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National Board Certification » Eligibility & Certification

Eligibility & Certification

There are distinct eligibility requirements when seeking initial National Board Certification compared to maintaining an existing certificate. Applicants for initial certification must meet education, licensure, and teaching experience criteria before and during the candidacy process, while maintenance of certification (renewal) requires candidates to hold a valid, unencumbered teaching license and a current or recently expired National Board certificate, among other renewal-specific criteria.
 

Initial Certification Eligibility Requirement

  1. Candidates must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
  2. Candidates must hold a valid state teaching license or meet the licensure requirements established by their state.
  3. Candidates must have successfully completed three years of teaching at one or more early childhood, elementary, middle, or secondary school to achieve Board certification. 
  4. World Language candidates: ACTFL language proficiency requirement.
 

Maintenance of Certificate Eligibility Requirement

  1. Ensure your initial or renewal National Board certificate is valid.
  2. Ensure your state teaching license is current and unencumbered (e.g., not suspended or revoked), and
  3. Ensure you are entering the year before or the year that your current certificate expires.

 

Certificate Areas

There are 25 available certificate areas in 16 different disciplines, and four developmental levels that are applicable to most teachers in the U.S. public schools.  For more information about eligibility requirements and specific certificate areas visit nbpts.org