Certificate Types and Requirements

Florida offers two types of Educator Certificates: the Temporary Certificate and the Professional Certificate.

The Professional Certificate The Temporary Certificate Valid for five school years Valid for five school years Nonrenewable Florida's highest Educator Certificate Provides time to complete all requirements for a Professional Certificate while teaching full-time Requirements: Requirements: Complete all application process requirements Complete all application process requirements Hold at least a bachelor's degree Hold at least a bachelor's degree Demonstrate Mastery of Subject Area Knowledge for a requested subject

Demonstrate Mastery of Subject Area Knowledge or meet Subject Specialization with a 2.5 GPA for a requested subject

Demonstrate Mastery of General Knowledge

The Florida Temporary Certificate is issued after the individual is employed in a Florida school and his/her fingerprints have been cleared.

Demonstrate Mastery of Professional Preparation and Education Competence

The Florida Professional Certificate is issued after the individual's results of his/her fingerprint-based background screening have been cleared. The individual seeking employment in Florida will be assisted in completing the fingerprint process by his/her employer. A U.S. citizen who is not seeking employment in Florida or has an immediate need for issuance of the Professional Certificate should review Step 4: Submitting Fingerprints for Certification and the available fingerprint processing instructions or may contact the Bureau of Educator Certification for assistance.

Please note: If a U.S. citizen chooses to have his/her fingerprints processed prior to Florida employment for issuance of the Professional Certificate, it may be necessary to have the fingerprints reprocessed, and the individual may have to pay a second processing fee as a condition of employment in a Florida public school.

Click on the links above for a list of options to complete these requirements