Transfer Your Teaching License to North Dakota: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) ↗
Moving your teaching license to North Dakota means applying to the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) for its own credential, not transferring the one you hold. Expect a provisional certificate to begin, followed by North Dakota's exams and requirements within its completion window. 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.).
Moving to North Dakota from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The framing that saves relocating teachers real trouble: North Dakota is giving you a runway, not a transfer. The provisional credential lets you take a classroom immediately, but the clock on North Dakota's tests and coursework starts with it. Map the requirements below to a timeline the day you accept a position — the deadline inside your provisional window is the thing that trips people, not the difficulty of any single requirement.
'Reciprocity' is a misnomer — North Dakota does not auto-exchange an out-of-state license, but its Other State Educator License (OSEL) is one of the cleaner transfers in the dataset: a teacher holding a valid out-of-state license from an approved regular teacher education program who met that state's testing requirements has no additional North Dakota requirements, and is issued a 2-year or 5-year OSEL. Teachers who do NOT hold a current out-of-state license take the Out-of-State Reciprocal License instead — issued for 2 years and renewable for 3 more (5 years total) against a customized plan of study built from a transcript analysis. Every first-time applicant must clear the ESPB fingerprint background check and complete the state's mandated reporter training.
North Dakota requirements at a glance
| Exam | North Dakota honors the out-of-state program and its tests — an applicant who completed an approved program including student teaching and met the sending state's testing requirements faces no additional North Dakota testing; those licensed after 2002 in the sending state without completing North Dakota's tests get two years to complete them, and holders of an out-of-state alternative certification must pass Praxis I and Praxis II in their content area(s) before an OSEL is issued |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $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.) |
| 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. |
Step by step
- Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Apply for the Other State Educator License (OSEL) through a ND Teach online account.
- Submit official transcripts, a copy of the current valid out-of-state teaching license, and the Confirmation of Other State Educator License form completed by the issuing state's licensure agency.
- Complete a fingerprint-based FBI/BCI background check processed by ESPB — print and mail the fingerprinting forms to the ESPB office in Bismarck.
- Complete the ND Health and Human Services mandated reporter training for suspected child abuse or neglect and upload the certificate of completion (required of all initial-license applicants effective 2025-08-01 under HB 1562 / NDCC 15.1-07-34).
- Pay the non-refundable initial application fee plus the OSEL license fee.
- Pay the fees ($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.)) and allow 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..
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into North Dakota:
Frequently asked questions
Does my teaching license transfer to North Dakota?
Moving your teaching license to North Dakota means applying to the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) for its own credential, not transferring the one you hold. Expect a provisional certificate to begin, followed by North Dakota's exams and requirements within its completion window. 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.).
Is teaching reciprocity automatic in North Dakota?
No. North Dakota reviews your out-of-state credential and issues a provisional certificate; you complete its tests and coursework within a set window before the full license. It is the right to apply, not an instant swap.
What tests or requirements does North Dakota add?
North Dakota honors the out-of-state program and its tests — an applicant who completed an approved program including student teaching and met the sending state's testing requirements faces no additional North Dakota testing; those licensed after 2002 in the sending state without completing North Dakota's tests get two years to complete them, and holders of an out-of-state alternative certification must pass Praxis I and Praxis II in their content area(s) before an OSEL is issued.
What does a North Dakota out-of-state teaching certificate cost and how long does it take?
$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.); processing 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..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- 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 2026-08-07
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]