Teaching License from Pennsylvania to Kansas: Does It Transfer? (2026)
A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to Kansas by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) - Teacher Licensure, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Kansas's endorsement requirements. Kansas content and pedagogy assessment requirements apply to out-of-state applicants but may be exempted by accepting the applicant's out-of-state test scores or verified teaching experience; where requirements remain outstanding, an Out-of-State Provisional license is available while they are completed.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The honest version of Pennsylvania to Kansas: your Pennsylvania teaching license gets you in the door, not a Kansas license on its own terms. Kansas reviews your credential and, if you still owe its requirements, can issue an Out-of-State Provisional license so you can teach while you complete them. Plan those requirements into your first year.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Kansas
| Pennsylvania (current) | Kansas (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.) | KSDE assesses a nonrefundable application processing fee in KLAS; a fixed amount was not published on the reviewed pages; fingerprinting is additional for first-time out-of-state applicants |
| Processing time | NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page | Not stated on the reviewed KSDE pages |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality | Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) - Teacher Licensure |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Kansas sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Kansas's current requirements on the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) - Teacher Licensure website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) - Teacher Licensure (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a valid full or standard out-of-state teaching license issued after completing a state-approved preparation program.
- Hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution and have completed a teacher preparation program.
- Meet the 'recency' requirement - teaching experience and/or college credit within the last six years.
- Submit the Form 2 Initial Out-of-State application with a fingerprint card through the Kansas Licensure Applications System (KLAS).
- Pay the fees (KSDE assesses a nonrefundable application processing fee in KLAS; a fixed amount was not published on the reviewed pages; fingerprinting is additional for first-time out-of-state applicants). Processing time: Not stated on the reviewed KSDE pages.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Kansas accept a Pennsylvania teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to Kansas by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) - Teacher Licensure, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Kansas's endorsement requirements. Kansas content and pedagogy assessment requirements apply to out-of-state applicants but may be exempted by accepting the applicant's out-of-state test scores or verified teaching experience; where requirements remain outstanding, an Out-of-State Provisional license is available while they are completed.
Will I have to retake tests moving from Pennsylvania to Kansas?
Kansas content and pedagogy assessment requirements apply to out-of-state applicants but may be exempted by accepting the applicant's out-of-state test scores or verified teaching experience; where requirements remain outstanding, an Out-of-State Provisional license is available while they are completed.
Can I teach in Kansas right away?
Possibly. Kansas can issue an Out-of-State Provisional license so you can teach while you complete its remaining requirements; ask the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) - Teacher Licensure whether you qualify for it.
What does the Pennsylvania-to-Kansas transfer cost and how long does it take?
KSDE assesses a nonrefundable application processing fee in KLAS; a fixed amount was not published on the reviewed pages; fingerprinting is additional for first-time out-of-state applicants. Processing time: Not stated on the reviewed KSDE pages.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-01.
- KSDE - License Information and Applications (KLAS; license structure and content assessments) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Pennsylvania Department of Education — Out-of-State Educators (TIMS application, transcripts, test-score reporting, PDE338V/PDE338A forms, citizenship requirement) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-08)
- Pennsylvania Department of Education — Certification Fees and Forms (fee schedule effective 11/12/25: out-of-state new credential $50 standard + $100 Professional Educator Discipline fee = $150; veteran/spouse exemption) ↗ (accessed 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]