Teaching Certification Renewal

When you receive your Provisional Teaching Certificate in Michigan, it is valid for six years. During that time, you are expected to complete the following requirements to become qualified for your Professional Education Certificate:

• Complete the New Teacher Induction/Teacher Mentoring program, which is a cooperative between your school district and the Michigan Department of Education
• Complete 18 semester hours at a Michigan college/university teacher preparation program beyond the highest degree you have (i.e., if you have a bachelor’s degree, beyond the bachelor’s level; if you have a master’s degree, beyond the master’s level)
• If you complete these credits at a school outside of Michigan, it must be at the master’s level at a regionally accredited school that offers teacher preparation programs
• Have at least three years of teaching experience under your Provisional Teaching Certificate
• Meet the state’s reading requirements
• If you are certified in elementary education: 6 semester hours of teaching reading or reading methods
• If you are certified in secondary education: 3 semester hours of teaching reading or reading methods
• Complete three semester hours of reading diagnostics and remediation, including a field experience
• If you complete this course out-of-state, you must have a Reading Diagnostics Course Certification form signed by that college/university

Apply for your Professional Education Certificate via the Michigan Online Education Certification System (MOECS). Once you receive the Professional Education Certificate, it is valid for five years. To renew this certificate, you must fulfill the following qualifications:

• Complete six semester hours at an approved Michigan college/university listed in the Directory of Michigan Institutions of Higher Education; or
• Complete 18 State Board Continuing Education Credits; or
• Complete a combination of 1 and 2

(Credits must have been completed within the five years preceding renewal)

You may apply for renewal of your Professional Education Certificate anytime within the calendar year that your certificate expires using the Michigan Online Education Certification System (MOECS).

Reinstatement of Certification

If your Michigan Provisional Teaching Certificate has expired, but you hold a valid teaching certificate from another state and you have taught within the grade/subject level listed on your certificate for at least one of the past five years, you are eligible for a three-year renewal of certification.

If you have an expired Professional Education Certificate, and you have not been employed for at least three years during the time your certificate was active, you are still eligible to renew it if you meet the qualifications listed above.