How to Become a Teacher in Massachusetts: 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.

Route One: Massachusetts approved preparation program

Route One is for candidates who complete a Massachusetts approved educator preparation program, offered by a college or university or by an approved alternative preparation organization. Candidates need a bachelor's degree, a passing score on the Communication and Literacy Skills test (or a waiver through the Alternative Licensure Pathway) and passing scores on the subject matter knowledge tests for the license. Core academic teachers also need a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Teacher Endorsement or a Bilingual Education Endorsement.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree.
2. Complete a Massachusetts approved preparation program for the license, including the practicum (300 hours for most teacher licenses).
3. Pass the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL or an approved alternative, or request the waiver that approved program completers can use through June 30, 2029.
4. Pass the subject matter knowledge test(s) for the license.
5. Earn the SEI Teacher Endorsement or Bilingual Education Endorsement if you will teach a core academic subject.
6. Apply for the Initial license once your program endorses you as a completer.

Source: doe.mass.edu

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

Route Two: Performance Review Program for Initial Licensure (PRPIL)

Massachusetts issues a Provisional license to candidates who hold a bachelor's degree and pass the required licensure tests, without requiring a completed preparation program. Provisional license holders may seek teaching jobs in districts that have an approved preparation program for the Initial license, and those hired as teachers of record can earn the Initial license through Route Two, the Performance Review Program for Initial Licensure (PRPIL), run by a Department approved provider. Educators may work under Provisional licenses for no more than five years of employment in total.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree.
2. Pass the Communication and Literacy Skills test (or qualify for its waiver) and the subject matter knowledge test(s) for the license.
3. Apply for a Provisional license and get hired as a teacher of record.
4. Teach at least three full years under the Provisional license and complete your district's induction and mentoring program.
5. Document seminars, courses and experience tied to the Professional Standards for Teachers, and earn the SEI Teacher Endorsement if you teach a core academic subject.
6. Get a recommendation from your principal, superintendent or assistant superintendent.
7. Complete PRPIL through a Department approved provider and apply for the Initial license.

Source: doe.mass.edu

Changing careers into teaching in Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts was $95,260 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 confirmed in the agency pages we could check; check with the agency.

The agency keeps the official list here: approved programs in Massachusetts.

Licensed in another state

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

Route Three: candidates from outside Massachusetts

Route Three covers candidates prepared or licensed outside Massachusetts. Applicants show completion of a state-approved preparation program in a state that has signed the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement, a nationally accredited out-of-state college program, or at least an Initial-equivalent license from such a state; educators prepared outside the United States complete a Panel Review. They must still meet the Communication and Literacy Skills requirement, which can be waived for holders of an equivalent out-of-state license, and pass any subject matter test for the license. Teachers with three years of experience under a valid out-of-state license can instead receive a one-year, nonrenewable Temporary license.

1. Confirm you completed a state-approved program in a NASDTEC Interstate Agreement state or a nationally accredited program, or hold at least an Initial-equivalent license from such a state.
2. Pass the Communication and Literacy Skills test, or request the waiver available to holders of an out-of-state license equivalent to a Massachusetts Initial or Professional license.
3. Pass the subject matter knowledge test(s) for the license where a test exists.
4. Earn the SEI Teacher Endorsement or Bilingual Education Endorsement if you will teach a core academic subject.
5. Apply for the Initial license with evidence of your program or out-of-state license.
6. If you have three years of experience under a valid out-of-state license and have not failed a required MTEL, consider a one-year Temporary license while you finish the requirements.

Source: doe.mass.edu

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Massachusetts uses MTEL 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

Massachusetts school employers have access to criminal history reports of applicants and employees, including fingerprint-based national background checks through the Statewide Applicant Fingerprint Identification Services (SAFIS) program, expanded by Chapter 459 of the Acts of 2012 (An Act Relative to Background Checks). DESE issues the regulations and answers employer questions, while DCJIS administers the program. Source

Your first license

License: Initial license. It is valid for 5 years of employment. May be extended once for an additional five years of employment if the Professional license requirements have not yet been met. Time counts only while employed in a Massachusetts school that requires the license. The Provisional license (five years of employment, cannot be extended) and the Temporary license for out-of-state teachers (one year of employment) are the other entry-level licenses. Source

Renewal

The Professional license is valid for five calendar years and must be renewed to stay active. Educators renew in the ELAR portal once the required Professional Development Points (PDPs) are earned under an Individual Professional Development Plan, which a supervisor must approve if the educator is employed. Supporting documents are submitted only if the renewal is selected for an audit. Requirement: 150 PDPs every 5 years for the primary license (at least 15 each in content, pedagogy, SEI or ESL, and students with disabilities), plus 30 PDPs for each additional license. Source

Teacher pay in Massachusetts

Elementary teachers in Massachusetts earned a median of $94,000 a year in May 2025, $30,030 above 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

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

• Computer Science (statewide)
• Early Childhood: Early Childhood and Elementary Education (statewide)
• English as a Second Language: English as a Second Language (statewide)
• Language Arts (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science (statewide)
• Social Studies (statewide)
• Special Education (statewide)
• World Languages (statewide)

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