Teaching License from Ohio to Louisiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-08 · source: Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) — Division of Teacher Certification ↗
A teaching certificate transfers from Ohio to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) — Division of Teacher Certification, verify your Ohio license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. Louisiana requires the Praxis series (Core Academic Skills for Educators, the Praxis subject-area assessment, and the Principles of Learning and Teaching/PLT); incoming teachers may transfer comparable out-of-state passing scores, and experienced applicants holding a valid out-of-state certificate or National Board Certified Teachers may qualify for testing waivers. An Out-of-State (OS) certificate — valid up to three years and non-renewable — is issued to allow time to complete any outstanding Louisiana exams before the standard certificate..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The honest version of Ohio to Louisiana: your Ohio teaching license gets you in the door, not into the classroom on its own terms. Louisiana 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 Ohio license waives Louisiana's requirements — plan them into your first year.
What changes, Ohio → Louisiana
| Ohio (current) | Louisiana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | NOT VERIFIED — Ohio publishes licensure fees inside the CORE application system rather than on a public fee page, and every public Ohio licensure URL (education.ohio.gov and sboe.ohio.gov) rejected automated retrieval on 2026-08-08: education.ohio.gov returns an F5 WAF 'Request Rejected' page to all clients including full browser headers, and sboe.ohio.gov returns 404 to every educator-licensure path tried. No fee figure is asserted rather than publishing an unverified number. Ohio waives licensure fees for honorably discharged veterans and current service members. | certificate/application fee not confirmed on an official LDOE page during this pass; verify on teachlouisiana.net before publishing |
| Processing time | NOT VERIFIED — no processing timeframe could be read; the Ohio licensure pages were unreachable to automated retrieval on 2026-08-08 (see fees notes) | LDOE does not publish a fixed processing timeframe; application status is trackable in the Teacher Certification Help Portal |
| Licensing authority | Ohio Department of Education and Workforce — Office of Educator Licensure | Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) — Division of Teacher Certification |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Louisiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Louisiana's current requirements on the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) — Division of Teacher Certification website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) — Division of Teacher Certification (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Apply for certification through the LDOE Teacher Certification portal (teachlouisiana.net / Teacher Certification Help Portal).
- Hold a valid standard out-of-state teaching certificate and have completed a state-approved teacher preparation program.
- Meet Louisiana's Praxis testing requirements, transfer comparable passing scores, or qualify for an experience/National-Board-based waiver.
- Submit official transcripts and direct verification of your out-of-state certificate.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check.
- Pay the fees (certificate/application fee not confirmed on an official LDOE page during this pass; verify on teachlouisiana.net before publishing) and allow LDOE does not publish a fixed processing timeframe; application status is trackable in the Teacher Certification Help Portal.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Louisiana accept a Ohio teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from Ohio to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) — Division of Teacher Certification, verify your Ohio license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. Louisiana requires the Praxis series (Core Academic Skills for Educators, the Praxis subject-area assessment, and the Principles of Learning and Teaching/PLT); incoming teachers may transfer comparable out-of-state passing scores, and experienced applicants holding a valid out-of-state certificate or National Board Certified Teachers may qualify for testing waivers. An Out-of-State (OS) certificate — valid up to three years and non-renewable — is issued to allow time to complete any outstanding Louisiana exams before the standard certificate..
Will I have to retake tests moving from Ohio to Louisiana?
Louisiana requires the Praxis series (Core Academic Skills for Educators, the Praxis subject-area assessment, and the Principles of Learning and Teaching/PLT); incoming teachers may transfer comparable out-of-state passing scores, and experienced applicants holding a valid out-of-state certificate or National Board Certified Teachers may qualify for testing waivers. An Out-of-State (OS) certificate — valid up to three years and non-renewable — is issued to allow time to complete any outstanding Louisiana exams before the standard certificate.. Holding a Ohio license does not by itself waive Louisiana's tests — experience or National Board certification is what typically does.
Can I teach in Louisiana right away?
Generally yes on a provisional or one-year Louisiana certificate issued while you complete its requirements; districts hire on that credential.
What does the Ohio-to-Louisiana transfer cost and how long does it take?
certificate/application fee not confirmed on an official LDOE page during this pass; verify on teachlouisiana.net before publishing; processing LDOE does not publish a fixed processing timeframe; application status is trackable in the Teacher Certification Help Portal.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-08.
- Teach Louisiana (LDOE) — Certification portal ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- LDOE — Teacher Certification Help Portal ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Ohio Department of Education and Workforce — Teaching (educator licensure hub; domain confirmed live but serves an F5 WAF rejection to automated clients) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-08)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-08
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]