The process of transferring teaching certificates to other states is always difficult and daunting. Do you know How to Transfer My Teaching Certificate to Another State? Each state has its own set of rules and processes that govern the transfer procedures. It is important to understand these steps if one hopes for a smooth transition into their new career in teaching.
As such, this article explains how to move your teaching certificate to another state by looking at key points like license reciprocity and specific requirements in each state.
What is Teaching License Reciprocity?
Teaching license reciprocity refers to agreements between states, which facilitate the movement of qualified teachers from one state to another by simplifying the process of certification transferability.
This means that if you are licensed in a state, you may be allowed to get licensed in another state without retaking all tests again from scratch. Nonetheless, this can not guarantee an automatic transfer as there are still some specific prerequisites for journeying into different countries within the USA.
How to Transfer Your Teaching Certificate to Another State?
Beginning with exploring requirements for the new location, it is important for me just go online and find out what will be needed for me depending on its destination outside the current state? Most states will require you to submit your existing teacher licenses, pass additional exams or complete more coursework than originally planned.
Step by Step Process to Transfer Your Teaching Certificate to Another State
There is a prescribed order of things that will be followed as you seek to transfer your teaching certificate to another place and they are outlined below:
1. Check Reciprocity Agreements:
You can check if the state you live in has a reciprocity agreement with the one where you wish to move. This should simplify matters.
2. Submit Your Credentials:
To the new state’s department of education, provide your current teaching license, transcripts and any necessary test scores.
3. Complete State-Specific Requirements:
Some states may require additional tests or certain coursework. Make sure these requirements are met.
4. Apply for a New License:
Your application for a new teaching permit can now be submitted since all conditions have been met.
5. Stay Updated:
Stay informed about changes in state policy which could affect your certification.
Read also more related topics: How Would You Describe Your Teaching Style?
Can You Get a Masters in Education Without Teaching Experience?
How to Turn Your Bachelor’s Degree Into a Teaching Degree?
And, How to Support Yourself While Student Teaching?
State Specific Requirements to Transfer Your Teaching Certificate to Another State
| State | Education / Experience Requirements | Testing Requirements | Temporary Certificate Offered? | Other Notes | NP |
| Alabama | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject Tests or equivalent; may be waived w/3+ years experience. | Emergency Certificate if all requirements met except testing. | Out-of-state teaching license must be equivalent to an Alabama Professional Educator Certificate. | Yes |
| Alaska | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Basic Competency Exam – See the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development for accepted exams. | Non-renewable one-year Tier I Initial Certificate while meeting state requirements. | Must pass Praxis Subject Tests to earn a Professional renewable certificate. Must take a state-approved course in Alaska Studies and Multicultural/Cross-Cultural Communication. | Yes |
| Arizona | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | No exams required for candidates w/a comparable out-of-state certificate in good standing. | No | Must take approved courses in the Arizona and US Constitutions or pass equivalency exam within 1-3 years. | Yes |
| Arkansas | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Equivalent content area exam for the certificate held. Waived w/3+ years of teaching experience or comparable certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). | Provisional license if all requirements met except content or pedagogy testing. | Endorsements in Early Childhood, Elementary Education, Middle Childhood, or Secondary Social Studies require approved course in Arkansas History. | Yes |
| California | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Comparable content and basic skills exams. | Preliminary certificate if all requirements except testing are met. | Candidates w/less than 2 years of experience must complete an approved teacher induction program. | Yes |
| Colorado | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Comparable content area tests required; may be waived w/3+ years full-time teaching experience. | One-year Interim License or three-year Initial License based on qualifications. | Unavailable | Yes |
| Connecticut | Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. Teacher prep waived w/30 months of full-time experience. | Equivalent content area and pedagogy tests, waived w/a standard certificate and 3 years of experience or master’s in content area. | Interim certificate if all criteria met except equivalent exams. | Enhanced reciprocity state licenses qualify for streamlined process w/lowered testing and experience requirements. | Yes |
| Delaware | Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school. | Based on credentials evaluation. | Emergency certificate in select content areas. | Special Education teachers required to also hold a standard certificate in a teaching content area. | Yes |
| Florida | Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school. | Comparable basic knowledge, content, and pedagogy exams. | Temporary certificate in area of bachelor’s degree major if basic knowledge or pedagogy exam requirements not met. | Must hold license equivalent to Florida Professional Certificate or valid NBPTS certificate. | Yes |
| Georgia | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators if less than 5 years full-time experience or lacking equivalent assessments. | Non-Renewable or Induction Certificate may be extended if content assessment requirements not met. | Teaching license must be Professional or equivalent; temporary or provisional not accepted. | Yes |
| Hawaii | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. 3 out of the last 5 years full-time teaching experience required for Standard certificate. | Content knowledge exam required if bachelor’s degree is not in the endorsement area sought. | Provisional certificate if experience requirements are not met. | Content knowledge can also be waived with NBPTS certification or master’s degree. | Yes |
| Idaho | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school. | No exams required for candidates w/a comparable out-of-state certificate in good standing. | Interim certificate if testing or coursework requirements not met. | Institutional Recommendation from accredited preparation program required for any candidate w/less than 2 years of full-time teaching experience. | Yes |
| Illinois | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school. | No exams required for candidates w/a comparable out-of-state certificate in good standing. | No | Yes | |
| Indiana | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school. | Indiana CORE Assessments and Developmental/Pedagogy exams or out-of-state equivalent. | One-year reciprocal teaching license if missing testing or coursework. | Expired out-of-state licenses not accepted. All candidates must be certified in CPR/AED/Heimlich and suicide prevention for professional certificate. | Yes |
| Iowa | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | If an applicant’s state requires exams for licensure, proof of passing scores for the qualifying exams is required. | One-year license if coursework or testing requirements are not met. | Must complete human relations coursework for Initial license. Recency requirement: Must have teaching experience or 6 college credits in the last 5 years. | Yes |
| Kansas | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject tests or comparable exams completed in another state if less than 3-5 years of teaching experience in the last 6 years. | Two-year Restricted Teaching License Alternative Pathway if preparation program requirements are not met. | Recency requirement: Must have 1 year teaching experience or 8 college credit hours w/in the last 6 years. | Yes |
| Kentucky | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject Tests required if less than 2 years of teaching experience in the endorsement area. | No | Reciprocity is not recognized for out-of-state certificates based on testing only. | Yes |
| Louisiana | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Louisiana Praxis and NTE exams are required for a Level 1 Professional Certificate; waived w/3+ years of verified teaching experience. | Three-year out-of-state (OS) certificate if testing requirements are not met. | If a candidate has not taught in the last 5 years, 6 semester credits related to endorsement area must be completed before license can be issued. | Yes |
| Maine | Bachelor’s degree from accredited school. | Based on credential evaluation. | No | Reciprocity is only recognized for identified teacher shortage content areas. | Yes |
| Maryland | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Must show passing score on comparable content tests. Comparable basic skills test also required w/less than 2 years experience. | Conditional certificate if candidate has offer for hire from a Maryland school. | Streamlined application available w/2+ years of experience. | Yes |
| Massachusetts | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) required. | Temporary or provisional based on qualifications and MTEL results. | Yes | |
| Michigan | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) if less than 3 years experience. | Temporary Teaching Certificate if certain requirements are not met. | Must have current training in first aid and CPR and meet reading methods coursework requirements. | Yes |
| Minnesota | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Minnesota Teacher Licensing Examinations (MTLE) required. No other tests are accepted. | Limited licensure if testing or coursework requirements are not met. | Minnesota Human Relations coursework required for five-year license. | Yes |
| Mississippi | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Core subject test such as Praxis Subject Assessments passed for certification in the issuing state. | Two-year license if testing requirements not met. | Institutional Recommendation required for select endorsement areas. | Yes |
| Missouri | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Typically none – Missouri transfers out-of-state licenses to the closest in-state equivalent under teacher reciprocity. | Based on equivalency. | Institutional Recommendation required if out-of-state license has expired. Must have a college GPA of 2.75 or above. | Yes |
| Montana | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved or NCATE/CAEP accredited teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject Assessments required. | Other temporary class licenses issued based on specific deficiencies. | University Recommendation (Institutional Recommendation) from educator preparation program required for Standard license. | Yes |
| Nebraska | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core and Praxis Subject Assessments required. | Temporary or provisional certificate if coursework or testing requirements are not met. | Coursework in Human Relations and Special Education required for a regular teaching certificate. | Yes |
| Nevada | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core, Praxis PLT, and Praxis Subject Assessments required. Candidate must also pass exams in Nevada School Law and Nevada and US Constitutions. | No | All requests for reciprocity are based on evaluation. | Yes |
| New Hampshire | Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school and three years of experience out of the last seven in an Interstate Certification Contract state. | Praxis Core and Praxis Subject Assessments required. | See other notes | Candidates who do not meet experience requirements or are not transferring from an Interstate Certification Contract state may qualify under equivalency or other alternative certification routes. | Yes |
| New Jersey | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school, state-approved or NCATE/CAEP accredited teacher preparation program, and two years of “effective” rated experience within the last 3 years. | Praxis Subject Assessments required. | Only if equivalent temporary certificate held in another state. | Experience requirement waived with NBPTS certification. | Yes |
| New Mexico | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program and at least one year of teaching experience. | Must have passed the teacher competency exam in the jurisdiction where the current teaching license was issued. | No | Approved program and testing requirements waived with NBPTS certification. License level for reciprocal teaching certification issued is based on years of teaching experience. | No |
| New York | Bachelor’s degree with 2.5 GPA or higher from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program that meets New York approval standards and three years of public school teaching experience in one state. | Must take New York’s edTPA, Educating All Students, Academic Literacy Skills, and Content Specialty exams through NES. NBPTS certified teachers are exempt from exam requirements. | Conditional certificate if candidate meets all requirements except edTPA exam or workshops. | Initial certificate requires taking workshops in child abuse, school violence prevention, needs of children with autism, and training in harassment, bullying, and discrimination. | No |
| North Carolina | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject Assessments required. Elementary and Exceptional Children endorsements also require North Carolina Foundations of Reading and General Curriculum exams. | No | Whether a candidate receives Standard Professional 1 or 2 depends on years of experience. | Yes |
| North Dakota | Bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.50 GPA from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core and Praxis Subject Assessments required. | Interim certificate if coursework or testing requirements are not met. | North Dakota Native American and Multicultural Studies course required for Initial license. | Yes |
| Ohio | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) or Praxis Subject Assessments may be required based on evaluation. | Resident educator license if less than 3 years of experience. | Must have at least 12 semester hours of reading pedagogy for full standard license. | Yes |
| Oklahoma | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Oklahoma General Education, Subject Area, and Professional Teaching exams or out-of-state equivalents required. | No | Verification of experience required. | Yes |
| Oregon | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Must have passed an acceptable subject matter exam or the Oregon Educator Licensure Assessments (ORELA). Test of US and Oregon civil rights laws and ethics are also required. | Reciprocal teaching license is temporary based on fulfilling deficiencies. | State of initial certificate must be NASDTEC member. | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Acceptable basic skills, subject matter, and pedagogy assessments required. Must meet Pennsylvania’s qualifying scores for any exam(s) taken. | No | Teacher preparation program requirement waived with 2 years of experience. | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core, Praxis PLT, and Praxis Subject Assessments required for most subjects and grade levels. | Qualified applications for teaching reciprocity between states leads to a Temporary Initial Educator Certificate. | Certificates held must be NASDTEC Stage 3 or higher. | Yes |
| South Carolina | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis PLT and Praxis Subject Assessments required. | No | Temporary, lateral, or alternative certificates are not eligible for reciprocal teacher certification. Teaching certificate issued depends on years of experience. | Yes |
| South Dakota | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject Assessments required. | One-year certificate if missing coursework or testing requirements. | Coursework in human relations and South Dakota Indian studies required for unrestricted license. | Yes |
| Tennessee | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core, Praxis PLT, and Praxis Subject Assessments required for most subjects and grade levels. | No | Initial certificate issued is Practitioner Teacher. | Yes |
| Texas | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Texas Education Agency (TEA) or comparable exams in another state required. | One-year certificate if testing requirements are not met. | Credentials review is offered prior to application for a fee. | Yes |
| Utah | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and NCATE/TEAC/CAEP accredited teacher preparation program. | Praxis Subject Assessments typically required but equivalent exams may be evaluated. | No. All qualifying requests for reciprocity receive a Level 1 Utah Educator License. | Educator ethics review is also required. Candidates with less than 3 years of experience must participate in Early Years Enhancement. | Yes |
| Vermont | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core and Praxis Subject Assessments required. | No | All qualifying requests for reciprocity from NASDTEC states receive a Level 1 Professional Educator’s License. | Yes |
| Virginia | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA), Praxis Subject Assessments required. Praxis Series Reading for Virginia Educators (RVE) required for select endorsements. Assessments waived with 3 years of full-time teaching experience. | No | Teacher preparation program requirements may be waived with current and valid teaching certificate from another state or NBPTS certification. Child abuse recognition and intervention and emergency first aid training required. | Yes |
| Washington | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Washington Educator Skills Tests (WEST) B and E or comparable exams taken in another state. | Yes. Typically, approved reciprocal candidates receive a temporary residency certificate. | Coursework in issues of abuse required to upgrade to a Professional certificate. | Yes |
| Washington DC | Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. Teacher preparation waived with 30 months of full-time experience. | Comparable basic skills, content, and pedagogy exams. | No | Teaching license must be equivalent to DC’s Level II. | Yes |
| West Virginia | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and state-approved teacher preparation program. | Praxis Core, Praxis PLT, and Praxis Subject Assessments required for most subjects and grade levels. | No | Yes | |
| Wisconsin | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Praxis CORE in any state required. Praxis Subject Assessments taken in Wisconsin required. Wisconsin Foundations of Reading Test (FORT) required for certain endorsements. | No | Applicants must have at least one year of licensed teaching experience. Reciprocity is not granted for alternative route certificates or those based on testing only. Tests must be passed prior to applying for a license. | No |
| Wyoming | Bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited school and teacher preparation program. | Must have passed the educator exams for the state in which a teaching certificate is currently held. | No | Alternate route certifications issued by another state can be reciprocated only if the candidate has taught in that area for 3 out of the last 6 years. | Yes |
Reciprocity table source: https://www.teachercertificationdegrees.com/reciprocity/
FAQ’s: How to Transfer Your Teaching License to Another State?
How do I find out if my state has reciprocity agreements with other states?
Contact your state’s department of education or visit their website for information on reciprocity agreements.
Are there any additional requirements for transferring my teaching certificate?
Some states may require additional coursework, testing, or experience before they will grant a teaching license. These requirements vary by state.
What documents do I need to submit for my transfer application?
Typically, you’ll need to submit your original teaching certificate, transcripts, and proof of teaching experience.
How long does the transfer process take?
The timeline for transferring a teaching certificate can vary depending on the state and the volume of applications. It’s generally recommended to start the process well in advance of your planned move.
Do all states have reciprocity agreements?
No, not all states have reciprocity agreements. Some states may require additional coursework, testing, or experience before you can transfer your teaching certificate.
What documents do I need to submit?
Typically, you’ll need to submit your original teaching certificate, transcripts, proof of professional development, and any required test scores.
How long does the transfer process take?
The transfer process can vary greatly depending on the state and the specific requirements. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
Can I teach while my application is pending?
In most cases, you’ll need to wait for your new teaching certificate to be issued before you can start teaching in the new state. However, some states may have temporary permits or waivers that allow you to teach while your application is being processed.
Are there any fees associated with transferring my teaching certificate?
Yes, many states charge fees for processing teaching certificate transfers. The amount of the fee can vary depending on the state.
Last note
For easy transition, it is important to know how to transfer your teaching certificate to anther state when you move from one state to another. First off, learn about reciprocity in teaching licenses and then go through the steps required to be fulfilled for specific states. This will help you continue with your career as a teacher without any undue hindrances. Consult the official websites of the respective state education departments for the correct and most recent details of this information.