How to Become a Teacher in Nevada: 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.

Standard license through an educator preparation program

First-time applicants must meet Nevada's requirements for academic preparation, student teaching and competency testing for the license area sought. Most teaching licenses require the Praxis Core tests in reading, writing and mathematics, the Principles of Learning and Teaching test for the grade level, and any required Praxis content tests, taken within ten years before applying. Applicants who are missing tests may receive a non-renewable provisional license valid for three years.

1. Complete a teacher preparation program with student teaching at a regionally accredited institution
2. Pass Praxis Core (or an accepted exemption such as qualifying SAT, ACT or GRE scores)
3. Pass the Principles of Learning and Teaching test and any required Praxis content test
4. Apply and pay the $210 fee in the OPAL online portal, with official transcripts
5. Submit fingerprints for the state and FBI background check

Source: doe.nv.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 Licensure (ARL)

ARL programs are approved by the Commission on Professional Standards. Candidates need a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution and must be accepted for enrollment by a qualified ARL provider. Nevada does not reciprocate ARL licenses from other states, territories or countries, and fingerprinting is required for a new ARL license and again when converting it to a standard license.

1. Hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution
2. Enroll in an approved ARL program and get an initial ARL letter from the provider
3. Create an OPAL account and submit the application and supporting documents
4. Complete fingerprinting for the background check
5. Finish the provider's program and apply to convert the ARL license to a standard license

Source: doe.nv.gov

Changing careers into teaching in Nevada

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 10 programs below are on the state's approved list, and one of them says its coursework is online.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in Nevada was $65,520 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 Nevada.

Reciprocal licensure

Applicants who hold a valid, non-conditional, non-provisional license from another US state or territory may be eligible for reciprocal licensure. Reciprocity in most cases waives Nevada's testing requirements, and staff match licenses and endorsements to the closest Nevada equivalents. Original transcripts and copies of all current licenses are still required.

1. Confirm your out-of-state license is valid, non-conditional and non-provisional
2. Apply through OPAL and upload your current licenses as PDFs in the out-of-state licensure section
3. Send original transcripts
4. Complete the Nevada fingerprint background check

Source: doe.nv.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Nevada 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

Every applicant for a new or renewed license submits fingerprints, which are sent to the Nevada Department of Public Safety and the FBI. Nevada residents are encouraged to use a Department-approved Livescan vendor after applying and paying in OPAL; out-of-state applicants must submit an FBI FD-258 fingerprint card. A license is not issued, even provisionally, until the background check is complete, which usually takes four to five weeks. Source

Your first license

License: Standard License. It is valid for 5 years. Applicants with deficiencies such as missing tests may receive a non-renewable provisional license valid for 3 years. A Professional License (master's degree plus at least five years of full-time teaching) is valid for 6 years. Source

Renewal

Licenses issued on or after September 16, 2024 renew with 90 clock hours of continuing education, 6 semester credits, or a combination, earned at any time during the licensure period. Licenses issued before that date require 15 hours per year. Standard and Professional licenses can be renewed in OPAL up to nine months before expiration, and a new background check is part of renewal. Requirement: 90 clock hours or 6 semester credits per licensure period. Source

Teacher pay in Nevada

Elementary teachers in Nevada earned a median of $65,040 a year in May 2025, $1,070 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

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

• Art and Music Education: Art (statewide)
• Core Subjects: Elementary Education (statewide)
• Early Childhood: Birth through Kindergarten, Early Childhood and Elementary Education (statewide)
• English as a Second Language: English as a Second Language (statewide)
• Language Arts: English (statewide)
• Mathematics: Basic and Advanced Mathematics (statewide)
• Special Education: Autism Spectrum Disorder (statewide)
• World Languages: Spanish (statewide)

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