Skip to agency navigation
Skip to main content

Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Preferential Application Handling and Reduced Application Fees

    Section 1205 of Act 143 provides direction for active duty military members, veterans, and the spouses or surviving spouses of active duty military members or veterans to receive preferential application handling and a reduced application fee when applying for any educator certification.

    In order to qualify, a veteran is an individual who served at least 180 days of active duty, other than for training, or was discharged after serving 30 days due to a service-connected disability in the US Armed Forces and was discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions. Honorable conditions includes Honorable and General Under Honorable discharges.

    Applicants must meet all Pennsylvania certification requirements to receive a license.

    Military, veteran, and spouse applicants can apply for the desired certification using the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS):

    Complete the online application indicating "yes" to the question regarding veteran status.

    Send in any required documents listed on the coversheet and your proof of service document(s):

    • Active duty members: photocopy of military orders assigning duty station;
    • Active duty spouse: photocopy of military orders assigning duty station and a photocopy of your marriage license;
    • Veterans: photocopy of DD form 214 with Discharge under Circumstances other than Dishonorable;
    • Veteran spouse/surviving spouse: photocopy of DD form 214 with Discharge under Circumstances other than Dishonorable and a photocopy of your marriage license.

    Professional License Portability for Servicemembers and Their Spouses Under the Federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)

    The SCRA provides servicemembers and their dependents with certain financial and due process protections during military service. The Portability of Professional Licenses of Servicemembers and Their Spouses section allows servicemembers and their spouses to use their professional licenses and certificates in certain circumstances when they must relocate due to military orders

    A servicemember or their spouse's covered license or certificate will be considered valid at a similar scope of practice and in the discipline applied for in PA for the duration of the military orders if the following criteria are met:/p>

    1. Current residence in PA;
    2. Current military orders reflecting reassignment from the certifying/licensing state to PA and, if applicable, a marriage certificate/license;
    3. Verification of service under the scope of the comparable certificate/license in the certifying/licensing state within the two years preceding reassignment to PA; and
    4. Current/comparable certification/licensure in the state under which the service was rendered.

    Please contact the Division of Certification Services the Division of Certification Services for further guidance.