What Pennsylvania says
How this move starts
Pennsylvania 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.
Where the state decides
Initial teacher applicants apply in TIMS for Level I. The two-year professional-certificate path can avoid Pennsylvania content testing only when the comparable certificate, approved program with student teaching, source-state content test and two most recent satisfactory aligned years are all verified. The approved-program path otherwise requires Pennsylvania tests. Eligible compact applications are automatically reviewed under compact rules. A comparable National Board credential supports Level II and a testing waiver.
No blanket reciprocity claim
What this guide will not guess
A state pair alone cannot settle your exact credential, tests or timeline. Those answers can change with your license type, endorsements, preparation and experience. This page shows the reviewed Pennsylvania rule; the move planner uses your teaching details to narrow the checklist.
Your New Jersey record
Confirm exactly what you hold
NJEdCert is New Jersey's official home for educator licenses and credentials. Its public Educator License Search uses identity fields to find the individual record, so enter them only on the state portal.
- •Licenses and credentials available through New Jersey's official certification system
- •Active and inactive licenses associated with the educator's NJEdCert record
- •A state-controlled result rather than a copied commercial directory
Compact check
Use the regular out-of-state path
This pair is not currently a two-member compact route. Pennsylvania's out-of-state rules control.
Check compact eligibilityYour likely order
8 reviewed steps
- 01Identify the exact Pennsylvania certificate area and route
- 02Apply through TIMS for the appropriate Level I or Level II review
- 03Arrange official transcripts and approved-program verification
- 04Use PDE338A for preparation-program verification
- 05Use PDE338V for each experience record supporting a two-year exception or certificate level
- 06Submit the comparable source certificate and source-state test evidence
- 07Provide compact, National Board or NASP evidence when using one of those routes
- 08Complete any Pennsylvania testing that remains after review
What can change the answer
- 01Certificate and grade-band comparability matter
- 02The two-year content-test exception requires an aligned professional certificate, approved preparation with student teaching, the source-state content test and the two most recent satisfactory aligned years
- 03Approved-program applicants without that complete exception take the applicable Pennsylvania tests
- 04Eligible compact applications are automatically reviewed under compact rules
- 05A comparable National Board credential can support Level II and a testing waiver
The records worth gathering first
Route-specific review
Pennsylvania separately evaluates professional certificate holders with two successful years, approved-program completers with less experience, compact applicants, National Board or NASP holders and specialized routes.
Two-year test exception
Pennsylvania content testing can be avoided only when the applicant verifies a comparable professional certificate, approved preparation with student teaching, the source-state content test and the two most recent satisfactory aligned years.
Compact review
An eligible Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact application is automatically reviewed under Pennsylvania's compact rules rather than treated as the ordinary approved-program route.
National Board route
A comparable National Board credential can support a Pennsylvania Level II certificate and testing waiver; NASP credentials have their own comparable school-psychologist route.
Core evidence
The TIMS review uses official transcripts, PDE338A preparation verification, PDE338V experience verification, the out-of-state credential, source-state tests and any compact, National Board or NASP evidence for the selected route.
New Jersey to Pennsylvania questions
Does a New Jersey teaching license automatically transfer to Pennsylvania?
No. Your New Jersey credential is evidence for the application, but Pennsylvania Department of Education decides which Pennsylvania license, endorsements, tests and remaining conditions apply.
Can I use the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact from New Jersey to Pennsylvania?
This is not currently a move between two listed compact member states. Use Pennsylvania's regular out-of-state pathway unless the destination agency tells you a different route applies.
What should I gather before applying in Pennsylvania?
Start with your current New Jersey license record, exact endorsements, preparation transcripts, experience verification and test history. Then follow the evidence requests in Pennsylvania's application.
What does the TeachPassport move planner include?
It uses your credential, experience, subjects, grades and destination to prepare likely steps, reusable worksheets and official links. You can use it without an account or save the move.
Official sources
State material only