How to Become a Teacher in Michigan: 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.

In Michigan, candidates are recommended for a teaching certificate by an educator preparation provider (EPP) approved by the Michigan State Board of Education, and each provider must also be approved for the specific grade bands and endorsement areas it offers. Every Michigan EPP must be nationally accredited through CAEP or AAQEP. The Michigan Department of Education publishes a searchable database of approved programs and gives each provider an annual performance score and effectiveness label; providers labeled At Risk or Low Performing work with MDE on corrective action.

1. Search the MDE database of approved educator preparation programs.
2. Check the provider's annual performance score and effectiveness label.
3. Choose a program approved for the grade band and endorsement area to be taught.
4. Complete the approved program.
5. Receive the provider's recommendation for a Michigan teaching certificate.

Source: michigan.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

Alternative Route to Teacher Certification

Michigan's alternative route is an expedited, non-traditional preparation program for people with at least a bachelor's degree, completed while working as a teacher on an Interim Teaching Certificate (ITC). Entry requires a bachelor's degree, a 3.0 cohort grade point average and a criminal background check, and approved programs include at least 12 semester credit hours of training plus a classroom field experience. The ITC is a 5-year certificate that is issued only once, cannot be renewed and requires staying enrolled in the program; after finishing the program and three years of successful teaching, the provider recommends the candidate for a Standard Teaching Certificate. Career and technical education CIP codes, early childhood, and the autism spectrum disorder, visual impairment and deaf or hard of hearing endorsements are not available through this route.

1. Choose a provider from the MDE list of approved alternative route providers.
2. Meet the entry criteria: a bachelor's degree, a 3.0 cohort grade point average and a criminal background check.
3. Pass the MTTC for the endorsement area and complete any coursework or field experience the provider requires before recommending an ITC.
4. Get hired to teach in the content area, then apply for the Interim Teaching Certificate with the provider's guidance.
5. Complete the whole program and teach successfully for three years.
6. Apply in MOECS for the Standard Teaching Certificate with the provider's recommendation.

Source: michigan.gov

Changing careers into teaching in Michigan

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 9 programs below are on the state's approved list.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in Michigan was $66,030 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 Michigan.

Candidates who completed an out-of-state teacher preparation program apply for Michigan certification through the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS) before any testing guidance is given. After the application is submitted, the evaluation fee is paid and all requested documents are sent, the application is evaluated and an evaluation report is issued listing any MTTC tests still required.

1. Apply for Michigan certification through MOECS.
2. Pay the evaluation fee.
3. Send all documentation the department requests.
4. Review the evaluation report for any testing requirements.
5. Register for and pass any MTTC tests the report lists.

Source: mttc.nesinc.com

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Michigan uses MTTC 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

The Michigan Department of Education lists a criminal background check (R 390.1201) among the legislated selectivity criteria for enrolling in an alternative route program, together with a bachelor's degree and a 3.0 cohort grade point average. Source

Your first license

License: Standard Teaching Certificate. It is valid for 5 years. It is Michigan's initial teaching certificate for teacher preparation program completers and can be renewed an unlimited number of times, with each renewal adding five years. Moving up to the Professional Teaching Certificate, Michigan's second tier, is optional. Source

Renewal

Michigan teaching certificates are valid for 5 years and expire on June 30. They can be renewed from January 1 of the expiration year, or progressed to a more advanced certificate once its requirements are met, and the Standard and Professional Teaching Certificates have unlimited renewals that each add five years. There is no state-level penalty for a lapsed certificate, though there may be local employment consequences, and the requirements are the same whether the certificate is valid or expired. Source

Teacher pay in Michigan

Elementary teachers in Michigan earned a median of $65,110 a year in May 2025, $1,140 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

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

• Career and Technical Education: Family and Consumer Science (statewide)
• Core Subjects: Elementary Education (statewide)
• English as a Second Language (statewide)
• Language Arts: Reading and Literacy (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science (statewide)
• Special Education: All Exceptionalities (statewide)
• Support Staff: Guidance and Counseling, Library/Media Specialist, Social Worker (statewide)

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