What is an teacher license, and how do you get one?
Public school teachers must be licensed or certified by the state education agency in every state. The standard route is a bachelor's degree, completion of a state-approved teacher preparation programme including supervised student teaching, passing the state's required examinations — often the Praxis series or a state-specific equivalent — and a criminal background check with fingerprinting. Alternative certification routes let career changers teach while completing preparation requirements. Private schools are generally exempt from state licensing. Elementary school teachers earn a $63,970 median.
- Earn a bachelor's degree in your subject or in education.
- Complete a state-approved preparation programme with student teaching.
- Pass the state's basic skills, pedagogy and subject-area examinations.
- Clear the fingerprint background check and apply to the state education agency.
- Move from an initial to a professional licence and renew with continuing education.
How to get a teacher license
- 1
Earn a bachelor's degree
Complete a degree in the subject you intend to teach or in education. Secondary certification usually requires a defined number of credit hours in the subject area, so check the state's content requirement before finalising a major.
- 2
Complete an approved preparation programme
Finish a state-approved programme covering pedagogy, classroom management, assessment and student development, including supervised student teaching. Approval matters: an unapproved programme will not qualify you for certification.
- 3
Pass the required examinations
Sit the state's basic skills, pedagogy and subject-area tests — often the Praxis series, sometimes state-specific. Confirm the passing scores your state sets, since they differ between states even on identical tests.
- 4
Clear the background check and apply
Submit fingerprints for the state and federal criminal history check and file your application with the state education agency. Defined offences bar certification, and checks are typically repeated at renewal.
- 5
Move to a professional licence and add endorsements
Convert the initial licence to the professional tier after the successful teaching period your state requires, renewing with continuing education or graduate credit. Add endorsements — special education, English learners, reading or another subject — to broaden what you may teach.
Teacher license requirements
Requirements are set by each state education agency and follow a common structure. To be certified you generally need:
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree, generally in the subject you will teach or in education. Secondary teachers usually need a defined number of credit hours in the subject area.
Approved preparation programme
A state-approved teacher preparation programme covering pedagogy, classroom management, assessment and student development, including supervised student teaching in a classroom.
Examinations
State-required tests, commonly including a basic skills test, a pedagogy test such as Principles of Learning and Teaching, and a subject-area test. Many states use the Praxis series; others use their own.
Background check
Fingerprinting and a state and federal criminal history check, with defined offences barring certification. Checks are typically repeated at renewal.
How much a teacher license costs
Certification costs are modest next to the degree behind them. Budget for:
The degree and preparation programme dominate. Examination and certification fees are modest and set by each state and testing provider; many districts reimburse certification and endorsement costs, particularly in shortage subjects.
The teacher license exam
Most states require three kinds of test. A basic skills assessment in reading, writing and mathematics is typically taken early, often as an entry requirement for the preparation programme. A pedagogy test such as the Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching assesses instruction, assessment, student development and professional practice for a grade band. A subject-area test covers the content you will teach, and it is the one that determines your endorsement. Many states use the Praxis series produced by ETS, others use their own tests, and — crucially — each state sets its own passing score, so an identical Praxis result can qualify you in one state and fall short in another.
How long it takes to get licensed
About four to five years by the traditional route including student teaching; alternative certification can put a career changer in a classroom within months on a provisional licence.
Teacher license types: the full ladder
Teaching licences are tiered by career stage, and endorsements rather than levels define what you may teach.
Teacher candidate / student teacher
Completes supervised classroom practice within an approved preparation programme; not yet certified.
Provisional or alternative-route licence
Allows a candidate to teach as the teacher of record while completing preparation requirements, common in shortage subjects and for career changers.
Initial / standard teaching licence
The first full certification, issued for a grade band and subject endorsement after the preparation programme, examinations and background check.
Professional licence
The renewable career-stage licence, typically issued after a period of successful teaching and, in some states, a master's degree or mentoring programme.
Subject and grade endorsements
Additional authorisations added to a licence — special education, English learners, reading, or another subject — each with its own examination or coursework.
Administrative and specialist certification
Separate credentials for principals, counsellors, and instructional specialists, generally requiring teaching experience plus graduate study.
Traditional route vs Alternative certification: teacher license
Teacher license reciprocity between states
Interstate movement is harder than most teachers expect. Many states participate in interstate agreements that recognise an out-of-state licence, but recognition is usually partial: states commonly issue a provisional or transitional certificate and require you to satisfy their own examinations, coursework in state history or constitution, or reading instruction requirements within a set period. Passing scores differ even where the same Praxis tests are used, so an identical score may not carry over. Check the destination state education agency's specific deficiency requirements before relocating, not after.
Teachersalary & job outlook
Elementary school teachers earn a median of about $63,970 a year. BLS reports teacher pay on an annual basis for the typical ten-month school year and does not publish an hourly wage for the occupation, so comparisons with hourly-paid roles are not straightforward. Employment is projected to decline 2%, with roughly 91,000 openings a year driven largely by turnover and retirement. See the full teacher salary guide for pay by state, city and experience level.
Teacher license requirements by state
Every state licenses public school teachers, so what differs is the examinations required, the passing scores, the tier structure and how alternative routes are designed.
All states certify public school teachers through a state education agency; private schools are generally exempt from state licensing requirements. What differs is the tests required and their passing scores, the tier structure from initial to professional licensure, endorsement definitions, and the design of alternative certification routes. Confirm with the state education agency before planning a route.
Browse all state guides
Teacher license FAQs
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers) · ETS, The Praxis Tests · U.S. Department of Education, Title II teacher preparation reporting · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (25-2021). Requirements and fees are set per state and change, confirm with your state board before applying.
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