What are you wondering about teacher certification? by

CTE Conditional Cert

2025-11-01 00:40:30 UTC

What steps do I need to take to maintain/renew my conditional CTE certificate, and what is the timeline?

Residency Cert

2025-11-01 00:45:51 UTC

I recently moved to WA and was issued an initial residency certificate, which is valid until I have 1.5 years of teaching experience in the state.

What's the purpose of this initial version of the residency certificate with a relatively short validity period?
What steps do I need to take to obtain the full residency certificate with a 5-year validity period?

Clock Hours

2025-11-01 00:48:00 UTC

I'd love to hear recommendations for free resources to obtain clock hours.

Clock Hours

2025-11-03 22:48:17 UTC

Can you still earn clock hours after January 1st 2026, if your renewal is June 2026?

Resources to obtain certain clock hours

2025-11-04 15:40:15 UTC

My employer provides plenty of equity training for validity of my teacher certificate but not STEM or Abuse clock hours that are necessary. Where is the best place to find these types of clock hours?

Equity Based clock hours?

2025-11-04 21:45:33 UTC

Do we need 15 equity- based school practices clock hours?

Suicide Prevention Training?

2025-11-04 21:46:26 UTC

Is there a specific suicide prevention training we have to take? Does the SPS one qualify?

Additional Endorsements

2025-11-04 22:53:03 UTC

What advice do you have about securing additional endorsements?

PGP

2025-11-05 00:22:14 UTC

I am a brand new teacher, so I am looking at what a professional growth plan is.

reciprocal cert

2025-11-05 00:26:19 UTC

What do i need to do to get past the 1.5 year expiration that comes along with my cert? Got it in IL and recip through WA if you need to know.

Additional cert

2025-11-05 00:28:44 UTC

Does adding another cert do anything in terms of clock hours needed or anything? I have 2 more I can add I think. Is there anything beneficial to it?

Requirements

2025-11-05 00:29:15 UTC

Are there certain courses/clock hour requirements needed for recertification? Or, is it just that we need 100 clock hours to renew?

Can I add CTE for H.S. Teacher?

2025-11-05 00:30:31 UTC

I'm a secondary science teacher and want to know how I can add a CTE endorsement, if I even can.

Is the CTE path completely separate from the general path?

Secondary --> Elementary

2025-11-05 00:32:37 UTC

If I'm secondary teacher, do I need an Elementary Education endorsement to teach Elementary school without an emergency cert?

What about substitute teaching? Can a secondary teacher sub for elementary? Long term?

Clock hours

2025-11-05 00:32:39 UTC

I have a lot of clock hours and my certificate expires in June 2026 and I want to make sure that I have the "required" clock hours. Can someone look over my clock hours with me before I submit my application?

recertify

2025-11-05 00:33:04 UTC

I recertify this year and want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row

Abuse training

2025-11-05 00:33:14 UTC

What specific trainings qualify to meet this requirement for license renewal?

When is the next time to renew my certificate?

2025-11-05 00:33:33 UTC

This is my 5th year in this field and I remember renewing my certificate a few years ago. When do I need to renew my certificate and what do I need to do?

continuing certification

2025-11-05 00:34:10 UTC

I am going to retire in a couple of years, but was alerted by the state that I needed to become recertified. I am taking this course to learn what I need to do stay certified.

From Maren: If you are about to retire, it will be especially helpful for you to get a lifetime sub cert!

NBCT Question

prazem1 — 2025-11-05 00:35:21 UTC

From our HR/Cert rep: "Since you are an NBCT, you should be able to renew solely with your National Board certificate. When you apply to renew, you should see a question in the application asking if you are applying via NBPTS and you want to check the box indicating yes. It should then provide a spot to upload a copy of your National Board cert and you can bypass the request for clock hours."

Is this true?

Certification

2025-11-05 00:36:22 UTC

Re-certifying for the first time. Want to make sure I have everything I need.

Out of State Cert Transfer

2025-11-05 00:37:55 UTC

OSPI said that my previous elementary cert won't transfer with all my endorsements, even though I earned everything through college. They want me to retake all assessments. Is this true?

From Maren: If you are coming from out of state, you are required to take a Washington state approved content knowledge assessment for each of your out-of-state endorsements. The OSPI cert office would be able to tell you which specific WA endorsements you might qualify for, and which content knowledge assessments you still need to take.

Endorsements

2025-11-05 00:42:20 UTC

If I have multiple endorsements does that ad more requirements to renew my cert?

2025-11-05 01:44:06 UTC

How do I know if my endorsement requires the 15 STEM hours? I’m art.

Residency Certification

2026-01-26 18:34:40 UTC

I have been teaching in WA for almost 1.5 years. What are the next steps?

Endorsement program

2026-01-26 18:36:28 UTC

Do you have any recommendations of additional endorsement programs?

Expired cert

2026-01-26 19:23:06 UTC

What are the steps to take if you do not renew your cert in time and it has expired?

Clock Hours for Renewing Cert

2026-01-28 04:40:32 UTC

My CTE cert expires October 2027 - I need to know how to check my clock hours to make sure I have enough (and the right ones) for renewing my cert. I also want to know if I can schedule an appointment to get help with entering clock hours from 4-5 years ago (they are documented on the triplicate forms we used to submit at the district office). I don't know what to do.

2026-01-28 06:18:49 UTC

Once I earn my credential (I’ll be in student teaching this fall), am I required to begin teaching right away, or can I take time off to stay home with my babies for several years?

If I don’t start teaching immediately, will I still need to complete clock hours or recertification requirements during that time? Is it possible to delay those requirements?

Timing

2026-01-28 18:26:39 UTC

When should you star gathering all the information that is needed for the re-certification. This is my first time.

Insufficient STEM hours for recertification.

2026-01-28 19:50:31 UTC

I submitted my recert application to OSPI last month thinking I had all the STEM hours I needed, but I made a mistake. I know my recert will not be approved. Can you tell me what to expect? In the meantime, I am registered for a 15 hour STEM class in March to correct this error.

All of the above -- Ditto

2026-01-29 00:24:09 UTC

Many have already asked questions I have. Plus, reading others' questions alerted me to things I hadn't yet realized I needed (like a growth plan). I am a first year cert and know VERY little about any of this. Thanks for holding this training!

NEA Clock Hours

2026-01-29 00:27:12 UTC

How do I convert NEA clock hours for OSPI approval?

Ceritificated Subs

2026-01-29 00:30:17 UTC

Do subs need to renew their certificate every 5 years?

Initial Residency: Clock hours now?

2026-01-29 00:34:31 UTC

If I haven't yet done my 1.5 years and received an expiration date on my certification, can I start collecting / documenting clock hours? Or do I need to wait until I cross that 1.5 year threshold and get an expiration date?

Cert Renewal + OSPI question

2026-01-29 00:36:12 UTC

My first year teaching in Washington was 2021-22. I now have my longer-term teaching certification. Not sure how long it lasts. I assume my recertification is soon. I want to do what I need to do to recertify. Thanks!

Also, why can't OSPI transfer PD clock hours from our district ProDev account?

2026-01-29 00:39:08 UTC

Question about renewal of Residency teacher certificate. My understanding is that I need to renew certificate 5 years from the date I got it.

But recently I was told that unless I get hired or contracted by school district the 5 year countdown does not start.

Please confirm which one is right?

Initial Certificate

2026-01-29 00:42:18 UTC

I got my WA initial certificate issued on 8/31/2023 and have been teaching in Seattle Public Schools ever since then. The certificate type is Residency Teacher (First Issue). There is no Expiration Date indicated on my certificate but there is a statement on my cert stating that "Valid until you are reported as a teacher in a public school in WA with at least 1.5 years of full time equivalent experience".

Questions:

I have been working full-time for 23-24, 24-25, and now 25-26. So two school years and 5 months for full time. Is my certificate still considered valid?
If not to Q1, anything I need to do?
I will be going on maternity leave in next couple weeks and until the rest of this school year 2025-26. Then I may move to another state (Texas/ DMV area). At this point I am not sure if I will work full time as a certificate teacher after I moved. Should I renew the certification now or after I moved and decided to be a certified teacher again? What will be the pros and cons?

From Maren: First, make sure you get a lifetime sub cert! That does not expire, so it will be valid no matter what options you choose.

I recommend you contact the OSPI cert office right away and explain your situation to find out if you are now eligible to apply for a residency reissuance. That way, hopefully, you can take care of the situation now instead of during your maternity leave. Likely best to apply for your residency reissuance as soon as you are eligible instead of waiting.

Clock Hours and Recertification

2026-01-29 01:29:59 UTC

If I recertify early, do clock hours count towards the next recertification count?

Reissue Residency

2026-01-29 02:25:16 UTC

Even if my district does not report me to OSPI as a teacher in a public school in WA with at least 1.5 years of full time equivalent experience, can I still reissue my cert? (Not having an expiration date on my certificate even though I have more than 1.5 years experience). Should I contact OSPI directly to reissue?

Continue to keep my certificate

2026-03-06 22:39:55 UTC

I recently just renewed my certificate, but I’m currently a substitute teacher and I don’t want my certificate to expire. How’s the best way to keep getting enough credits every year that I’m not scrambling at the end of my expiration date.

2026-03-09 03:40:28 UTC

When imputing my clock hours to recertify I already have over 100 should I log the other 100 plus hours I have earned through my district ? If I don’t is there any benefit about inputing all of them ?

Can I renew as soon as I have my 100 hours and it will extend my teaching certificate past my time of renewal ?

2026-03-09 03:41:29 UTC

How to upload credits for renewal

2026-03-09 23:27:39 UTC

How do you get all your clock hours and credits from WEA and the school district into your OSPI account to renew certification?

2026-03-09 23:29:00 UTC

This May will be my third year having a residential certificate. This is my first year teaching general education. I'm curious if I need to renew my certificate and/or apply for a different type of certificate?

2026-03-09 23:34:02 UTC

Information

2026-05-04 19:47:09 UTC

Where do we find how many clock hours we already have?

Where do we find what we need to re-cert?

Reactivated an old cert

2026-05-04 23:18:25 UTC

I got my initial cert back in 1993, promptly moved out of state, and hadn't used it until recently. I had to submit paperwork to change it to a different kind of cert, but now I have no idea what I need to do to keep it in good standing.

Non-clock hour learning

2026-05-04 23:21:20 UTC

I was surprised when I came back to WA that pd courses I took in other states didn't count for anything. Is the only exception to clock hours if I'm in a degree granting program? (Basically, do misc. college credits and/or continuous learning hours from other states never count here? )

Requirements

2026-05-04 23:37:19 UTC

Heard there were new requirements for professional teaching cert so I wanted to know what is required for renewal.