Alternative Licensure Options and Information 

Teaching candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in a subject other than education and have not completed a teacher preparation program may pursue a North Carolina alternative teacher certification. Alternative certification programs are designed for individuals who are otherwise qualified to teach. 

NC list of approved Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) for Alternative Certification
https://www.dpi.nc.gov/educators/educator-preparation/approved-programs

Graduates of an accredited North Carolina college/university will work through their school to obtain a N.C. license.  The school will notify the student of the college and state requirements for a license.  Steps to obtaining a N.C. license.     

Graduates will need to register for an on-line licensure account in order to finalize details and make payment for the application for a license created by the college/university.  There is a licensure processing fee associated with the application.  It must be paid by MasterCard or VISA credit card an is non-refundable. 

If the graduate has previous teaching or non-teaching work experience, they should provide the college/university with the appropriate experience forms for completion to upload to their licensure application when making the initial request to save the graduate money.

Forms You May Need:
Form_E
Form_NE
Form_CE
Form_V
Form_ME

To be eligible for an Initial Professional License, an individual must have done the following:

• Completed a state teacher education program from a regionally accredited college or university, OR
• Completed another state's approved alternative route to licensure, met the federal requirements to be designated as "Highly Qualified", and earned a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college/university
• OR qualify for an alternative teaching license
• AND participate in the Beginning Teacher Support Program.  All IPLs are required to participate in the BTSP.  (Failure to participate could result in not being eligible to convert the Initial license to a Continuing license, which is the five-year license)
   

Effective July 1, 2019, if an IPL did not complete the State required testing prior to the issuance of their license, they must ATTEMPT all the required tests during their 3 years of licensing and PASS all the required tests by the end of their third year of licensing to be eligible to convert their license to continuing. 

If all tests are not attempted and passed according to State policy, the license will expire.  The annual deadline for passing ALL required exams for NCDPI is June 1.  This aligns with annual contract recommendation.

An individual may be issued a Lifetime License after 30 years of teaching as a licensed teacher in North Carolina that requires no renewal.  A Lifetime License is issued to an individual who meets the following requirements:

 1. Completed 30 or more years of teaching as a licensed teacher when the teacher holds a current North Carolina teaching license, AND;

a. Only those licenses that are appropriate for classroom instruction are eligible for a Lifetime License. Administrator and student-support licenses are NOT ELIGIBLE for the Lifetime License. 

b. For the purposes of this policy, individuals whose major responsibility is to either teach students or directly supervise the teaching of students are deemed to be engaged in teaching.

c. Administrators and other student-support professionals may be eligible for a Lifetime License in an approved teaching area provided they have met the 30-year requirement and have maintained an active license in the teaching area during the 30-year requirement.

2. Completed 30 or more years of creditable service with the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS). 

NOTE: Individuals who are employed with public school units that do not participate in TSERS are required to produce employment verification from those public school units. NCDPI nor TSERS will be able to provide employment verification from those entities. 

Educators that are licensed or have met requirements for licensure in another state should be eligible for a license in North Carolina. This is due to reciprocity. While North Carolina has reciprocity agreements with most states in the U.S for licensure, reciprocity does not exist for testing.

North Carolina will issue a license to out-of-state applicants based on their degree program completed and/or license that is held from another state. The license will be issued in area(s) as close to the other state's as possible, but it may not be exact. For example, a license from New York for grades Kindergarten - 2 will be issued in N.C. as a Kindergarten - 6 because that is the closest area North Carolina issues. Also, some other areas may require additional course work or testing for licensure in North Carolina than another state may require, thus requiring that the applicant meet a few more requirements to get fully licensed in a certain area(s).

Applications for a N.C. license are made through the on-line licensure system. The educator must register for an account and then applications can be created. Documents such as transcripts, test scores, experience forms, etc. must be scanned and uploaded with the application.

Applying for this license requires a licensure processing fee. This fee must be paid by MasterCard or VISA credit card and is non-refundable.

Forms You May Need: 
Form_E
Form_NE
Form_CE
Form_V
Form_ME

Provisional

License areas can be added provisionally to an existing, non-expired, teaching license or for student support services areas. Pre-requisites may be required for some of these areas.  Contact the Licensure Specialist for specific requirements.

Provisional licenses are issued on a year by year basis for a maximum of three years in some areas and five years in other areas. The educator must complete on of the following:
1)  attempt the test/exam annually OR
2)  pass the State required test/exam to clear the provisional AND/OR
3) complete a plan of study issued by an accredited college/university

A provisional license expires annually and the HR Department will request a license extension for the next year if the educator continues to qualify for the provisional area. Upon completion of the program, the college/university will recommend clearing the provisional license to DPI through the HR Licensure Specialist.

A provisional license application requires the employee to pay a non-refundable licensure processing fee made payable by VISA or MasterCard.

Lateral Entry ended (June 30, 2019)
replaced with
Residency beginning (July 1, 2019)
An individual, including those who hold the Permit to Teach or Emergency License, may qualify for a one-year Residency License in a teaching area, with the option to renew twice, within no longer than a three-year period. All requirements to convert a Residency License to either an Initial or Continuing license must be completed before the expiration of the second renewal of the Residency License. Individuals must meet all of the following requirements:

Teachers in the first year of their Residency License must receive 10 days of professional development from the LEA designed to support a successful classroom experience.

You can go to DPI's website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/troops/residency/ for more information.

A Residency License must be requested by a North Carolina public school system and accompanied by a certification of supervision from the recognized Educator Prep Program (EPP) in which the individual is enrolled. The local school system shall be responsible for verifying the candidate’s enrollment in an approved EPP. A Residency License is issued for one year and renewable twice at the recommendation of an employing North Carolina school system.

In order to renew a Residency License for the second or the third year, the LEA must verify

Individuals must complete all requirements, pass NCSBE-required licensure testing requirements, and receive the recommendation of an EPP to convert the Residency License to the Initial or Continuing Professional License within three years of the effective date of the Residency License.

If an individual fails to renew the Residency License for either the second or third year, the current Residency License will expire. Within three years of the effective date of the original Residency License, a Residency License may be reinstated at the request of an LEA if the following conditions are met:

Military personnel and military personnel spouses whose residency licensure program is interrupted by a call to active duty or relocation to an out-of-state duty station shall be eligible to resume the program of study at the point of separation upon documented return to a duty station and employment in North Carolina public schools. 

For Career and Technical Education areas, the State Board may establish alternate criteria related to that area to establish competency in lieu of a baccalaureate degree, as specified in the CTE Licensure Policies and Procedures Manual.

Teachers assigned to multiple subject areas shall be issued a Residency License for one licensure area and may add the additional Residency License area at the request of the employing school system. The additional Residency License areas may be cleared in accordance with Section 1.23 of this policy. Note: The primary Residency licensure area must be cleared through an EPP before any additional areas can be cleared.

Residency Licenses are only issued at the A-level and may be awarded experience credit and graduate pay in compliance with LICN-006.

Current lateral entry license holders may convert to a Residency License provided Residency License qualifications are met; the employing school system submits the request for the conversion; and the lateral entry license is not expired. Individuals who do not fulfill the requirements of the lateral entry license and the lateral license has expired may convert to a Residency License provided that the following conditions are met:

Residency Licensure for Currently Licensed Educators

At the request of an employing school system, an individual who holds a clear (non-restricted) license in a teaching, administrative, supervisory, or student services area may be issued a Residency License in a teaching area provided the individual meets the State requirements to hold a Residency License in the teaching area. Licensed educators who are issued a Residency License shall be subject to the requirements detailed in Section 1.80 of this policy.

For Career and Technical Education areas, the NCSBE may establish alternate criteria related to that area to establish competency in lieu of a baccalaureate degree, as specified in the CTE Licensure Policies and Procedures Manual.

A Residency License must be requested by the LEA or charter school and accompanied by a certification of supervision from the recognized EPP in which the individual is enrolled.

1. holds, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a GPA of 2.7 or higher (an EPP may accept a slightly lower GPA);
2. has either completed 24 hours of coursework in the requested licensure area or passed the NCSBE required content area examination(s) for the requested licensure area (some EPPs may require the courses being counted toward meeting the 24 hours have a minimum grade of a 'C';
3. is enrolled in a recognized Educator Preparation Program (EPP), and;
4. meets all other requirements established by the NCSBE, including completing preservice requirements prior to teaching.
5. the license holder taught at least six calendar months, as defined in Section 1.20 of this policy, during the prior school year, and;
6. continued enrollment with an EPP, and; 
7. employment of the teacher in an LEA, and;
8. the license holder completed 10 days of required professional development.
9. The individual taught at least six calendar months during the year when they last held an active Residency License, and;
10. The individual is enrolled with an EPP, and;
11. The individual is employed as a teacher in an LEA.
12. pass the required NCSBE-required exam(s), and; 
13. meet eligibility requirements for a Residency License. 

Helpful Links:

• NCDPI Approved List of EPPs
• Chart to Determine Eligibility for Elementary Education or Special Education Based on 24 Semester Hours of Coursework
• East Carolina University's Residency Model Flyer
• Residency License Verification Form (Must have competed by College EPP before seeking employment under Residency License pathway)