How to Become a Teacher in Indiana: Tests, Fees and Routes

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Every fact on this page was checked against the source linked beside it on November 7, 2026.

No degree yet: the traditional route

For high school students, college students and anyone without a bachelor's degree. You earn the degree and the teacher preparation in one program.

Original Instructional License In-State

Candidates who complete an Indiana educator preparation program apply for an original instructional license through the License Verification and Information System (LVIS), the department's online licensing portal. The application names the Indiana institution where the program was completed as the recommending institution and includes answers to legal questions, the grade span and licensing areas requested, the required documents and a loyalty affidavit. It is submitted and paid for online.

1. Complete an Indiana educator preparation program
2. Create an LVIS account and start a new Teacher application using the Indiana Educator Preparation Program option
3. Add the Indiana institution where you completed your program as the recommending institution
4. Answer the legal questions and select your grade span and licensing areas
5. Upload the required documents, review the loyalty affidavit and submit
6. Pay the application fee online by credit card

Source: in.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

For people who already hold a bachelor's degree in a subject other than education.

Transition to Teaching

Transition to Teaching (T2T) programs let people who already hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution move into teaching without earning another degree, with options in early childhood, elementary, secondary and all grades (pre-kindergarten through grade 12). Candidates enrolled in an Indiana approved T2T program and hired by an Indiana school corporation can receive a three-year, non-renewable T2T permit. After finishing the program and testing, they apply for a professional educator's license.

1. Hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution
2. Enroll in an Indiana approved Transition to Teaching program
3. Get hired by an Indiana school corporation
4. Apply in LVIS for the T2T permit with transcripts, CPR certification, suicide prevention, human trafficking and child abuse and neglect training, and the program's acceptance letter
5. Have the school corporation superintendent approve the application routed through LVIS
6. Complete the T2T program and testing, then apply for the professional educator's license

Source: in.gov

Changing careers into teaching in Indiana

If you already have a bachelor's degree and some years in another job, start with the alternative route described above. It is built for people who did not study education. The 15 programs below are on the state's approved list.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in Indiana was $61,880 in May 2025, according to the BLS OEWS state estimates. If your background matches a subject on the state's shortage list, that list is further down this page.

State-approved alternative certification programs

Programs shown are a selection from the state's approved list, checked November 7, 2026. "Online" reflects what the program or the state says about its coursework; teaching practice is always in a real school. The full, current list is on the agency's approved-program page.

Licensed in another state

For teachers who hold a license from another state and want to teach in Indiana.

Original Instructional License Out-of-State

Applicants who completed an educator preparation program outside Indiana apply for an original instructional license through LVIS by selecting the out-of-state educator preparation program option. They enter the subject areas sought, name the state and college or university where they completed the program, answer the application questions, upload the required documents and pay online. The same page also lists a separate Teacher Reciprocal Permit application.

1. Log into your LVIS account and choose to apply for a new Teacher license
2. Select the option for an out-of-state educator preparation program
3. Enter the subject areas you want on the license
4. Add the state and college or university where you completed your program as the recommending institution
5. Answer the questions and upload the required documents
6. Submit the application and pay online

Source: in.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Indiana uses Praxis for teacher licensure. The table lists the core tests by license area, with the qualifying score and fee exactly as the source publishes them. Which tests you take depends on the license area you are seeking, so check the full list for your subject before you register.

Scores and fees change. Confirm both on the testing company's page before you register.

Fees, background check and license validity

Background check

Not confirmed in the agency pages we could check; check with the agency.

Your first license

License: Initial Practitioner License. It is valid for 2 years. After at least two years of experience in the content area, holders convert to the five-year Practitioner license through one of five options: the Indiana Mentor and Assessment Program (IMAP), a 40-point Professional Growth Plan, a valid IPLA license (communication disorders, school social workers and school nurses only), adding the early literacy endorsement, or two years of teaching in another state. Source

Renewal

A Professional Growth Plan (PGP) is one of three options for renewing a renewable Indiana professional educator license or charter school license. Renewing a five-year or ten-year license with a PGP takes 90 points, with one point per clock hour of professional development earned since the license being renewed was issued. Educators working in an Indiana school have their PGP verified by their district, while others upload documentation for the Office of Educator Licensing to verify, and the PGP must be verified before the renewal application is started in LVIS. Requirement: 90 PGP points (one per clock hour) since the license was issued, when renewing a 5-year or 10-year license with a PGP. Source

Teacher pay in Indiana

Elementary teachers in Indiana earned a median of $59,700 a year in May 2025, $4,270 below the national median of $63,970. Half of teachers in each occupation earn more than the median and half earn less. What you earn in a given district depends on its salary schedule, your experience and any graduate credits.

Annual wages, cross-industry estimates, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025 state tables, retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on November 7, 2026. Special education teachers are shown separately; our guide to the online master's in special education covers the add-on and initial-license options.

Teacher shortage areas, 2026-27

Indiana reported these subject areas to the US Department of Education as teacher shortage areas for the 2026-27 school year.

• Art and Music Education: Band (statewide)
• Career and Technical Education: Agricultural Business and Production Technology, Business Education, Engineering Technology, Family and Consumer Science, Health and Medical Occupations, Industrial Technology, Marketing (statewide)
• Computer Science (statewide)
• English as a Second Language: English as a Second Language (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science: Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Life Sciences, Physical Science, Physics, STEM (statewide)
• Special Education: All Exceptionalities (statewide)
• Support Staff: Counseling (statewide)

Source: US Department of Education, Teacher Shortage Areas report, retrieved November 7, 2026.