Submit a Level II Application

 Please follow the steps to Login to TIMS first. Then Select the link to "Register Username"

The registration will list the requirements needed to create your username and password. Please enter everything with a red asterisk (*) next to the field. Additional instructions are provided on the right.

Do NOT create a Username and Password that is longer than 20 characters and/or contains symbols. It is also recommended that your username and password be different than your email address.

Once you have completed your registration, please return to Login to TIMS.

If you have problems with your registration, please contact the Keystone Login HelpDesk at (877) 328- 0995. Please note, the TIMS Certification staff are unable to assist you with your username and password issues. You must contact the Keystone Login HelpDesk for assistance.

The first time you login with your username and password you will be on the Establish Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) Profile screen. Please enter all information with a red asterisk (*) next to the field and click Continue.

Now that you are logged into your TIMS dashboard, you are ready to submit an application for certification. Look on the left-hand side for the “Applications In Process “ section. Click on the button called “New Credential Application.”

You will then need to choose the Credential Type and Requested Subject Area for your application request.

Most applications are submitted under the following Credential Types:

Instructional II (62) – The Instructional certificate is issued to a person whose primary responsibility shall be direct contact with learners in teaching-learning situations (i.e., elementary teacher, special education teacher, science teacher, etc.)

• All instructional certificates will simultaneously convert to Instructional II certificates or simultaneously lapse if the validity period has expired.

OR

Educational Specialist II (32) – The Educational Specialist certificate is issued to a person whose primary responsibility shall be to render professional service other than classroom teaching (i.e., School Nurse, School Counselor, School Psychologist, etc.)

• Educational Specialist areas of certification do not simultaneously convert to Educational Specialists II certificates or simultaneously lapse.
• An educator who holds both Elementary and Secondary School Counselor certificates will have both certificates converted simultaneously when service is earned in either elementary, secondary or a combination of the two levels. Both certificates convert to level II when eligibility for at least one of the certificates is presented.

If you do not see your credential type listed above. Please refer to your previously approved Level I certificate to determine the credential type and subject area necessary for the Level II application.

Once all questions have been answered, click Continue.

Step One of the application is the background questions. You must respond to each question on the page. Once all questions have been answered, check the Affidavit at the bottom of the page to verify all statements are correct and true. You will then need to scroll back to the top of the page to click “Next.”

If all questions are answered No, you are not required to submit any additional clearance documentation to our office with your application.

If I answer Yes to Question 1 regarding child abuse unfounded, founded, or indicated, you are required to mail:

• Current PA Child Abuse Clearance (dated within one year of the date of application)
• Signed detailed letter of explanation regarding the investigation. The Department may request additional documentation.

ALL clearance documents must be mailed with your TIMS coversheet. None of them can be uploaded.

If I answer Yes to Questions 2-5, you are required to mail:

• Signed detailed letter of explanation regarding the investigation.
• Five letters of reference
• A resume

The Department may request additional documentation.

ALL clearance documents must be mailed with your TIMS coversheet. None of them can be uploaded.

If I answer Yes to Questions 6 or 7, you are required to mail:

• Current FBI clearance (dated within one year of the date of application)
• Current PA criminal background check (dated within one year of the date of application)
• Current PA Child Abuse Clearance (dated within one year of the date of application)
• Certified court documents
• Signed detailed letter of explanation regarding the investigation.
• Letter of status from probation/parole officer
  • If you did not have a probation/parole officer, please include notation on your TIMS coversheet that this document is not included. If you do not include this notation, your application processing time will be delayed.
    
• Five letters of reference
• A resume

The Department may request additional documentation.

ALL clearance documents must be mailed with your TIMS coversheet. None of them can be uploaded.

Additional instructions for submission of the required documentation can be found in the Submitting Documentation section of this User Guide. Clarification of requirements is provided in our Good Moral Character FAQs.

Step Two of the application is the demographic details.

Everything in the grayed-out boxes (PPID, PA Secure ID, Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial, and Social Security Number) cannot be edited on this page. All other fields can be entered or edited for corrections.

Common Problem

If the field does not delete previous information – highlight the information, right-click with your mouse, and select either “Cut” or “Delete” to remove the information. You should then have a blank field again.

Please enter all information with a red asterisk (*) next to the field and click Next at the top of the page.

Step Three of the application is your education details. You are not required to update this page. You can proceed to the next page without adding or editing any previously entered information. Should you choose to add or edit information on the page, click “Add New” at the bottom of the page.

Step Four of the application is the certification details page. Your previously issued Pennsylvania certifications will be listed in the middle of the page. If you do not need to add an out of state certification, click “Next” at the top of the page to move to the Summary.

If you have any Out of State certifications, check “Yes” at the bottom of the page to Add a new out of state record. When adding an Out of State Certificate, you only need to enter the information with a red asterisk (*) next to the field. At the bottom, there is an option to upload a copy of your certification. Once all information is available, click “Save.”

Step Five of the application is the work experience details. The work experience already in TIMS may not be complete or accurate. It is your responsibility to edit or add work experience into your TIMS application. You should not include student teaching as work experience or service as a day-to-day substitute.

To add information in your application, click “Add New” on the Work Experience Details page.

Then click the hyperlink to search for your institution.

If you have been employed by a school district, intermediate unit, charter school, career and technology school, and/or an approved private school for special education (APS),– please follow the instructions below:

When searching for your employer, the more general the search is, the better your results will be. Please type the first few letters of your employing school (i.e., “Phila” instead of Philadelphia City School District or “Agora” instead of Agora Cyber Charter School.) If you do not see your school in the available drop-down options, please simplify your search and try again.

Once you find your employer and select them, TIMS will auto-generate their address. You are not required to select an entry from the Contact Official Details, as it does not have a red asterisk (*) next to the field.

At the bottom of the entry, click the hyperlink to add a new assignment.

Please enter everything with a red asterisk (*) next to the field.

• The assignment location is the specific school or building you were assigned to.
• The assignment is the content of the classroom you were teaching. A full list of available staff code assignments. If you do not see your exact assignment, please select the closest available.
• The grade level should clarify the assignment selected above to fine-tune if your classroom was a single grade level or multiple grade levels (i.e., 7th grade only or 7th-12th grade.)
• The assignment start date and end date should cover the approximate dates of employment. If you are currently employed, list the current date for the end date.
• The day worked and week worked percentages should both be 100% if you were a full-time employee. If you were a part-time employee, list the specific percentage of time served in your classroom assignment. Service under 50% is considered non-creditable.

Once all work experience has been added, you will see your full work experience record on the work experience details page. It will have your Institution Name, Institution Address, and Work Experience Details all complete. In the bottom right, click “Save.”

If you need to add additional work experience records, click “Add New” to continue entering information. Otherwise, click “Next” to move to the next page.

If you have been employed by a licensed private academic school, nonpublic nonlicensed school, an/or an accredited private school – please follow the instructions below:

When searching for your employer, the more general the search is, the better your results will be. Please type the first few letters of your employing school (i.e., “Phila” instead of Philadelphia City School District.) If you do not see your school in the available drop-down options, click “Institution not in the list above” at the bottom of the page.

You can then manually type the complete name of your employing school. Once typed, click “Include.”

Once you have entered your employer, TIMS will ask you to enter their address. You are not required to select an entry from the Contact Official Details, as it does not have a red asterisk (*) next to the field.

At the bottom of the entry, click the hyperlink to add a new assignment.

Please enter everything with a red asterisk (*) next to the field.

• The assignment location is the specific school or building you were assigned to.
• The assignment is the content of the classroom you were teaching. A full list of available staff code assignments. (Excel) If you do not see your exact assignment, please type the closest available.
• The grade level should clarify the assignment selected above to fine-tune if your classroom was a single grade level or multiple grade levels (i.e., 7th grade only or 7th-12th grade.)
• The assignment start date and end date should cover the approximate dates of employment. If you are currently employed, list the current date for the end date.
• The day worked and week worked percentages should both be 100% if you were a full-time employee. If you were a part-time employee, list the specific percentage of time served in your classroom assignment. Service under 50% is considered non-creditable.

Once all work experience has been added, you will see your full work experience record on the work experience details page. It will have your Institution Name, Institution Address, and Work Experience Details all complete. In the bottom right, click “Save.”

If you need to add additional work experience records, click “Add New” to continue entering information. Otherwise, click “Next” to move to the next page.

The final page of the online application is your Summary Tab. The Summary Tab allows you to look over the data entry from the previous pages to see if anything needs added or adjusted prior to submission. You will be able to upload and/or send your supporting documentation AFTER you have paid for the application.

If all data entry is accurate, please check the Code of Conduct boxes at the bottom and click Proceed to Submit.

Payment for your application can be made by credit card or by money order. Both options are outlined below.

To pay by credit card, select the radial button for credit card and click Proceed to Submit.

You will receive a message that explains you are being taken to a secure payment site. Click OK to continue to the credit card payment page.

Please enter all requested information on the page.

• Chrome and Safari users will continue to experience payment problems. We recommend using either Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox when accessing TIMS.
• Please use Visa, MasterCard or Discover to make the payment. We do not accept American Express.
• If you receive an error message while submitting your payment information, please wait 30 minutes and try again.
• Please make sure the address and zip code listed on the payment page is the same that you have on file with your bank. You may need to check your credit card billing statement to confirm the current address associated with your account and try processing the payment again. This could be as simple as “St.” versus “Street.”

If you continue to experience payment problems OR you would like to pay by money order, please select Money Order on the payment page. You will also need to check the box agreeing to send a money order with your TIMS coversheet. Click Proceed to Submit.

Once your payment is processed, you will receive a Congratulations page. It will list your Application ID number, the status of the application, and a confirmation number and date of payment. At the bottom of the page, it asks you to access your TIMS application coversheet to send your required documents.

After you have submitted and paid for your application, you will receive your TIMS application coversheet. The TIMS coversheet provides complete instructions on submitting your documents to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It also includes our address in the bottom corner.

If you do not have access to the TIMS coversheet, your application may still be in an “Incomplete” status. This means that you have not submitted and paid for your application. Please review the Summary and Payment sections above. DO NOT send documentation to our office until you have completed those steps.

Sending the Twenty-Four (24) credits earned after your initial bachelor’s degree

• If your college or Intermediate Unit has e-transcript capabilities, have the registrar send e-transcripts to RA-TeacherCert@pa.gov directly. Note: We cannot accept e-transcripts sent to you and forwarded to our office. If the transcript provider allows supplemental documentation to be included with your transcript, please provide them with the cover sheet.
• If your college and/or university does not use e-transcripts, please have the transcripts mailed to you. Upon receipt, forward the transcript(s) in their unopened college envelope along with the TIMS application coversheet to the address in the bottom corner of the coversheet.
• If your Intermediate Unit is not able to send us an e-transcript, please mail the original Intermediate Unit letters, either in the unopened IU envelope or opened with the IU raised seal, with the first page of your TIMS application coversheet.

Note: If the name on your transcript does not match the name we have in TIMS and there is no other identifying information on the transcript (i.e., date of birth, SSN, Application reference, etc.), you will need to either include the cover sheet with your transcript request or send an email to our office after you have been notified the transcript has been opened.

Sending the Three (3) years of satisfactory service in a PA public school entity, Six (6) semi-annual satisfactory ratings, and the PDE-Approved Induction Program

First, please check how your employment was entered on the work experience tab. Follow these steps to determine what documentation, if any, is required from you.

Click “Home” across the top of your TIMS Page

Look on the left for “Applications in Process”

Once you’ve found the application you are working on, look in the far right column.

Click “Track Progress” under the Comments column.

Look in the Work Experience Details section for any pending entries.

• Schools that have "IC" for the Institution Data Source were submitted on the work experience tab as Public School Service. Once the school’s LEA Affirmation states, “Submitted to PDE,” the school has submitted your years of service, evaluations, and/or Induction to our office electronically in TIMS. The 338P form is not required for these employers unless otherwise noted after the application has been evaluated. If required, your assigned evaluator will email you directly with instructions for submission.
• Schools that have Unlisted for the Institution Data Source were entered manually on the work experience tab as Nonpublic/Private School Service. These entities will require the paper PDE 338P form to verify your years of service, evaluations, and/or Induction. The 338P form MUST be signed by the Chief School Administrator. This is the equivalent to the Superintendent of your school’s organization. This document can be uploaded to your application once completed. Instructions for upload are included below.

Please note, your application will stay on a pending status until ALL employer verifications have been received. If you see an employer is taking a few weeks to complete the work experience verification, please contact HR directly to ask if they require anything from you to process the affirmation of your service.

How To Upload Documentation

Click “Home” across the top of your TIMS Page

Look on the left for “Applications in Process”

Once you’ve found the application you are working on, look in the far right column.

Any documentation that can be uploaded, like the PDE 338P form if necessary, should be added to your application first. You are not required to include the coversheet with any documentation being uploaded directly to your TIMS application.

Note: If your employer is a school district, intermediate unit, charter school, career and technology school, and/or an approved private school for special education (APS), you are not required to send or complete the PDE 338P form unless otherwise noted by your assigned evaluator. You can check to see if the document is required for your application when Tracking the Progress of your Application.

Any documentation that cannot be uploaded or is not listed as available for upload, should be mailed to our office. For the majority of applicants, this is just your official transcript(s) verifying your twenty-four credits. Please refer to the instructions above for all accepted methods for submitting your transcripts.

You can check to see if anything additional may be pending and find instructions for submission on your TIMS Application Coversheet.

The coversheet has your name, application type, and application ID in the upper right-hand corner. Down the left-hand side, it has categories for documentation and barcodes. Additional instructions are included on page 2 of the TIMS coversheet.

The “Other” box on your TIMS coversheet is an optional category on your cover sheet available for you to send extra documentation. No documentation is required for “Other” unless specifically requested by your assigned evaluator. If “Other” is the only thing listed on your coversheet, you are not required to send anything to our office, including the coversheet.

Please continue to check TIMS to review the status of your application. You can do this by Tracking the Progress of your application. Below is where you can check your status in TIMS, and the definitions of the status updates.

Click “Home” across the top of your TIMS Page

Look on the left for “Applications in Process”

First, check the Application Status column to determine the current status of your application. Status definitions are included below. Second, click “Track Progress” under the Comments column to determine the specific follow-up required for your application.

Application Status Definitions

• Incomplete: You started an application but have not yet submitted it. Go back to the Summary Tab of your application and finalize your application.
• Submitted for Educ or Work Exp Verification: You successfully submitted your application. It is now waiting for verification of your work experience (LEA). Click the "Track Progress" link to view the Work Experience Details for any pending entries:
  • Schools that have "IC" for the Institution Data Source were submitted on the work experience tab as Public School Service. Once the school’s LEA Affirmation states, “Submitted to PDE,” the school has submitted your years of service, evaluations, and/or Induction to our office. The 338P form is not required for these employers at this point in the evaluation. If required at a later time, your assigned evaluator will email you directly with instructions for submission.
    
  • Schools that have Unlisted for the Institution Data Source were entered manually on the work experience tab as Nonpublic/Private School Service. These entities will require the paper PDE 338P form to verify your years of service, evaluations, and/or Induction. The 338P form MUST be signed by the Chief School Administrator. This is the equivalent to the Superintendent of your school’s organization. This document can be uploaded to your application once completed.
• Pending Documentation: Our office is still waiting for your required documents. Click the "Track Progress" link to view documents needed in the Proof Documents Received Details. Go back to the Submitting Documentation section of this user guide for further instruction.
• Awaiting Evaluation: The TIMS system has determined your application is complete and is now waiting for staff in our office to review your application by the "awaiting evaluation" date. Our office posts the estimated application processing time at the TIMS log-in screen. Applications with an answer other than "no" to a good moral character question will take longer.
• Pending Additional Documentation: An evaluation within our office has occurred, and you now need to submit additional information to complete the application. Please check your email to look for the detailed requirements outlined by your evaluator. You can also click the "Track Progress" link to view the Send Back Letter Details.
  • Please note: If additional work experience is required, you will be asked to have it verified on the paper PDE 338P form, even if the employer has access to TIMS.
    

If you are in the Awaiting Evaluation status, you are not currently required to send anything additional. Once you are assigned to an evaluator, they will review all current information and documents on file. You will then receive an email once you have been approved or if additional information is required.

You can check the current documents on file in two different ways.

• Option One: You can also check your “View My Proof Docs On File” to see a record of all documentation received in our office associated with your TIMS account over the last year.
  
• Option Two: The Track Progress button will show you the current Application Status and any documents received for each specific application in the “Proof Documents Received Details.”