, for instance, that doesn't automatically disqualify you but may result in a denial of licensure), I'd be careful about applying to multiple states at once. Because once one state denies you licensure, you'd have to go to the other open applications you have and let them know that your answer to one of their questions has changed.