All applicants who have less than two-years of teaching experience must apply for an Initial teacher certification. Applicants who have at least two years of teaching experience and a valid, regular out-of-state teaching certificate may qualify for a Professional Out-of-State Teaching Certificate.
Below are the minimum requirements for each teaching certificate type.
Alternative Pathways to Teacher Certification
If an applicant does not meet the requirements of one of the listed teaching certificates, the applicant may want to explore the district-sponsored certificates for alternative pathways to certification.
The Initial Two-Year certificate is for all applicants who have completed a teacher preparation program and are new to the teaching profession. If you have taught for less than two years, you are considered new to the profession in Alaska.
To qualify for an Initial Two-Year teacher certificate, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
An Initial Two-Year teacher certificate will be valid for two years and may be extended once at no charge for one-year so long as the extension requirements have been met before the expiration date of the Initial Two-Year teacher certificate.
For the one-year extension, the certificate holder must submit:
An applicant who has satisfied the requirements for Initial Two-Year teacher certification as well as the Alaska studies and Alaska multicultural coursework requirements at the time of application, will be issued an Initial Three-Year teacher certificate.
An Initial Three-Year teacher certificate is not renewable.
Next step: Apply for a Professional or Initial Five-Year certificate.
A Professional teaching certificate is for applicants who have met all Alaska certification requirements under AS 14.20.020 and 4 AAC 12.305 (b). The Professional certificate is Alaska’s regular certificate previously called a Type A.
To qualify for a Professional teacher certificate, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
A Professional teaching certificate will be valid for five years.
The Out-of-State Professional teacher certificate is for applicants who have completed a state-approved teacher preparation program from a regionally accredited college or university.
The Professional Out-of-State teacher certificate is for educators currently certified in another state under a regular certificate and who wish to teach in Alaska. To qualify for this certificate, applicants must meet the following requirements:
The Professional Out-of-State teacher certificate will be valid for two years and may be extended once, at no charge, for an additional three years, provided the extension requirements are met before the certificate's expiration date.
For the three-year extension, official transcripts must be received by the Teacher Certification office before the expiration date of the Professional Out-of-State certificate. These transcripts must show completion of:
Endorsements on a Professional Out-of-State teacher certificate will reflect those on the applicant’s out-of-state certificate. If the applicant holds more than one valid out-of-state certificate, they must choose which certificate to submit with the initial application.
TEACH-AK Application Guidance:
Next step: Renew the Out-of-State Professional certificate or apply for a Master Teacher Certificate.
A Five-Year Initial teaching certificate is for applicants who have previously held an Initial teaching certificate but who have not satisfied the two years of teaching experience requirement for the Professional teaching certificate.
To qualify for an Initial Five-Year teacher certificate, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
An Initial Five-Year teacher certificate will be valid for five (5) years and is renewable.
Next step: Renew the five-year Initial certificate or apply for a Professional or Master Certificate
The Master Teacher Certificate is for teachers who hold national board certification.
To qualify for a Master certificate, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
The Master certificate is valid for five (5) years and is renewable.
Next step: Certificate Renewal
If the requirements to renew a Master certificate have not been met, an applicant must meet all current renewal requirements for the Professional certificate.
For teachers whose professional or master certificate expired more than one year ago.
To qualify for a Reemployment Teacher certificate, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
Endorsements placed on a Reemployment certificate will reflect the endorsements on the applicant’s previous Alaska teacher certificate.
A Reemployment teacher certificate will be valid for one year and is not renewable. The Reemployment teacher certificate cannot be reissued and is not eligible for an extension.
Special Notes about the Reemployment Certificate
Next Step: An applicant who has held a Reemployment teacher certificate must apply for either a Professional Teacher Certificate or an Initial Five-Year Certificate.
If any college-level coursework has been completed outside of the United States, a completed, original foreign evaluation must be submitted with the application. More information concerning foreign evaluations can be found at our foreign evaluations page.
If you wish to teach special education to children with disabilities, you must, in addition to meeting other requirements for teacher certification, secure an endorsement based upon completion of an approved teacher training program in special education.
If you wish to teach vocational trades, you must have an endorsement in vocational education or a Type M Limited Certificate.