Teaching Certificate Placeholder Guidelines

Back

To ensure that the documents attached to your application are the best quality possible, we advise all applicants to print and read the guidelines below.

1. Do not send out-of-state teaching certificates, emergency certificates, or printouts from the PA Department of Education website. They will not be added to your credentials file.



2. You may use a placeholder until you receive your certificate if:
   
   
   1. you are completing or have just completed your final semester of coursework at a Pennsylvania college or university and are eligible to receive your PA professional public school certificate,
   2. you are graduating from a college or university outside Pennsylvania and are completing your final semester of coursework, or
   3. you are a veteran teacher or administrator who does not possess a Pennsylvania professional public school certificate and are applying for PA certification.
      
      
3. The only document that PA-Educator.net will accept as a placeholder is a PLACEHOLDER LETTER. The letter must be typewritten, signed by you, and contain the following information:


• The date,
• Your name,
• Your Social Security Number,
• The college/university in which you are enrolled and your expected graduation date
            OR
  The number of years you have been teaching and the name(s) and location(s) of the districts and/or regional education service agencies (RESAs) where you have been employed,
• That you will be applying to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for Pennsylvania professional public school certification in [specify your certification area(s)], and
• Your signature.


4. Out-of-state applicants can get more information about obtaining a Pennsylvania professional public school certification by following the links on the PA Certification and Testing area of this site.