Teaching License from Pennsylvania to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-01 · source: Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification ↗

A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. Test scores are not required for a reciprocity credential - Delaware states test scores are only needed for applications that do not meet Delaware reciprocity requirements or for new (non-reciprocal) certificate applications; a holder of a current, valid out-of-state license therefore transfers without retaking Delaware's Praxis tests.

Verify this exact pair in the checker

Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Moving from Pennsylvania to Delaware is an application, not a transfer: Delaware reviews your Pennsylvania certificate and issues a Delaware certificate of its own. The tests and requirements below are what Delaware still asks — gather them before you apply, because gaps are what slow a review.

What changes, Pennsylvania → Delaware

Side-by-side: Pennsylvania vs Delaware (Teaching (K-12)), verified 2026-09-01
	Pennsylvania (current)	Delaware (destination)
Application fee	$150 ($150 total for an out-of-state applicant's new credential (program completed outside PA: Instructional, Career and Technical, Educational Specialist, Administrative/Supervisory, LOE, CQL) per PDE's Fees and Forms schedule effective 11/12/25 — a $50 standard certification fee (capped at $50 by Act 47 of 2025) plus the separate $100 Professional Educator Discipline fee, which Act 47 did not waive. Charged inside TIMS at submission. Veterans and their spouses are exempt from both fees. Separate from this: Praxis/PECT test fees paid to the testing provider, transcript costs, and background-check clearances. Adding an endorsement is billed separately ($100). On the same PDE schedule, experience-based credentials and their add-ons are $0, but testing add-ons (Instructional I/II, Career and Technical Instructional I/II, Administrative) are $150 — add-ons are not uniformly free, so check which kind yours is.)	$100 (One-time, non-refundable $100 application fee for a first Delaware license; reimbursable upon employment in a Delaware public or charter school once the educator is fully licensed and certified)
Processing time	NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page	Not stated on the reviewed DDOE out-of-state applicant page
Licensing authority	Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality	Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

Confirm Delaware's current requirements on the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification website (linked below) — rules change.
Submit the endorsement application to the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification (application linked below).
Arrange license verification from your current state.
Hold a current and valid out-of-state license/certificate (expired licenses are not reciprocal) and apply online in the Delaware Educator Data System (DEEDS) via the EdAccess login.
Document at least one year of successful teaching experience under the out-of-state license for an Initial License by reciprocity (four years for a Continuing License).
Have official (unopened) transcripts for all degrees/coursework sent directly to the Delaware Department of Education from regionally accredited institutions.
Submit Form E (Verification of Teaching Experience) completed by the prior school/personnel office when the experience was outside a Delaware public/charter school.
Pay the fees ($100 (One-time, non-refundable $100 application fee for a first Delaware license; reimbursable upon employment in a Delaware public or charter school once the educator is fully licensed and certified)). Processing time: Not stated on the reviewed DDOE out-of-state applicant page.

Official links

Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification ↗Delaware application ↗

Frequently asked questions

Does Delaware accept a Pennsylvania teaching license?

Will I have to retake tests moving from Pennsylvania to Delaware?

Test scores are not required for a reciprocity credential - Delaware states test scores are only needed for applications that do not meet Delaware reciprocity requirements or for new (non-reciprocal) certificate applications; a holder of a current, valid out-of-state license therefore transfers without retaking Delaware's Praxis tests.

Can I teach in Delaware right away?

Not until the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) - Licensure and Certification issues your Delaware certificate, so build its processing time into your start date.

What does the Pennsylvania-to-Delaware transfer cost and how long does it take?

$100 (One-time, non-refundable $100 application fee for a first Delaware license; reimbursable upon employment in a Delaware public or charter school once the educator is fully licensed and certified). Processing time: Not stated on the reviewed DDOE out-of-state applicant page.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-01.

Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-01

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]