Submit an Application

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. Select 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 I (61) – 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.)

Educational Specialist I (31) – 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.)

Administrative Certificate I (75) – The Administrative certificate is issued to a person whose primary responsibility shall be to direct, operate, supervise, and administer the organizational and general education activities at a school. This currently covers our Principal PK-12 certification.

Program Specialist (86) – This currently covers our English as a Second Language PK-12 certification.

Private School – Teacher (1022) – In addition to public school certification, there is also private academic school certification. Either certification is appropriate for nonpublic and private academic schools in the appropriate content areas.

If you do not see your credential type listed above. Please refer to the Certificates in PA to determine the credential type and subject area necessary.

Once you have selected the appropriate Credential Type, click the hyperlink to select certification subject area to be requested. Page across the numbers at the bottom to look for your subject area.

Note:

• If you are applying for certification with the recommendation of a Pennsylvania college, please check all qualifying program subject areas to include with your application.
• If you are applying for certification through an out of state university or through out of state licensure, you can only select one subject area per application. Additionally, you may not see your exact subject area and/or grade span in the available listing. Please select the most comparable certificate to what you completed out of state.

You will then be asked to answer some preliminary questions to categorize your application:

The first question asks, "Are you applying to add an additional subject area to an existing Instructional I Credential through testing alone?"

• If this application is for your first certificate in Pennsylvania, answer "No."
• If this application is for a certificate earned through coursework, answer "No."
• If you already hold a Pennsylvania certificate, and you are adding to it through the completion of testing only, answer "Yes." This policy is outlined in our Instructional Add-On page.

The second question asks, "Will a Pennsylvania institution verify that you meet certification requirements for the certificate you are applying for?"

• If you are applying for certification with the recommendation of a Pennsylvania college, answer "Yes."
• If you are applying for certification through an out of state university or through out of state licensure, answer "No."

The third question asks, "Are you an active duty member or veteran of the US Armed Forces, or the spouse/surviving spouse of an active duty member or veteran?"

• If you answer "Yes," you will be asked to submit documentation to verify the validity of this statement. The qualifications and required documents are listed on our Veterans Preference page.
  

Once all questions have been answered, click Continue.

Step One is the Background Questions. You must respond to each question on the page.

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. To continue through the application, TIMS requires both your bachelor’s degree information AND your educator preparation program details. The educator preparation program is the coursework that prepared you for the subject area(s) you will be teaching. To add this information in your application, select “Add New” on the Education Details page.

Then select the hyperlink to search for your institution.

The more general the search is, the better your results will be. We highly recommend typing the first few letters of the college and searching. If you try to type the entire name of the college in the search field, it may not list in college/university in the available drop down.

After selecting your institution from the available list of schools, TIMS will auto-generate the institution’s 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.

Next, you will see two sets of questions. The first asks, “Did you receive any Degree while at this institution?” You will need to add your bachelor’s degree and any additional degrees you may hold in TIMS by answering that question “Yes.”

You will then have to add the type of degree, date conferred (MM/YYYY), GPA, and Major Subject Area.

When you are looking for your subject area, search and select the major subject area that most closely matches the content area of the program that you completed. Your application will not be held up if you select the incorrect major subject area.

Note: If you make a mistake in the Date Conferred field and need to edit the numbers– 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.

Once you save your degree information, you can then move on to the second question. The second question asks, “Did you complete the PDE-Approved Educator Preparation Program(s) for this subject area(s) at this institution?” If you do not see the second question, exit out of the current education record and add an updated entry.

When you click “Yes,” it will ask you to add your Educator Preparation Program to the application. Click the hyperlink to add additional details.

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

Note: If you have applied for multiple subject areas, you will need to add all areas in this educator preparation program section.

Common Problem

If you receive an error message that reads, “If your Preparation Program is not available, it is not a PDE Approved Preparation Program.” This is likely because your education program was completed at a college or university OUTSIDE of Pennsylvania, but your application is being submitted as if you were a PA graduate. Please start a new application and look for the second preliminary question.

Once all educator preparation programs have been added, you will see your full education record on the education tab. It will have your Institution Name, Institution Address, Degree Information, and Educator Preparation Program all complete. In the bottom right, click “Save.”

You will now have a saved entry with your degree and educator preparation program recorded. If you need to add additional degrees or education records, click “Add New” to continue entering information. Otherwise, click “Next” to move to the next page.

On Step Four, you will be asked to complete a survey about your educator certification program provider. The PA Department of Education is seeking feedback on the quality of the programs that prepare educators for certification. The responses to this brief survey do not affect the individual who completes them, nor his/her certification.

Step Five is the Certification Details page.

• If this is your initial Pennsylvania certificate or permit, this page will be blank.
• If you have any previously issued Pennsylvania certifications or permits, you will see them listed in the middle of the page.
• If you have any Out of State certifications that need to be added, 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."

If you do not need to add an out of state certification, click "Next" at the top of the page to move to the next page.

The Work Experience Details tab will only be available for educators applying for certification through an out of state university or through out of state licensure. This step will not be listed for Pennsylvania program completers.

Do not include student teaching as work experience, and only enter work experience relevant to this application. Service as a day-to-day substitute does not need to be included.

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

Then click the hyperlink to search for your institution.

The more general the search is, the better your results will be. We highly recommend typing the first few letters of your school district or employing school. If you try to type the entire name of the employing school in the search field, it may not list an entity in the available drop down.

If you are unable to find your out of state employer from the available drop-down list, check the box for “Institution not in the list above."

You will then be able to manually type in the Institution 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.
• The grade level should explain if your classroom was a single grade level or multiple grade levels (i.e., 7th grade or 7th-12th)
• The assignment start date and end date should cover the approximate dates of employment.
• 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.

Note: If your testing does not match the tests listed on the Summary Page – Do Not Panic! Additional information will be provided in the Required Testing section of the User Guide.

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 Internet Explorer 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.

To access a copy of your TIMS coversheet, upload documents to your application, or Track the Progress of your application –

Select “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.

Please upload the documentation for your application to TIMS first. You can submit your documents through the mail if the upload option is not available for the specific document you need to include. Please do not upload documents to the incorrect heading, as this will delay the processing of your application.

Note: Clearance documentation MUST be mailed. We cannot accept uploaded, faxed, or emailed clearance documentation.

You will receive a TIMS coversheet for each application you submit. It will list your name, the application type, and the specific application ID number in the upper right corner. Our address is included in the bottom right corner.

• You are not required to include the coversheet with any documentation being uploaded directly to your TIMS application.
• We recommend including the coversheet with any documentation being mailed to our office.

Common Problem

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.

If your application requires the submission of official transcripts, please refer to Sending Electronic Transcripts for instructions. This information will also be noted on the second page of your coversheet if required.

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.

Note: If there is testing on Page 2 of your TIMS coversheet that does not match your tests– Do Not Panic! Additional information will be provided in the Required Testing section of the User Guide.

All candidates should refer to the Certification Test and Score Requirements chart (Excel) for current test information. Test requirements, including qualifying scores, are subject to change. Please review them carefully prior to completing any assessment requirement.

When applying for your certification in TIMS, please confirm that your required tests have been completed and reported to the PA Department of Education directly from the test provider. You can view the current tests on your TIMS account in the “View My Tests On File” section of TIMS.

1. Fundamental Subjects – Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge (5511 or 0511) with Praxis. This test is only required if your initial Pennsylvania certificate is an Instructional PK-12 grade span.
   
2. • Exemption 1: Your initial Pennsylvania certificate covers a different grade scope (PK-4, 4-8, PK-8, or 7-12.)
   • Exemption 2: Having an active/valid professional level out-of-state certificate with two (2) years of successful classroom teaching experience (Instructional Certification Areas only.)
3. Content Area Tests – This is specific to the subject area of your education program (i.e., if you completed a Mathematics 7-12 program, you would take the Mathematics 7-12 testing.) You can find these in Sections Two through Five of the Certification Test and Score Requirements chart (Excel).
   • No exemptions. You must take and pass the PA required content area testing. We cannot accept other state’s testing in place of Pennsylvania’s testing.

Common Problem

You are not required to contact our office regarding the exemptions. Your TIMS application and coversheet will list all possible tests for every application. Once you have fully submitted your application, college verifications, and any pending requirements, our staff will review your qualifications for testing and possible exemptions.

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.

First, select “Home” across the top of your TIMS Page

Find on the left “Applications in Process”

First, check the Application Status column to determine the current status of your application. Status definitions are included below. Second, select “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 education preparation program (IHE), work experience (LEA), or both. Click the "Track Progress" link to view the Education Details and/or Work Experience Details for any pending entries. Once the school entities say, “Submitted to PDE,” they have submitted all information to our office.
• 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.
• Pending Test Score: An evaluation within our office has occurred, and you need to complete a test(s) to be issued a PA certificate. Click the "Track Progress" link to view the Send Back Letter Details.

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.”