Starting point
Does South Carolina accept out-of-state teaching licenses?
An out-of-state license can open a path to South Carolina certification, but it does not transfer automatically. The state decides which certificate, endorsements, tests or additional requirements apply.
Your exact route can still depend on your license type, preparation, experience, subjects, grade levels and testing history.
How teacher license reciprocity works · Look up your current license
Keep your place
Your South Carolina application checklist
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What can change your path
- • The source credential must be current, valid, standard and in good standing; temporary, emergency, provisional and conditional credentials are not accepted for reciprocity
- • Alternative-route educators must have advanced to the source state's standard certificate
- • South Carolina determines comparable fields and grade spans
- • The Initial certificate is nonrenewable and carries advancement requirements
What the state says
2 official sources
These facts come from official sources. The state agency still makes the final licensing decision.
Experience threshold
A qualified out-of-state educator with less than twenty-seven months of qualifying recent experience is generally issued an Initial certificate; at least twenty-seven months in the last seven years can support a Professional certificate.
Prior exams are evaluated
Applicants submit prior certification-exam evidence; if subject and pedagogy assessments were not completed for the source credential, SCDE may require South Carolina testing.
Core evidence
The application requires South Carolina fingerprints, official transcripts, the complete valid out-of-state credential, prior score reports and employer-completed experience forms.
Published application fee
SCDE lists a non-refundable $105 application processing fee, separate from fingerprinting or document-delivery costs; confirm the amount when filing.
State certification help
3 guides
Why your details matter
State websites describe the possible routes. The right one for you can depend on your license, preparation, experience, subjects, grades, tests, National Board status and compact eligibility. TeachPassport uses those details to work out your path and handle the steps it can do for you.
One thing to know: Less than twenty-seven months of qualifying experience in the last seven years generally leads to an Initial certificate; at least twenty-seven months can support a Professional certificate, while National Board certification can independently support the Professional level.
Plan the whole move
Questions to answer before you apply
The application is only one part of the move. Check the costs, timing and records that can hold up an otherwise complete file.
Common license moves to South Carolina
1 routes
Official sources
State agency material