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

Last verified: 2026-09-01 · 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 out-of-state certificate and issues a Pennsylvania certificate of its own; the tests and requirements below are what Pennsylvania still asks. 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.).

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

The framing that matters for Pennsylvania: you are applying for a Pennsylvania certificate, not carrying yours across. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality issues its own certificate on review of your out-of-state one, so the work is to have every document and test score it asks for ready when you apply — gaps are what slow a review. The requirements below are Pennsylvania's list.

'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 2026-09-01
Exam	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
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
Fees	$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.)
Processing time	NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page

Step by step

Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality website — rules change.
Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality (application linked on this page).
Arrange license verification from your current state.
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.
Pay the fees ($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.)). Processing time: 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:

All 50 origin states

Nearby states

Teaching license transfer into the states bordering Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania for other professions

Frequently asked questions

Does my teaching license transfer to Pennsylvania?

Is teaching reciprocity automatic in Pennsylvania?

No. Pennsylvania reviews your out-of-state certificate and issues its own; 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?

$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.) Processing time: 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 2026-09-01.

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

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