Teaching License from Pennsylvania to West Virginia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to West Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) - Office of Certification, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet West Virginia's endorsement requirements. The route depends on the form. Form 20R (reciprocity) is for an applicant who already holds a valid, renewable out-of-state professional teaching certificate equivalent to the West Virginia Professional Teaching Certificate; WVDE's published Form 20R conditions are the equivalent certificate, GPA, citizenship and recommendation items and do not list West Virginia examinations. Form 20A (out-of-state program completer, no out-of-state certificate) expressly requires passing all WVBE-required exams for the certificate and endorsement sought.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Moving from Pennsylvania to West Virginia is an application, not a transfer: West Virginia reviews your Pennsylvania certificate and issues a West Virginia certificate of its own. The tests and requirements below are what West Virginia still asks — gather them before you apply, because gaps are what slow a review.
What changes, Pennsylvania → West Virginia
| Pennsylvania (current) | West Virginia (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.) | WVDE does not publish the Form 20R (reciprocity) fee on any page reachable on 2026-08-07 - wvde.us returns HTTP 403 to automated requests and the fee sentence does not appear in official-domain search results for that form. For calibration, the parallel out-of-state route Form 20A is stated at 100 USD, and several unrelated WV forms (20T, 20WV, 28) are stated at 35 USD, so the 20R amount cannot be inferred safely. Fingerprinting is 47.25 USD paid directly to IdentoGo and is not submitted with the application |
| Processing time | NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page | WVDE publishes no numeric processing range; the Office of Certification does not begin processing until the online payment clears |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality | West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) - Office of Certification |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — West Virginia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm West Virginia's current requirements on the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) - Office of Certification website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) - Office of Certification (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Apply through the WVDE Certification Portal on Form 20R if you hold a valid renewable out-of-state professional teaching certificate, or Form 20A if you only completed an out-of-state preparation program.
- Meet the minimum cumulative GPA - 2.5 for a bachelor's degree or 3.0 for a master's degree.
- Be a U.S. citizen or hold eligible documentation.
- Obtain a county superintendent recommendation if employed by a West Virginia county school system, or submit Form 4B if not.
- Complete a fingerprint-based state and federal background check through IdentoGo.
- Pay the non-refundable application fee online through the Certification Portal.
- Pay the fees (WVDE does not publish the Form 20R (reciprocity) fee on any page reachable on 2026-08-07 - wvde.us returns HTTP 403 to automated requests and the fee sentence does not appear in official-domain search results for that form. For calibration, the parallel out-of-state route Form 20A is stated at 100 USD, and several unrelated WV forms (20T, 20WV, 28) are stated at 35 USD, so the 20R amount cannot be inferred safely. Fingerprinting is 47.25 USD paid directly to IdentoGo and is not submitted with the application). Processing time: WVDE publishes no numeric processing range; the Office of Certification does not begin processing until the online payment clears.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does West Virginia accept a Pennsylvania teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from Pennsylvania to West Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) - Office of Certification, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet West Virginia's endorsement requirements. The route depends on the form. Form 20R (reciprocity) is for an applicant who already holds a valid, renewable out-of-state professional teaching certificate equivalent to the West Virginia Professional Teaching Certificate; WVDE's published Form 20R conditions are the equivalent certificate, GPA, citizenship and recommendation items and do not list West Virginia examinations. Form 20A (out-of-state program completer, no out-of-state certificate) expressly requires passing all WVBE-required exams for the certificate and endorsement sought.
Will I have to retake tests moving from Pennsylvania to West Virginia?
The route depends on the form. Form 20R (reciprocity) is for an applicant who already holds a valid, renewable out-of-state professional teaching certificate equivalent to the West Virginia Professional Teaching Certificate; WVDE's published Form 20R conditions are the equivalent certificate, GPA, citizenship and recommendation items and do not list West Virginia examinations. Form 20A (out-of-state program completer, no out-of-state certificate) expressly requires passing all WVBE-required exams for the certificate and endorsement sought.
Can I teach in West Virginia right away?
Not until the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) - Office of Certification issues your West Virginia certificate, so build its processing time into your start date.
What does the Pennsylvania-to-West Virginia transfer cost and how long does it take?
WVDE does not publish the Form 20R (reciprocity) fee on any page reachable on 2026-08-07 - wvde.us returns HTTP 403 to automated requests and the fee sentence does not appear in official-domain search results for that form. For calibration, the parallel out-of-state route Form 20A is stated at 100 USD, and several unrelated WV forms (20T, 20WV, 28) are stated at 35 USD, so the 20R amount cannot be inferred safely. Fingerprinting is 47.25 USD paid directly to IdentoGo and is not submitted with the application. Processing time: WVDE publishes no numeric processing range; the Office of Certification does not begin processing until the online payment clears.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-01.
- WVDE - Professional Teaching Certificate (Reciprocity from Out-of-State), Form 20R - valid out-of-state professional certificate, GPA 2.5/3.0, superintendent recommendation or Form 4B, certificate valid three years ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WVDE - Professional Teaching Certificate (Out-of-State), Form 20A - 100 USD application fee; must pass all WVBE-required exams ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WVDE - Out-of-State Teachers (chooses between Form 20R and Form 20A) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WVDE - Certification Application Process (fees non-refundable, online payment only; IdentoGo fingerprinting 47.25 USD paid directly) ↗ (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)
- 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]