How to Become a Teacher in North Carolina: 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.

Approved Educator Preparation Program (Initial Professional License)

Candidates complete an approved educator preparation program and then apply for a professional educator's license through the NCDPI Online Licensure System. The application includes degree-dated transcripts, any licensure exam scores, and Form V verifying program completion. New teachers usually start on the Initial Professional License, which lasts three years, and convert to the Continuing Professional License after three years of teaching and passing the required exams.

1. Complete an approved educator preparation program.
2. Take the licensure exams for your area; exams must be attempted in the first year of the license and passed by the third year.
3. Gather degree-dated transcripts, exam scores and Form V from your institution.
4. Apply in the NCDPI Online Licensure System, upload the documents and pay the non-refundable fee.
5. Teach for three years and pass all required exams to convert the Initial Professional License to a Continuing Professional License.

Source: dpi.nc.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

Residency License

The Residency License lets a person teach in a North Carolina public school or charter school while enrolled in an approved educator preparation program. It is a one-year license that may be renewed twice, for a cycle of up to three years, and it is issued in the teaching area that matches the candidate's qualifications. Only the enrolling program and the hiring school system can start the application, using Form RL, and residents must complete content exams and a performance or pedagogy assessment (edTPA or PPAT).

1. Get hired to teach by a North Carolina public school system or charter school.
2. Enroll in an approved educator preparation program that confirms you are qualified.
3. Have the program and the employing school system submit Form RL for the Residency License.
4. Teach on the one-year license, renewable twice, while completing the program.
5. Pass the required content exams and edTPA or PPAT, then qualify for a professional license.

Source: dpi.nc.gov

Changing careers into teaching in North Carolina

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, and one of them says its coursework is online.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in North Carolina was $57,650 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 North Carolina.

Out-of-State Applicants

North Carolina defines reciprocity as acknowledging completion of an approved educator preparation program in another state, and it recognizes approved programs from all states. Applicants with three or more years of classroom teaching may use exams taken in another state when North Carolina has a comparable license area, provided they met the test developer's recommended passing score. Out-of-state teachers must submit effectiveness data with a Continuing Professional License application; without it they may only qualify for the Initial Professional License.

1. Gather transcripts, your out-of-state license, exam scores and verification of your approved preparation program.
2. Have each employer complete Form E to verify prior teaching experience.
3. Include effectiveness data from your previous state if you are applying for the Continuing Professional License.
4. Apply and pay through the NCDPI Online Licensure System.
5. Complete any North Carolina exams not covered by comparable out-of-state tests.

Source: dpi.nc.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

North Carolina uses Pearson (NC), Praxis, edTPA and PPAT 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 published by the state; check with the agency.

Your first license

License: Initial Professional License (IPL). It is valid for 3 years, non-renewable. Required exams must be attempted in the first year of the license and passed before or during the third year. The IPL converts to a Continuing Professional License after at least three years of teaching experience and passing all required licensure exams. Source

Renewal

The Continuing Professional License must be renewed every five years, on or after April 15 of the year it expires, through the NCDPI Online Licensure System. Renewal requires 8 units of renewal credit, where one unit equals 10 clock hours: K-5 teachers need 3 subject area, 3 literacy and 2 general credits, and 6-12 teachers need 4 subject area and 4 general credits. Requirement: 8 renewal credits (80 clock hours) every 5 years. Source

Teacher pay in North Carolina

Elementary teachers in North Carolina earned a median of $54,930 a year in May 2025, $9,040 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

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

• Career and Technical Education (statewide)
• Core Subjects: Elementary Education (statewide)
• Language Arts (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science (statewide)
• Social Studies (statewide)
• Special Education: Exceptional Children (statewide)

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