Transitional Certificate

This certificate is for educators working with an employer to fill a need and whose full, regular Teacher, Career and Technical Education (CTE), Administrator, and Educational Staff Associate (ESA) certificate, which is subject to renewal, has lapsed.

This certificate allows educators to teach while renewing their certificate. It is valid for 2 calendar years (24 months from the issue date) and can be issued only once in an educator's career.

Requirements

• Must hold a full, regular certificate subject to renewal that has lapsed or expired
  • Please Note: If you hold multiple Teacher, ESA, or Administrator certificates, you may qualify for a Transitional certificate for each role.
• Application must be initiated by an employing school district and completed by the educator. Once the district request has been submitted, log in to your E-Certification account to apply.
• Submit fingerprints for a background check if you do not already have a valid Washington certificate on record

Requirements for Certificates Issued Under Previous Standards

If you have an expired Initial certificate listed below, issued under previous standards, and have not upgraded to a Continuing certificate or converted to a Residency or Professional certificate, you must first convert the expired Initial certificate to a Residency certificate before you can apply for the Transitional certificate. Review the conversion requirements on the Endorsements & Certificate Upgrades page.

This requirement applies to the following expired Initial certificates:

• Initial Teacher
• Initial Administrator-Principal
• Initial ESA School Counselor
• Initial ESA School Psychologist