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 4/28/2025:
  • There are currently 3,644 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 March 2025.
  • 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 4 business days and voicemails within 2 business day of being received. 

For more information, see the Application Processing Status page.