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LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Teaching License to Pennsylvania: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-08 · source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality ↗

A Pennsylvania teaching license is not automatically exchanged for your out-of-state one. Under the NASDTEC agreement, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality reviews your credential, issues a provisional certificate so you can start teaching, and requires its exams and any missing coursework within a set window before the full license. 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..

Moving to Pennsylvania from a specific state?

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

The framing that saves relocating teachers real trouble: Pennsylvania is giving you a runway, not a transfer. The provisional credential lets you take a classroom immediately, but the clock on Pennsylvania's tests and coursework starts with it. Map the requirements below to a timeline the day you accept a position — the deadline inside your provisional window is the thing that trips people, not the difficulty of any single requirement.

'Reciprocity' is a misnomer — Pennsylvania does not auto-exchange a license. PDE reviews out-of-state preparation and certification and issues its own Instructional I certificate through one of several pathways. The trap for transferring teachers is testing: Pennsylvania accepts an out-of-state test only when the provider, test name, AND test code match its own posted list exactly, with no substitutions — so a teacher who passed a differently-coded equivalent exam elsewhere will usually have to sit Pennsylvania's version, unless they can instead document two or more years of satisfactory experience on Form PDE338V.

Pennsylvania requirements at a glance

Out-of-state teaching certificate transfer requirements for Pennsylvania, verified 2026-08-08
ExamPennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V
Additional requirements
  • Complete and submit the application through TIMS (Teacher Information Management System)
  • Send official transcripts for the bachelor's degree and all subsequent study
  • Have required content-area test scores reported to PDE directly by the testing provider
  • Submit a photocopy of the valid out-of-state certificate
  • Submit the Verification of Experience Form (PDE338V) with two or more years of experience, or the Educator Preparation Program Verification Form (PDE338A) where an approved program was completed
  • Be a U.S. citizen or otherwise legally authorized to work in the United States
FeesNOT 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.
Processing timeNOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page

Step by step

  1. Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Complete and submit the application through TIMS (Teacher Information Management System).
  5. Send official transcripts for the bachelor's degree and all subsequent study.
  6. Have required content-area test scores reported to PDE directly by the testing provider.
  7. Submit a photocopy of the valid out-of-state certificate.
  8. Submit the Verification of Experience Form (PDE338V) with two or more years of experience, or the Educator Preparation Program Verification Form (PDE338A) where an approved program was completed.
  9. Be a U.S. citizen or otherwise legally authorized to work in the United States.
  10. Pay the fees (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.) and allow NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page.

Official links

Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality ↗Pennsylvania application ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Pennsylvania:

Alabama → PennsylvaniaAlaska → PennsylvaniaArizona → PennsylvaniaArkansas → PennsylvaniaCalifornia → PennsylvaniaColorado → PennsylvaniaConnecticut → PennsylvaniaDelaware → PennsylvaniaDistrict of Columbia → PennsylvaniaFlorida → PennsylvaniaGeorgia → PennsylvaniaHawaii → PennsylvaniaIdaho → PennsylvaniaIllinois → PennsylvaniaIndiana → PennsylvaniaIowa → PennsylvaniaKansas → PennsylvaniaKentucky → PennsylvaniaLouisiana → PennsylvaniaMaine → Pennsylvania
All 50 origin states
Maryland → PennsylvaniaMassachusetts → PennsylvaniaMichigan → PennsylvaniaMinnesota → PennsylvaniaMississippi → PennsylvaniaMissouri → PennsylvaniaMontana → PennsylvaniaNebraska → PennsylvaniaNevada → PennsylvaniaNew Hampshire → PennsylvaniaNew Jersey → PennsylvaniaNew Mexico → PennsylvaniaNew York → PennsylvaniaNorth Carolina → PennsylvaniaNorth Dakota → PennsylvaniaOhio → PennsylvaniaOklahoma → PennsylvaniaOregon → PennsylvaniaRhode Island → PennsylvaniaSouth Carolina → PennsylvaniaSouth Dakota → PennsylvaniaTennessee → PennsylvaniaTexas → PennsylvaniaUtah → PennsylvaniaVermont → PennsylvaniaVirginia → PennsylvaniaWashington → PennsylvaniaWest Virginia → PennsylvaniaWisconsin → PennsylvaniaWyoming → Pennsylvania

Frequently asked questions

Does my teaching license transfer to Pennsylvania?

A Pennsylvania teaching license is not automatically exchanged for your out-of-state one. Under the NASDTEC agreement, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality reviews your credential, issues a provisional certificate so you can start teaching, and requires its exams and any missing coursework within a set window before the full license. 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..

Is teaching reciprocity automatic in Pennsylvania?

No. Pennsylvania reviews your out-of-state credential and issues a provisional certificate; you complete its tests and coursework within a set window before the full license. It is the right to apply, not an instant swap.

What tests or requirements does Pennsylvania add?

Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V.

What does a Pennsylvania out-of-state teaching certificate cost and how long does it take?

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.; processing NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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]