Teaching License from Pennsylvania to South Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-08 · source: South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) — Office of Educator Services ↗
A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) — Office of Educator Services, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. South Carolina accepts a valid, standard out-of-state credential that documents both completion of an approved educator preparation program recognized by the issuing state and that the issuing state's certification examination requirements were met; in that case SCDE does not require South Carolina's exams for the fields being transferred. If the applicant did not complete subject-area and pedagogy assessments as part of the licensing or certification process in another state, SCDE may require South Carolina testing and will notify the applicant. Separately, an educator issued an Initial certificate must document successful completion of a pedagogy assessment during that certificate's validity period..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The honest version of Pennsylvania to South Carolina: your Pennsylvania teaching license gets you in the door, not into the classroom on its own terms. South Carolina 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 Pennsylvania license waives South Carolina's requirements — plan them into your first year.
What changes, Pennsylvania → South Carolina
| Pennsylvania (current) | South Carolina (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | 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. | $105 ($105 non-refundable application processing fee paid online through My SC Educator Portal; the fingerprinting and criminal-records-review vendor fee is charged separately and is not published on the reciprocity pages) |
| Processing time | NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page | SCDE publishes no processing timeframe on its out-of-state or reciprocity pages — the word 'weeks' does not appear on them; SCDE states only that submitting all documentation at one time expedites processing of the application |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality | South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) — Office of Educator Services |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) — Office of Educator Services website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) — Office of Educator Services (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, valid, standard credential from another US state, the District of Columbia, or DoDEA — temporary, emergency, provisional, and conditional out-of-state credentials are not accepted for reciprocity.
- Create a My SC Educator Portal account and complete the Standard Application for Out-of-State Educators before any other step.
- Complete the SCDE fingerprinting process and criminal records review — fingerprinting completed for another state, agency, or purpose cannot be used.
- Submit official transcripts from each regionally accredited college attended, a copy of all pages of the existing out-of-state credential, and score reports for any certification exams completed.
- Submit an Experience Verification Form from each employer; at least 27 months of qualifying experience earned in the last seven school years in the state of the transferred certificate is required for a Professional rather than an Initial certificate.
- Pay the fees ($105 ($105 non-refundable application processing fee paid online through My SC Educator Portal; the fingerprinting and criminal-records-review vendor fee is charged separately and is not published on the reciprocity pages)) and allow SCDE publishes no processing timeframe on its out-of-state or reciprocity pages — the word 'weeks' does not appear on them; SCDE states only that submitting all documentation at one time expedites processing of the application.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does South Carolina accept a Pennsylvania teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) — Office of Educator Services, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. South Carolina accepts a valid, standard out-of-state credential that documents both completion of an approved educator preparation program recognized by the issuing state and that the issuing state's certification examination requirements were met; in that case SCDE does not require South Carolina's exams for the fields being transferred. If the applicant did not complete subject-area and pedagogy assessments as part of the licensing or certification process in another state, SCDE may require South Carolina testing and will notify the applicant. Separately, an educator issued an Initial certificate must document successful completion of a pedagogy assessment during that certificate's validity period..
Will I have to retake tests moving from Pennsylvania to South Carolina?
South Carolina accepts a valid, standard out-of-state credential that documents both completion of an approved educator preparation program recognized by the issuing state and that the issuing state's certification examination requirements were met; in that case SCDE does not require South Carolina's exams for the fields being transferred. If the applicant did not complete subject-area and pedagogy assessments as part of the licensing or certification process in another state, SCDE may require South Carolina testing and will notify the applicant. Separately, an educator issued an Initial certificate must document successful completion of a pedagogy assessment during that certificate's validity period.. Holding a Pennsylvania license does not by itself waive South Carolina's tests — experience or National Board certification is what typically does.
Can I teach in South Carolina right away?
Generally yes on a provisional or one-year South Carolina certificate issued while you complete its requirements; districts hire on that credential.
What does the Pennsylvania-to-South Carolina transfer cost and how long does it take?
$105 ($105 non-refundable application processing fee paid online through My SC Educator Portal; the fingerprinting and criminal-records-review vendor fee is charged separately and is not published on the reciprocity pages); processing SCDE publishes no processing timeframe on its out-of-state or reciprocity pages — the word 'weeks' does not appear on them; SCDE states only that submitting all documentation at one time expedites processing of the application.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-08.
- SCDE — Out-of-State Educators / Reciprocity (NASDTEC Interstate Agreement; eligible credential requirements; $105 fee; application procedures; Initial vs Professional certificate and the 27-month experience threshold; pedagogy assessment during Initial validity) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- SCDE — Application Checklist: Out-of-State Educators ($105 non-refundable processing fee; My SC Educator Portal steps; fingerprint card request for out-of-state applicants) [PDF served at this URL] ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- SCDE — Questions Regarding the South Carolina Certificate Issued by Reciprocity (30-day window to dispute an issued certificate; 90-day window to submit additional experience for a Professional certificate) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Pennsylvania Department of Education — Out-of-State Educators (TIMS application, transcripts, test-score reporting, PDE338V/PDE338A forms, citizenship requirement) ↗ (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]