How to Become a Teacher: Steps, Timeline, Cost and Pay

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy against the sources listed below.

Becoming a public school teacher in the United States follows the same broad sequence in every state. You earn a bachelor's degree that includes an approved educator preparation program, complete supervised student teaching, pass the tests your state requires, clear a background check, and apply to your state's licensing agency. The details differ from state to state, so the finder below opens a guide for your state with its tests, qualifying scores, fees and approved programs, and the state table near the end links each licensing office. Below we walk through the standard route step by step, then cover timelines, costs, pay and outlook, and the alternative routes open to people who already hold a degree.

Find your state's requirements

Pick your state and where you are starting from. The finder opens that state's guide at the right section: the traditional route if you have no degree yet, the alternative route if you hold a bachelor's degree in another field, the out-of-state section if you already hold a license elsewhere, or the career-changer section with the state's approved alternative programs.

The standard route at a glance

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, all states require public school teachers to be licensed or certified for the grade level they teach. Requirements vary by state but generally include a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA, completion of a student teaching program, a background check, and passing scores on a general teaching test plus a subject-knowledge test. Private school teachers typically do not need a state license, although many private schools prefer to hire licensed teachers.

Those requirements translate into six steps:

1. Earn a bachelor's degree that includes a state-approved educator preparation program.
2. Complete a supervised student teaching placement.
3. Pass your state's basic skills, subject and pedagogy exams.
4. Clear a fingerprint-based criminal background check.
5. Apply to your state agency for an initial license.
6. Keep the license current through professional development and renewal.

Most people complete steps 1 and 2 inside the same degree program, sit the exams during the final year, and submit the license application within weeks of graduating.

Step 1: Earn a bachelor's degree with educator preparation

The degree is the foundation of the standard route. Two shapes are common:

• Education major. Elementary, early childhood and special education candidates usually major in education. The program bundles child development, literacy and math methods, classroom management, assessment and field experiences with the general education core.
• Subject major plus teacher preparation. Middle and high school candidates often major in the subject they will teach (biology, history, mathematics, English) and add a secondary education minor or a certification sequence. This shape also makes it easier to switch careers later if you leave the classroom.

Whichever shape you choose, confirm that the program is approved by the state where you intend to teach and, ideally, accredited by CAEP or AAQEP, the two national accreditors of educator preparation. State approval is what allows the program to recommend you for a license at the end. Programs also set a minimum GPA for admission to the professional sequence and for program completion, in line with the state minimum the BLS describes.

Online bachelor's programs in education are now mainstream. Coursework is delivered online, but field experiences and student teaching happen in a real school near you, arranged with the program's help. See our guides to the online bachelor's degree in education and the online teaching degree for how these programs handle placements, accreditation and state approval.

Try this: Before you enroll, email the certification agency for your state (table below) and ask whether the specific program leads to an initial license there. Keep the reply. It is the one answer that matters when you apply.

Step 2: Complete student teaching

Student teaching, sometimes called clinical practice or demonstration teaching, is a full-time placement in a school under a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor. You move from observing, to co-teaching, to planning and leading whole lessons and units, and you are evaluated against your state's teaching standards. Programs set the length. As one example, Western Governors University's B.A. Elementary Education describes student teaching as a full-time, supervised, in-classroom experience of a minimum of 12 to 20 weeks.

Practical points that catch people out:

• Student teaching is unpaid in most traditional programs, and the hours match a teacher's contract day. Plan your finances for a semester with little or no outside work.
• Placements are arranged by the program, but you may need to pass the state background check before you can enter a school.
• Many states and programs require a performance assessment during this period, built from lesson plans, video of your teaching and written reflections.

Step 3: Pass your state's required tests

Testing typically covers three things: basic academic skills, knowledge of the subject you will teach, and knowledge of teaching itself (pedagogy). Many states use the Praxis tests from ETS. The Praxis Core Combined test (test code 5752) measures reading, writing and mathematics skills, and Praxis subject tests cover specific licensure areas such as Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects (5001). ETS notes that each state sets its own requirements and passing scores, so the same test can have different cut scores in neighboring states.

Other states run their own exam series. Texas, for example, requires candidates to pass TExES content tests and the TExES Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam, as described on Teachers of Tomorrow's Texas program page. Your state agency page lists exactly which tests apply to your certificate area, and your preparation program will tell you when to take them. Taking the basic skills test early, often before admission to the professional sequence, leaves time to retake it if needed.

Step 4: Clear a background check

Every state requires a criminal history check before issuing a license, and most schools also require one before student teaching. The process usually involves fingerprinting through a state-approved vendor, with results shared with the state education agency. Fees are modest and set by each state; Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, for example, lists a $45 fee for a name change or background check. Disclose anything on your record honestly on the application. Agencies review cases individually, and an undisclosed item is treated far more seriously than a disclosed one.

Step 5: Apply for your initial license

Once you have the degree, the program's recommendation, passing test scores and a cleared background check, you apply to the state agency, usually through an online portal. Expect to upload official transcripts, verification of program completion and test score reports, and to pay an application fee. Fees vary by state: Pennsylvania charges a $150 total for a new credential ($50 certification fee plus a $100 professional educator discipline fee), while Wisconsin's standard license processing fee is $135. Processing times vary, so apply as soon as your final grades post if you want to start in August.

The initial license is usually provisional or probationary for the first few years. In 2020-21, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 90 percent of public school teachers held a regular or standard state certificate or an advanced professional certificate, 4 percent held a provisional or temporary certificate, 3 percent a probationary certificate, 2 percent no certificate and 1 percent a waiver or emergency certificate.

Step 6: Keep your license current

Licenses expire and must be renewed, typically on a cycle of several years. The BLS notes that teachers often must complete professional development to keep their license, and some states require a master's degree after certification and hiring. A master's in education can also move you up the salary schedule in many districts, so it is worth checking both the renewal rule and the pay scale in the district where you plan to work.

Alternative routes, briefly

If you already hold a bachelor's degree in another field, you do not need a second degree. The BLS states that all states offer alternative certification routes for people with a bachelor's degree who lack education coursework. These routes let you complete pedagogy training and exams through an approved program, often while teaching on an intern or probationary certificate, and they are a well-established pipeline: NCES reported that about 18 percent of public school teachers in 2015-16 had entered teaching through an alternative route. Our guide to alternative teacher certification explains the main models, the real providers, the online and in-person components, and the pitfalls.

How long does it take to become a teacher?

For a closer look at the fastest options, see how fast you can get a teaching degree online.

What it costs

Costs fall into four buckets: the degree, tests, the background check and the license application. The degree dominates. Figures below are published amounts from the sources named; your own costs will depend on residency, aid and the program you pick.

Note: The NCES figures are averages across all majors, not education-specific prices, and they are in constant 2022-23 dollars. Test and license fees change; check the current amount on the agency page before you budget.

Teacher pay and job outlook

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook publishes median pay and ten-year projections for each teaching level. The figures below are May 2025 medians and 2025-35 projections.

Two things stand out. First, even with flat overall employment, the BLS projects roughly 200,000 openings a year across the three levels combined, most of them from replacing teachers who leave the occupation or retire. Second, pay rises with grade level in the national medians, and it rises further with experience, graduate credits and the district you work in.

For related classroom roles, the BLS education occupations overview lists May 2025 median pay of $67,170 for special education teachers, $65,150 for career and technical education teachers and $38,140 for preschool teachers. If special education interests you, our guide to the online master's in special education covers the add-on and initial-license options.

Teacher requirements by state: certification agencies

Every state and the District of Columbia runs its own licensing office, and that office is the only authoritative source for your state's tests, GPA minimums, coursework rules, background check process, fees and reciprocity terms. The table links the agency responsible for teacher certification in each state to its certification page, alongside our guide to that state's routes, required tests, qualifying scores, fees and teacher pay. Links were checked on November 7, 2026. Where the certification office's page could not be reached from our network, the link goes to the department's homepage and is marked as such; use its menu or search for "licensure" or "certification."

Note: Several states house licensing in an independent board or commission rather than the education department (California, Georgia, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming, Hawaii). If a school district or program tells you something that conflicts with the agency's page, the agency is right.

A realistic plan

If you are in high school or early in college, choose a state-approved program in the state where you want to teach, keep your GPA above the program's minimum, and take the basic skills test early. If you are already in a different career, read the alternative certification guide first, then confirm with your state agency which programs it approves. Either way, the agency table above is the place to verify every requirement before you spend money on a program or a test.