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Out-of-State Credential Holders (Reciprocity)

Applicants for a District of Columbia educator credential who hold an active full credential or license issued in another US state or territory may qualify for issuance of a DC credential based upon reciprocity. Reciprocity may only be applied during the applicant’s first application for a DC educator credential. Any subsequent issuances of DC educator credentials must be based upon satisfactory completion of District of Columbia-specific requirements.

Applicants who hold an active, full credential or license without deficiencies from another US state or territory may follow the below pathways to earn their DC educator credential.

  1. Credential holder in Another State Pathway: Applicant has completed an approved program or an approved sequence of coursework required in the other state to obtain a standard or professional credential. Additionally, applicants must provide passing scores for comparable licensing exams necessary to obtain their credential in another US state or territory. Any applicant who is not able to provide passing scores for comparable licensing exams from another US state or territory must present passing scores for the prescribed District of Columbia exams prior to earning a full DC credential in the applicable area. In order to be considered “comparable,” a candidate must demonstrate achievement of a passing score for each individual section of the exam that best corresponds to the required DC exam for a specific credential. For classroom teacher credentials, basic skills (reading, writing and mathematics), subject content and pedagogy exams are required. For school service providers and school principal credentials, subject content exam(s) in the specialty area is required. Visit the OSSE website for more information regarding required exams.

Required documents:

  • A copy of your active standard or professional educator credential(s) held in another state.
  • An Identity History Summary Check (IHSC) issued by the FBI or an approved FBI channeler agency. Applicants currently employed with DC Public Schools (DCPS) should contact [email protected] to ensure that their central office has made his/her clearance information available to OSSE electronically.
  • Official transcripts from institutions where you completed degrees earned and coursework required for the credential. Applicants with degrees and studies from institutions outside of the US must submit a foreign credential evaluation report issued by an approved evaluation agency.
  • Test scores for exam(s) passed for the state where the credential is held or test scores for the prescribed District of Columbia exams required for the credential being sought.
  • If you completed an alternative educator preparation program to obtain your credential, you must also submit a Program Completion Verification Form that has been signed by the verifying certification officer of the program.
  1. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Pathway: Applicant holds an active national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in a subject area and grade level comparable to the area of the DC credential sought. DC educator credentialing exams are not required under this pathway.

Required documents to submit:

  • A copy of your active NPBTS credential.
  • A copy of your active full educator credential(s) held in another state.
  • An Identity History Summary Check (IHSC) issued by the FBI or an approved FBI channeler agency. Applicants currently employed with DC Public Schools (DCPS) should contact [email protected] to ensure that their central office has made his/her clearance information available to OSSE electronically.
  • Official transcripts from institution(s) where you completed degrees and coursework required for the credential. Applicants with degrees and studies from institutions outside of the US must submit a foreign credential evaluation report issued by an approved evaluation agency.

Preparing to submit an application:

  1. Collect all required documents.
  1. Contact each institution or agency that is responsible for issuing official copies of required documents to request that the documents be sent to you by mail or email. If the issuing entity will only send official electronic documents directly to another agency, you may direct them to send the document to OSSE at [email protected]. Upon receipt, our office will attach the document to your application.
  2. If you have physical, paper-based documents, scan all pages of the document as a complete PDF file (in the mailer). If a secured authenticated PDF document is issued, upload that document to the OSSE licensure system. Please know that the OSSE licensure system will not accept “Jpg,” “tiff” or “png” files. To avoid processing delays and potential rejection, be sure to attach complete, full page images of the entire document as sent from the issuing entity.
  1. Scan all required documents as complete PDF files and upload them to your online application at the time of submission
  1. Submit your application. A non-refundable application processing fee of $50 is required for each credential area being renewed. Note that incomplete applications received will be rejected and the processing fee(s) forfeited.

Out-of-State Credential Holders (Reciprocity)