Submit an Emergency Permit

A local education agency (LEA) requests an emergency permit to fill a vacant position when they are unable to find a certified educator holding a valid and active certificate. The LEA is required to post any permanent or temporary vacancy for a minimum of 10 days on the school entity's website before submitting an initial or reissuance application for an emergency permit to fill the vacancy.

If you do not hold a qualifying valid and active teacher certification issued by the PA Department of Education but have a conferred bachelor's degree, the LEA can hire you as a substitute by requesting an emergency permit. The process for the permit is outlined below:

• Step One: The position candidate initiates and submits the initial request via the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) at the request of the employing LEA.
• Step Two: When the request is received by the LEA, they select the type of permit and subject area(s) through their TIMS dashboard, select the payment method, and submit the application to the PA Department of Education. Please note: The LEA determines who is responsible for the payment.
• Step Three: The position candidate or the LEA submits any pending documentation listed on the TIMS coversheet to the PA Department of Education.

Emergency Permits are issued to the LEA instead of the educator. This means you may need multiple permits if you are subbing in multiple districts. The permit is valid from the first day of the month of issuance, until the last day of summer school in that school year. Additionally, the permits can only be requested by public school entities – school districts, inte​rmediate units, career and technology schools, charter schools, and approved private schools. Third party employment agencies (i.e., Source4Teachers, Kelly Staffing, etc.) cannot request an emergency permit. If your licensed private academic school asks you to apply for a temporary certificate, please apply for the New Credential Application called Private Academic School – Temporary Approval (1010) instead of the Emergency Permit Application.

If you hold a pre-existing Pennsylvania teaching credential that is currently INACTIVE or VOLUNTARY INACTIVE with your Act 48 Continuing Education, you may substitute for a total of 90 days per school year in your certified subject area(s).

• A Day to Day (Type 06) emergency permit is required if you are working outside of your certification area(s). However, a single assignment may not exceed 20 days.
• Working both in your subject area and outside of your subject area combined cannot exceed 90 days per school year. To work over 90 days per school year, you must reactivate your Act 48 Continuing Education by completing the pending hours.

An Emergency Permit cannot be issued to a candidate who holds an expired Intern certificate in the subject area requested or a lapsed Level I certificate.

Please contact the school district where you wish to apply for more information on requirements, processes, and procedures to work in their school. The hiring district completes the hiring process, including setting the compensation rate and designating assignments. If you do not hold a qualifying valid and active teacher certification issued by the PA Department of Education but have a conferred bachelor's degree, a local education agency (LEA) can hire you as a substitute by requesting an emergency permit.

Note: These may only be issued to public school entities – school districts, intermediate units, career and technology schools, charter schools, and approved private schools. Third party employment agencies (i.e., Source4Teachers, Kelly Staffing, etc.) cannot request an emergency permit.

To apply, look on the right-hand side of the page for the Emergency Permit Request section. Select the button "Emergency Permit Application."

Step One 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.

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 Two 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.

Step Three is the Affiliation Details. If the school you will be substituting with is already listed, continue to Step Four. If your new employing school entity is not listed, select "Add New Affiliation."

LEA, or Local Education Agency, will be pre-selected. select the hyperlink to search for your current employer.

The more general the search is, the better your results will be. We highly recommend typing the first few letters of your employing school district. 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.

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

Please enter the Affiliation start date as today's date or a future date. You are unable to enter a past date for the affiliation.  You can leave the end date blank.

Once you have saved the record, click "Next" at the top of the page to move to the next page.

Step Four is the LEA Selection. It will show any previous and current affiliations with PA school entities. You then choose which school(s) you have been in contact with regarding substitute teaching.

• If you do not see your employing school entity on this page, go back to Step Three and add them as an affiliation.
• If you see your employing school listed, check their box in the far right-hand column. Any box you check will receive a request to issue an Emergency Permit.
  

Once you have checked all appropriate boxes, click "Next" at the top of the page to move to the next page.

Step Five 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.

At the bottom of Step Five, please complete the Code of Conduct and the Affidavit.

Note: Following the Affidavit is a statement regarding Type 01 Emergency Permits or Act 97 Waiver requirements. If your employer is hiring you under a Type 04 (Long-Term Substitute with No Educational Obligation) or a Type 06 (Day-to-Day Substitute), this paragraph does not apply to you. You may need to consult with your employer on the Type of Permit they intend to select prior to Initiating the Permit.

Once all questions have been answered, Code of Conduct boxes checked, and Affidavit box checked, click Initiate Permit Request.

You will then receive a Congratulations screen!

Please continue to check TIMS to review the status of your application. First, click "Home" across the top of your TIMS Page

On the right-hand side find the Emergency Permit Request section.

Find the column titled "Status" to determine the current status of your permit request.

• Submitted By Applicant
• Pending Review
• Denied by LEA
• Ready for Submission

With all statuses above, your emergency permit request is still pending with the employer. The employing school must select the type of permit, subject area(s), and select the payment method prior to your permit becoming an application with our office. Please contact the employer to ask if they require anything additional to process your application.

Once the employer processes the request, the status will update to "Submitted to PDE." You now have an application with the PA Department of Education. You can review it on the left-hand side of your TIMS homepage in the "Applications In Process" section. At this point, you should have received a notification via email to submit required documentation, if required. These applications will not be processed until complete documentation is received.

First, check the Application Status column to determine the current status of your Emergency Permit 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

• 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. Continue 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 processes most permits within 7-10 business days. However, applications with an answer other than "no" to a good moral character question will take longer.
• Review In Progress: An evaluator has been assigned to your application. They are currently reviewing your application to determine it can be approved or if additional information is required. You will receive an email when a decision has been made.
• 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.​

The Local Education Agency (LEA) selects the method of payment while in the Ready for Submission status. We recommend contacting the employer directly determine how the payment will be made for your application. If the employer selects to have you send a money order, please make the money order out to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Type 01 Permit: Vacant Position with an Educational Obligation to Pursue Certification – $100 

Type 04 Permit: Long-Term Substitute with No Educational Obligation – $100

Type 06 Permit: Day-to-Day Substitute – $5

Type 08 Permit: Teacher Exchange/Cultural Exchange – $100

Note: The employer may have additional fees associated with the cost of the permit outside of what the PA Department of Education requires for issuance.

The Emergency Permits follow the three-step process outlined below:

• Step One: The position candidate initiates and submits the initial request via the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) at the request of the employing LEA.
  
• Step Two: When the request is received by the LEA, they select the type of permit and subject area(s) through their TIMS dashboard, select the payment method, and submit the application to the PA Department of Education. Please note: The LEA determines who is responsible for the payment.
• Step Three: The position candidate or the LEA submits any pending documentation listed on the TIMS coversheet to the PA Department of Education.
  

If your Emergency Permit has not been Submitted to PDE by your employing school– DO NOT send your documentation to our office. Your paperwork will be returned to you if it is received prior to this status.

You can view your Emergency Permit application on the left-hand side of your TIMS homepage in the "Applications In Process" section. At this point, you should have received a notification via email to submit required documentation, if required.

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 Emergency Permit submitted. 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. 

If your Emergency Permit 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. A Bachelor's degree transcript is required for all initial permit requests except for:

• School Nurse;
• Dental Hygienist;
• Career and Technical (see CSPG 25); and
• Pennsylvania-certified educators.

Bachelor's degree transcripts are required for Type 06 Permit requests randomly selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for audit. You will be notified if your application has been audited.

The "Other" box on your TIMS coversheet is an optional category on your coversheet 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.

Please refer to our Certification Staffing Policy Guideline (CSPG) #13 for additional requirements and or documentation needed for your Emergency Permit.