Certificate Types & Roles

The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) divides certificates into standard and limited certificate types. Please review the glossaries for further details on each certificate type. 

Standard Certificate Groups and Roles

A standard certificate is the regular, fully authorized credential that allows an individual to teach in public schools after meeting all state requirements.

Standard Certificate Glossary

Teacher Certificates

• Residency Teacher (First Issue)-A full, standard, and valid certificate issued to teachers as the first certificate type in Washington state. The certificate is issued without a defined expiration date until the educator has been reported by a Washington state school district as employed in the teacher role with at least 1.5 years of full-time experience (with no expiration date listed, the certificate shall be treated as valid and unexpired).
• Residency Teacher-A full and standard certificate issued to teachers after their first-issue certificate has expired, and they applied for reissuance. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle.
• Professional Teacher-A full and standard second-tier certificate issued to teachers who hold or have held a second-tier certificate from another state, are National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certified, or have completed the Washington ProTeach Portfolio.
• First Peoples' Language, Culture and Oral Traditions-A full and standard certificate issued to educators who have completed a sovereign tribal government's language/culture teacher certification program. 

CTE Certificates

• Initial CTE Teacher-A full and standard first-tier certificate issued to career and technical educators once they have completed either the CTE Plan 1 University Route or the CTE Plan 2 Business & Industry Route program and have verified the required experience for each CTE V-Code requested. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle.   
• Continuing CTE Teacher-A full and standard second-tier certificate issued to career and technical educators who hold or have held an Initial CTE certificate and meet the requirements to upgrade their certificate. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 
• Initial CTE Director-A full and standard first-tier certificate issued to career and technical educators who hold an administrator certificate or have three years of certified CTE experience and have completed a state-authorized CTE administrator training or a state-approved college program for CTE administration. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 
• Continuing CTE Director-A full and standard second-tier certificate issued to career and technical educators who hold or have held an Initial CTE Director certificate and meet the requirements to upgrade their certificate. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 

Administrator Certificates

• Residency Administrator (First Issue)-A full, standard, and valid certificate issued to administrators as the first certificate type in Washington state. The certificate is issued without a defined expiration date until the holder has completed two years of service in the role in Washington with a school district, state-approved private school, or state agency that provides educational services for students, at which time, educators must apply for a reissuance to a Residency Administrator certificate (with no expiration date listed, the certificate shall be treated as valid and unexpired).
• Residency Administrator-A full and standard certificate issued to administrators after their first-issue certificate has expired and they have applied for reissuance. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 
• Professional Administrator-A full and standard second-tier certificate issued to administrators who have completed a Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) approved professional certification program for either the Principal or Program Administrator role, or who have completed a Continuing Administrator License (CAL) program through the state of Oregon. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 
• Initial Superintendent-A full and standard first-tier certificate issued to administrators who hold or have held a regular Teacher, ESA, Principal, or Program Administrator certificate, completed a master's degree, and a state-approved superintendent preparation program or three years of out-of-state full-time experience. 
• Continuing Superintendent-A full and standard second-tier certificate issued to administrators who hold a valid Initial Superintendent certificate and meet the requirements to upgrade their certificate. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle.

ESA Certificates

• Residency ESA (First Issue)-A full, standard, and valid certificate issued to educational staff associates in the school counselor or school psychologist role as the first certificate type in Washington state (WAC 181-79A-145). The certificate is issued without a defined expiration date until the holder has completed two years of service in the role in Washington with a school district, state-approved private school, or state agency that provides educational services for students, at which time, educators must apply for a reissuance to a Residency ESA certificate (with no expiration date listed, the certificate shall be treated as valid and unexpired).
• Residency ESA-A full and standard certificate issued to educational staff associates in the School Counselor or School Psychologist role after their first-issue certificate has expired and they applied for reissuance. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 
• Initial ESA-A full and standard first-tier certificate issued to educational staff associates in the roles of School Behavior Analyst, Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Physical Therapist, Social Worker, Speech Language Pathologist/Audiologist, or Social Worker. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 
• Professional ESA- A full and standard second-tier certificate issued to educational staff associates who hold a Residency ESA certificate in the school counselor or school psychologist role, completed a national certification program for their role, and have fulfilled requirements to upgrade their certificate. This certificate is subject to a 5-year renewal cycle. 

Paraeducator Certificates

• General Paraeducator-A standard lifetime certificate issued to paraeducators who have completed the Fundamental Course of Study and additional required professional development.
• Subject Matter Paraeducator-A standard renewable certificate issued to paraeducators who have completed the Fundamental Course of Study and specific required English Language Learner or Special Education subject matter professional development.
• Advanced Paraeducator-A standard renewable certificate issued to paraeducators who already hold the General Paraeducator certificate and have completed the required professional development for advanced certification. 

Limited Certificate Groups and Roles

A limited certificate is a credential issued to applicants who do not meet the full requirements for a regular certificate, or when a school district needs flexibility in hiring due to shortages or unique expertise. but allows an individual to serve in a school in an instructional role under particular conditions.

Emergency and Intern Substitute

Teacher

• All General Education Subjects

Conditional

Transitional

Limited Certificate Glossary

Pre-Residency Clearance

• A limited certificate issued to educators who are currently enrolled in an educator preparation program and are ready to begin field experience or an internship. 

Substitute 

• A limited certificate issued to educators who qualify, have held, or currently hold a regular state of Washington, Teacher, Administrator, or Educational Staff Associate certificate. 

Intern Substitute Teacher

• A limited certificate issued to educators who are completing student teaching, and their employer needs them to substitute for their mentoring teacher in their absence.

Emergency Substitute Teacher

• A limited certificate requested by the employer issued to educators who do not yet meet requirements for a full substitute certificate. 

Conditional

• A limited certificate issued to educators who do not currently meet the full certification requirements for a Teacher, CTE Educator, Administrator, or Educational Staff Associate role. 

Transitional 

• A limited certificate issued once to educators whose full, regular Teacher, Career and Technical Education, Administrator, or Educational Staff Associate certificate has lapsed. This certificate allows educators to teach while working on the renewal of their certificate.