Register 02Destination statesOfficial sources

State-by-state teacher reciprocity

Teacher license reciprocity by state

Choose where you want to teach. Each guide explains the state’s route for licensed out-of-state teachers, the usual application steps and the details that can change your answer.

New to the term? See what teacher license reciprocity actually means.

Checking the license you already hold? Use the official teacher certification lookup directory.

51 destination guides Official agency sources Requirements kept under review

Reciprocity is a route, not an automatic transfer

You normally apply for a new credential from the destination state. Your current license, preparation, experience, endorsements and test history help that state decide which route and license level fit.

Which states have “full” reciprocity? The label leaves out important conditions.

Every guide shows you

• The state’s usual out-of-state pathway
• Conditions that can change the credential
• Application steps and expected evidence
• Direct official links and review dates

Find your destination

Search by state or narrow the list by region. Each guide links directly to the licensing agency sources behind it.

Showing 51 of 51 destination guides

01ALAlabamaAlabama's certificate-reciprocity route recognizes a valid professional out-of-state teaching certificate when Alabama offers a comparable area, grade span and degree level.How to transfer your license to Alabama 02AKAlaskaAlaska separates newer educators from experienced holders of a regular out-of-state certificate, with a two-year experience threshold for the Professional Out-of-State Teacher Certificate.How to transfer your license to Alaska 03AZArizonaArizona may issue a comparable standard certificate to a teacher with a valid, comparable out-of-state certificate in good standing.How to transfer your license to Arizona 04ARArkansasArkansas evaluates an out-of-state teaching license under its reciprocity rules rather than exchanging it automatically, with credential type, recent good standing, tests and field-specific requirements controlling the result.How to transfer your license to Arkansas 05CACaliforniaCalifornia has separate out-of-state pathways for Multiple Subject, Single Subject and Education Specialist credentials, with distinct experience and National Board branches.How to transfer your license to California 06COColoradoColorado evaluates out-of-state preparation, content knowledge, licenses and recent fully licensed experience for a first Colorado teacher license and requested endorsements.How to transfer your license to Colorado 07CTConnecticutConnecticut gives fully licensed educators from its named enhanced-reciprocity jurisdictions a streamlined path to a comparable ten-year Initial Educator Certificate, while educators from other states use preparation, experience and assessment review.How to transfer your license to Connecticut 08DEDelawareDelaware issues both a license and at least one subject certificate, using a full current out-of-state credential and verified licensed experience to choose the Initial, Continuing or Advanced license level.How to transfer your license to Delaware 09DCDistrict of ColumbiaD.C. can use an active full out-of-state credential without deficiencies for reciprocity on the applicant's first D.C. credential application, mapping it to a comparable Standard Teacher Credential.How to transfer your license to District of Columbia 10FLFloridaFlorida provides routes based on a valid comparable standard out-of-state certificate or a valid National Board certificate.How to transfer your license to Florida 11GAGeorgiaGeorgia uses interstate reciprocity to evaluate a comparable out-of-state professional certificate, preparation, degree, experience and special Georgia requirements.How to transfer your license to Georgia 12HIHawaiiHawaiʻi assigns Provisional, Standard or Advanced licensure by documented recent full-time P-12 teaching experience, and it independently reviews whether an out-of-state credential has a Hawaiʻi equivalent.How to transfer your license to Hawaii 13IDIdahoIdaho accepts a current valid out-of-state certificate based on a fully completed approved program, or a recent institutional recommendation from a CAEP- or AAQEP-accredited program.How to transfer your license to Idaho 14ILIllinoisIllinois evaluates a valid comparable out-of-state teaching license for a Professional Educator License and comparable endorsements.How to transfer your license to Illinois 15INIndianaIndiana evaluates a valid out-of-state license and approved out-of-state preparation, then either issues the aligned license or uses a one-year reciprocal permit while specified testing or coursework deficiencies are completed.How to transfer your license to Indiana 16IAIowaIowa offers full reciprocity review to educators with complete approved preparation and a regular source license, while experience and any identified coursework deficiencies determine the issued license tier.How to transfer your license to Iowa 17KSKansasKansas evaluates a current standard out-of-state license, matching endorsements, approved preparation, content testing and recent teaching experience for initial Kansas licensure.How to transfer your license to Kansas 18KYKentuckyKentucky uses a streamlined compact route for eligible educators with current licenses from participating states. Other out-of-state-prepared applicants follow Kentucky's preparation, academic and recency rules; two years of aligned full-time classroom experience can replace Kentucky's Praxis requirements.How to transfer your license to Kentucky 19LALouisianaLouisiana uses a three-year nonrenewable Out-of-State certificate when aligned Praxis requirements remain, while completed exams and verified experience can support renewable Level 1, 2 or 3 certification.How to transfer your license to Louisiana 20MEMaineMaine can issue a five-year Reciprocal Professional Certificate to an applicant with a comparable out-of-state certificate and Maine criminal-history clearance when the route addresses an identified staffing shortage.How to transfer your license to Maine 21MDMarylandMaryland has an initial-licensure pathway for teachers with a bachelor's degree and a valid out-of-state professional license in the area sought, plus Maryland's applicable reading and performance evidence.How to transfer your license to Maryland 22MAMassachusettsMassachusetts can issue an experienced out-of-state teacher a one-year Temporary License while Massachusetts testing remains outstanding, while other license types require their own field-specific evaluation.How to transfer your license to Massachusetts 23MIMichiganMichigan evaluates out-of-state preparation, certificate alignment, successful teaching and literacy coursework for a five-year Standard or Professional certificate, with a one-year Temporary bridge when specific requirements remain.How to transfer your license to Michigan 24MNMinnesotaMinnesota places out-of-state teachers into Tier 2, Tier 3 or Tier 4 based on degree, preparation and student teaching, professional licensure, aligned experience, testing and—at Tier 2—a Minnesota job offer.How to transfer your license to Minnesota 25MSMississippiMississippi grants a five-year standard reciprocity license for a valid standard renewable out-of-state license with comparable endorsements, while some less-than-standard credentials can be evaluated for a two-year provisional route.How to transfer your license to Mississippi 26MOMissouriMissouri can grant a comparable certificate to an applicant with a valid professional out-of-state teaching certificate, usually without additional coursework or testing when the certification area aligns.How to transfer your license to Missouri 27MTMontanaMontana does not exchange out-of-state licenses automatically; it evaluates degree, approved preparation, supervised teaching and one of four competency pathways for a Class 2 Standard license.How to transfer your license to Montana 28NENebraskaNebraska now uses reciprocity for a valid, unencumbered regular out-of-state teaching certificate obtained through a completed educator preparation program.How to transfer your license to Nebraska 29NVNevadaNevada's reciprocity regulation uses a qualifying full out-of-state license, aligned field and grade level, and at least three of the previous five years of comparable successful teaching.How to transfer your license to Nevada 30NHNew HampshireNew Hampshire recognizes recently completed out-of-state preparation and separately offers a demonstrated-competency path for experienced holders of comparable out-of-state endorsements.How to transfer your license to New Hampshire 31NJNew JerseyNew Jersey maps an out-of-state instructional credential to an equivalent certificate type, subject and grade level, with experience and testing determining whether the result is a Standard certificate or a CEAS pathway.How to transfer your license to New Jersey 32NMNew MexicoNew Mexico assigns reciprocal license level primarily by verified teaching experience under a standard license, with additional degree, preparation, testing and endorsement evidence.How to transfer your license to New Mexico 33NYNew YorkNew York separates experienced out-of-state applicants from applicants relying on completion of an out-of-state preparation program.How to transfer your license to New York 34NCNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina accepts applications from out-of-state educators and evaluates preparation, license areas, assessments and verified experience.How to transfer your license to North Carolina 35NDNorth DakotaNorth Dakota offers an Other State Educator License to a valid source-license holder who completed accredited preparation with student teaching, and a separate time-limited reciprocal route when no source license is held.How to transfer your license to North Dakota 36OHOhioOhio has both a general substantially-similar out-of-state occupational-license framework and an employer-requested one-year educator license for otherwise prepared teachers who still need the Ohio examination.How to transfer your license to Ohio 37OKOklahomaOklahoma accepts a completed out-of-state preparation program and a Standard, Professional or equivalent source certificate when Oklahoma offers a comparable certification area.How to transfer your license to Oklahoma 38OROregonOregon's Reciprocal Teaching License gives an educator with active non-provisional out-of-state licensure and completed preparation a one-year transition into the Oregon licensing system.How to transfer your license to Oregon 39PAPennsylvaniaPennsylvania separates applicants with a professional source certificate and two successful years, approved out-of-state preparation with less experience, an eligible Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact certificate, a comparable National Board or NASP credential, and specialized administrative, career and technical, international and military routes.How to transfer your license to Pennsylvania 40RIRhode IslandRhode Island recognizes completed state-approved out-of-state preparation or a valid current full source certificate when a comparable grade span and content area exists. Qualifying certificate holders and approved-program completers from its 24 Inter-State Flexibility jurisdictions are exempt from Rhode Island testing and experience requirements.How to transfer your license to Rhode Island 41SCSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina reciprocates a current, valid, good-standing standard out-of-state certificate based on comparable fields and recent qualifying experience, with Initial and Professional outcomes separated at twenty-seven months in the last seven years.How to transfer your license to South Carolina 42SDSouth DakotaSouth Dakota reciprocity recognizes completed approved out-of-state preparation leading to a valid educator certificate, subject to source-agency discipline verification and a South Dakota Indian studies requirement.How to transfer your license to South Dakota 43TNTennesseeTennessee can issue an equivalent six-year Professional license to a teacher with a full, valid and continuously renewable professional out-of-state license; initial-level credentials use a separate three-year Practitioner pathway.How to transfer your license to Tennessee 44TXTexasTexas requires a Review of Credentials rather than automatic reciprocity for an out-of-state standard certificate.How to transfer your license to Texas 45UTUtahUtah uses a License Equivalency Review for an educator with a bachelor's degree, completed preparation and a standard renewable source license, with a compact route for eligible member-state professionals.How to transfer your license to Utah 46VTVermontVermont issues a comparable Level I Professional Educator License to a qualifying professional-license holder from a participating NASDTEC jurisdiction, while other cases use transcript review.How to transfer your license to Vermont 47VAVirginiaVirginia has traditional reciprocity and a universal reciprocity route for certain fully licensed teachers with qualifying experience.How to transfer your license to Virginia 48WAWashingtonWashington offers Residency and Professional teacher certificates, with separate out-of-state pathways based on preparation, full certification, experience, advanced certification and National Board status.How to transfer your license to Washington 49WVWest VirginiaWest Virginia provides a reciprocity application for a teacher who holds a valid out-of-state public-school license and can document the credential and official academic record.How to transfer your license to West Virginia 50WIWisconsinWisconsin separates experienced license holders from out-of-state program completers: one year of licensed teaching can unlock the streamlined reciprocity application, while less-experienced applicants receive a preparation-and-testing review.How to transfer your license to Wisconsin 51WYWyomingWyoming recognizes an out-of-state license when its preparation, supervised teaching and testing standards are equivalent, with a separate experience rule for alternative-route credentials.How to transfer your license to Wyoming

Need a route shaped around your license? Plan a move.