Teaching License from North Dakota to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-08 · source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality ↗
A teaching certificate transfers from North Dakota to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, verify your North Dakota license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V.
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Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The honest version of North Dakota to Pennsylvania: your North Dakota teaching license gets you in the door, not into the classroom on its own terms. Pennsylvania will review your credential, issue a provisional certificate so you can begin teaching, and then require its own tests and coursework within its completion window before the full license. Nothing about holding an North Dakota license waives Pennsylvania's requirements — plan them into your first year.
What changes, North Dakota → Pennsylvania
| North Dakota (current) | Pennsylvania (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $85–$190 (Other State Educator License: $85 for the initial 2-year OSEL, $190 for the initial 5-year OSEL. Additional and not included in this range: a $30 initial application fee, a $5 maintenance charge added to every new ESPB application since 2019-06-01, $44.50 fingerprinting, and $80 per endorsement. Applicants without a current out-of-state license use the Out-of-State Reciprocal License at $85 instead.) | NOT VERIFIED — PDE's out-of-state educators page references application fees but publishes no amount, and the linked PDE application-fees page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-08. Fees are assessed inside TIMS at submission. No figure is asserted rather than publishing an unverified number. |
| Processing time | ESPB publishes no license-processing estimate. The only official timing figures are collateral: fingerprint/background results returning from the FBI/BCI 'averages 3 weeks', and ESPB asks that you allow 5 to 7 working days for a response to emailed questions. | NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page |
| Licensing authority | North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) | Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Complete and submit the application through TIMS (Teacher Information Management System).
- Send official transcripts for the bachelor's degree and all subsequent study.
- Have required content-area test scores reported to PDE directly by the testing provider.
- Submit a photocopy of the valid out-of-state certificate.
- Submit the Verification of Experience Form (PDE338V) with two or more years of experience, or the Educator Preparation Program Verification Form (PDE338A) where an approved program was completed.
- Be a U.S. citizen or otherwise legally authorized to work in the United States.
- Pay the fees (NOT VERIFIED — PDE's out-of-state educators page references application fees but publishes no amount, and the linked PDE application-fees page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-08. Fees are assessed inside TIMS at submission. No figure is asserted rather than publishing an unverified number.) and allow NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Pennsylvania accept a North Dakota teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from North Dakota to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, verify your North Dakota license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V.
Will I have to retake tests moving from North Dakota to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V. Holding a North Dakota license does not by itself waive Pennsylvania's tests — experience or National Board certification is what typically does.
Can I teach in Pennsylvania right away?
Generally yes on a provisional or one-year Pennsylvania certificate issued while you complete its requirements; districts hire on that credential.
What does the North Dakota-to-Pennsylvania transfer cost and how long does it take?
NOT VERIFIED — PDE's out-of-state educators page references application fees but publishes no amount, and the linked PDE application-fees page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-08. Fees are assessed inside TIMS at submission. No figure is asserted rather than publishing an unverified number.; processing NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-08.
- Pennsylvania Department of Education — Out-of-State Educators (TIMS application, transcripts, test-score reporting, PDE338V/PDE338A forms, citizenship requirement) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-08)
- ND ESPB — Types of Licenses (OSEL and Out-of-State Reciprocal License) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- ND ESPB — Licensing Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- ND ESPB — Background Checks ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- ND ESPB — Mandated Reporter Training for Initial Licensure ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- ND ESPB — License FAQs ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-08
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]