How to Become a Teacher in Kentucky: 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.

Note: The Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board website could not be reached from our network on November 7, 2026, so the routes, license, renewal and background-check details on this page come from Kentucky's administrative rules, 16 KAR, Kentucky Administrative Regulations Title 16 (Education Professional Standards Board). Rules set the requirements but not always the current procedures or fees, so confirm both with the agency before you apply.

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.

ETS summarizes Kentucky's initial certification requirements as follows: candidates complete an approved educator preparation program, pass the Praxis tests for their certification area, complete the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program, and submit the certification form and fees. Praxis Core tests are required before entering an educator preparation program, and a passing score stays valid for certification applications for 5 years from the test date.

1. Take the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators tests before entering an educator preparation program (some graduate programs accept GRE scores instead).
2. Complete an approved educator preparation program.
3. Pass the required Praxis Subject Assessments for your certification area and send scores to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (state code 7283).
4. Complete the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program.
5. Submit the certification application and fees.

Source: praxis.ets.org

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

University-based alternative certification program

The university-based alternative certification teacher program is a post-baccalaureate preparation program that candidates complete while employed as teachers. Candidates must meet the admission standards for initial certification programs, and once hired they teach on a temporary provisional certificate requested by the employing superintendent, with at least 15 hours of classroom observation each year by university faculty and a district mentor; student teaching is not required. Programs are designed to be completed within five years (three years for exceptional children and interdisciplinary early childhood education), and completers who meet the certification and assessment requirements can apply to the EPSB for a professional certificate.

1. Gain admission to an EPSB-approved university-based alternative certification teacher program
2. Get written, dated documentation of program eligibility and use it to apply for teaching positions
3. Once hired, have the superintendent request a temporary provisional certificate and send the EPSB official transcripts from every college attended
4. Begin coursework within 90 days of the eligibility notice and complete the required annual mentoring observations
5. Renew the temporary provisional certificate on the program's recommendation (up to four renewals, or two for exceptional children and interdisciplinary early childhood candidates)
6. Complete the program and the required assessments, then apply to the EPSB for a professional certificate

Source: law.cornell.edu

Changing careers into teaching in Kentucky

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.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in Kentucky was $61,560 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

Not verified yet: the state's website could not be reached when we checked. Check with the agency.

Licensed in another state

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

Applicants with out-of-state educator preparation

Applicants who completed teacher preparation through an out-of-state provider must hold a license or certificate from the state where they prepared that is equivalent to the Kentucky statement of eligibility and was earned by completing an approved educator preparation program, not by passing an assessment alone. They must also meet the degree, academic preparation and grade point requirements of 16 KAR 2:010, and fully online out-of-state programs must be approved in their home state, regionally accredited and CAEP accredited. Qualifying applicants receive a Kentucky certificate or statement of eligibility for the matching grade range and content area and remain subject to Kentucky testing, internship, recency and renewal rules.

1. Confirm the out-of-state license is equivalent to a Kentucky statement of eligibility and was earned through an approved preparation program
2. Check that the degree, coursework and grade point average meet the requirements of 16 KAR 2:010
3. Apply to the EPSB following the application procedures in 16 KAR 2:010
4. Meet any Kentucky testing and internship requirements that apply
5. For middle school, high school, grades 5-12 or P-12 certification, complete a content literacy course within five years of certification

Source: law.cornell.edu

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Kentucky 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

Before the EPSB issues or renews a certificate or statement of eligibility, applicants must answer background disclosure questions about any denied, suspended, revoked or surrendered license, discipline or resignation tied to misconduct allegations, pending misconduct actions, felony or misdemeanor convictions or pleas (including DUI, but not minor traffic violations), and pending criminal charges. A yes answer does not automatically bar certification, but the board keeps final authority to deny a request, and applicants may submit a narrative for the board to consider. The rule does not set a background check fee. Source

Your first license

License: Provisional internship certificate. It is valid for 1 year (for the duration of the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program). Candidates who complete a traditional preparation program with a 2.75 cumulative GPA (or a 3.0 GPA on the last 30 credit hours) and pass the required assessments first receive a statement of eligibility. The provisional internship certificate is issued once they are hired in a matching assignment, and after completing the internship the EPSB issues an initial four-year professional certificate (a five-year certificate for candidates who completed the internship on a temporary provisional certificate). Professional certificates are then renewed for five-year periods. Source

Renewal

Kentucky professional teaching certificates are renewed for five-year periods. The first five-year renewal requires at least 15 semester hours of graduate credit toward an approved fifth-year program or completion of the continuing education option, and the second requires completing the fifth-year program or the continuing education option, in each case by September 1 of the year the certificate expires. Later five-year renewals follow 16 KAR 4:060, and applicants answer the background disclosure questions at each renewal. Requirement: 15 graduate semester hours (or the continuing education option) for the first 5-year renewal; a completed fifth-year program (or the continuing education option) for the second. Source

Teacher pay in Kentucky

Elementary teachers in Kentucky earned a median of $60,610 a year in May 2025, $3,360 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

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

• Career and Technical Education (in some districts or regions)
• Early Childhood: Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (in some districts or regions)
• English as a Second Language (in some districts or regions)
• Health and Physical Fitness (in some districts or regions)
• Language Arts: Arts & Humanities, English & Communications (in some districts or regions)
• Mathematics (in some districts or regions)
• Science: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, General Science, Physics (in some districts or regions)
• Social Studies (in some districts or regions)
• Special Education (in some districts or regions)
• World Languages (in some districts or regions)

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