Q:Who is Eligible for Board Certification?
A:
To be eligible to achieve National Board Certification, candidates must meet the education, licensure, and employment requirements described below. World Languages candidates must also meet the language proficiency requirement.
| Eligibility Requirement |
Requirement Must be Met |
| Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. (Candidates for the Career and Technical Education certificate are required to hold a bachelor’s degree only if their state required one for their current license.) |
Before a candidate registers and purchases their first component for National Board Certification. |
| Candidates must hold a valid state teaching license or meet the licensure requirements established by their state. |
Before a candidate registers and purchases their first component for National Board Certification.
Note: A candidate must also hold a valid license for each of the three years they verify towards the employment requirement.
|
| Candidates must have successfully completed three years of teaching at one or more early childhood, elementary, middle, or secondary schools to achieve Board certification. (Applicants for ECYA/School Counseling must have successfully completed three years serving as a school counselor.) |
No later than June 30 of a candidate’s third year of candidacy. *This requirement must be met for a candidate to be eligible to achieve certification.
When a candidate meets the score requirements and all eligibility requirements, including the teaching employment requirement (if not already met), the candidate will achieve National Board certification.
|
| World Language candidates: ACTFL language proficiency requirement. |
No later than June 30 of the assessment cycle in which a candidate completes initial testing on all four National Board components. When a candidate meets the ACTFL and score requirements and the teaching employment requirement (if not already met), the candidate will achieve National Board certification. |
*This policy was revised, effective for first-time candidates in the fall of the 2022-23 registration cycle. For more information, see the Policy Change FAQ page, or the Guide to National Board Certification and the Eligibility Verification Forms and Instructions.
Q:How do I determine my years of employment? Does substitute and part-time teaching count toward the three-year requirement?
A:
Part-time and long-term substitute teaching does count toward the three-year employment requirement. To calculate your actual years of employment, please refer to the instructions located on page six of the Eligibility Verification Forms and Instructions.
Q:I haven’t completed three (3) full years of teaching. Am I eligible to begin the certification process and start taking components?
A:
Candidates who hold a bachelor’s degree and a valid state teaching or school counseling license may begin the certification process before having completed three years of full-time teaching/counseling. (NOTE: Candidates for the Career and Technical Education certificate are required to hold a bachelor’s degree only if their state requires one for their current license).
Q:When will I need to have met the three (3) years of employment requirement?
A:
You must have met the three-year employment requirement by June 30 of your third year of National Board candidacy. If you don’t meet the three (3) years of employment requirement by June 30 of your third year, you will not be eligible to achieve certification.
Q:I haven’t received notification that I was selected for the eligibility audit; should I send in my eligibility verification forms now?
A:
No. The National Board will audit first-time candidate records and request proof of meeting the eligibility requirements. If you are selected for the audit, by the audit deadline you must provide supporting documentation demonstrating you met the specified eligibility requirements. Please note the following:
- Candidates who have completed three or more years of teaching when they register will be randomly audited and required to submit proof of meeting the education, licensure, and employment requirements.
- All candidates who have completed less than three years of teaching when they register will be required to complete two separate audits:
- Initial Audit: Proof of meeting the education and licensure requirements must be submitted during the initial year of candidacy.
- Employment Audit: After completing the initial audit, an employment attestation button will appear on the Candidate Dashboard of the candidate’s National Board account. Candidates will need to complete the attestation and submit proof of meeting the employment requirement after completing three years of successful teaching, and no later than June 30 of their third year of candidacy, to be eligible to achieve certification. A candidate who does not meet the employment requirement by June 30 of the third year of candidacy will not achieve National Board Certification.
All candidates who are being audited will be notified by the National Board via email within 30 days of the purchase of their first component and will then have until February 28 to return the appropriate verification forms located in the Eligibility Verification Forms and Instructions. Candidates who purchase a component towards the end of the registration window will have 30 days to submit the required verification forms. Audited candidates will be notified of their eligibility status within 15 days of receipt of the completed verification forms.
Q:I teach overseas. Am I eligible to apply?
A:
Yes. Go to the Candidate Resources section and review the Guide to National Board Certification, download the Eligibility Verification Forms to see if you meet the education, employment and licensure requirements. Note: The computer-based assessment (Component 1) is only administered in the United States, some U.S. Territories and Puerto Rico.
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