Florida Teacher Certification Renewal
Learn how to renew a Professional Educator Certification or reinstate a Professional Educator Certification in Florida
Teaching Certification Renewal
If the Florida Bureau of Educator Certification issues you a Temporary Certificate, it is valid for three school years. During this time, you must meet all the qualifications for a Professional Certificate. This involves completing all of the required FTCE tests while you are teaching full-time under the Temporary Certificate. Tests in General Knowledge, Professional Knowledge and your Subject Area(s) must all be passed. The Temporary Certificate is not renewable.
If you have passed all the required examinations and are issued a Professional Certificate, it is valid for five school years. When it comes time for renewal, request a district application form for certification renewal from your school district office. You must complete six semester hours of college credit (or the equivalent) during the renewal period for each subject area in which you are certified.
Sixty in-service points in an approved Florida master in-service program are equivalent to three semesters of college credit. A passing score on the FTCE subject test in the area in which you are certified also counts for 3 semesters of college credit. If you obtain a valid certificate from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in that subject, it will renew your Florida certificate in that subject.
Reinstatement of Certification
If your Florida teaching certificate has expired, you may apply for its reinstatement. Along with the renewal application and processing fee, you must submit documentation of completion of at least six semester hours of credit in each area in which you are certified during the past five years. You must also submit passing scores on subject area tests completed in the subjects in which you are certified during the past five years. Mail this information to Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Educator Certification, Room 201, Turlington Building, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400.
If your certificate expired more than one year ago, you will have to resubmit to the fingerprinting and criminal history background check.
