Nearly 200,000 educators are certified in Washington state, including classroom teachers, principals, paraeducators, school counselors, superintendents, and more. Most certifications must be renewed every five years. This page contains information about the certification and renewal processes, requirements for continuing education, emergency certifications, how military veterans and educators from out of state can teach in Washington, and more.

This application processing status is for the week of 2/18/2025:
  • There are currently 4,938 total applications pending review.
  • If an employee’s start date is approaching, Districts can apply for a rush request through the E-Certification system to expedite an application by following the standard rush request process.
  • Depending on the type of application, the Professional Certification Department is currently reviewing applications submitted in December.
  • An educator and school district can review their current certificate or application status by logging into their E-Certification profile, or by requesting an update from our Department via email at cert@k12.wa.us.
  • The customer service staff is currently responding to most emails within 11 business days and voicemails within 2 business days of being received. 
Once an application is reviewed, the applicant will be sent a notification by E-mail from the E-Certification system. All communication regarding the application status will be done through e-mail, as we no longer mail notices or documents. This office does NOT accept faxed or E-mailed applications. Your E-Certification or paper application, fee, and any supporting materials must be filed with our office for action to be taken. Once a certificate is issued, the official certificate is available in portable document format (PDF) in the educator's E-Certification account. 

Total certificate actions processed in 2025 to date: 5,648
Total certificate actions processed in 2024: 45,592 
Total certificate actions processed in 2023: 54,792 
Total certificate actions processed in 2022: 47,320 
 

For more information, see the Application Processing Status page.