How to Become a Teacher in Oregon: 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.

Preliminary Teaching License (approved preparation program)

Oregon teachers need a bachelor's degree and completion of a TSPC-approved educator preparation program, offered at the undergraduate or graduate level by the state's approved providers. Program completers pass the content knowledge test for each endorsement through ORELA or Praxis and apply in eLicensing for the three-year Preliminary Teaching License. The preparation program submits a Program Completion Report, and every first-time licensee completes a fingerprint background clearance.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree and complete a TSPC-approved educator preparation program.
2. Pass the ORELA or Praxis content knowledge test for each endorsement area.
3. Submit the application and fee through TSPC eLicensing.
4. Complete fingerprinting using the TSPC-issued Fieldprint codes.
5. Have official transcripts sent directly from the college and ask the program to file the Program Completion Report.

Source: oregon.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

Oregon Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching

TSPC describes non-traditional (alternative) programs as any preparation that departs from the university degree model, and Oregon still requires a TSPC-approved program for a regular license. The Oregon Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching, a partnership between TSPC and the Bureau of Labor and Industries, follows a three-year framework in which apprentices are paid school district employees who receive related training from an approved Oregon educator preparation program. Separately, a district can sponsor a one-year Restricted Teaching License for a person with a bachelor's degree and substantial subject preparation who has not completed a preparation program.

1. Contact a school district or ESD registered as a Training Agent with the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
2. Apply to the apprenticeship through that district, which submits the required documents to the committee.
3. Enroll with a Related Training Provider, an approved Oregon educator preparation program registered with the committee.
4. Work as a paid apprentice while completing on-the-job training and the related instruction.
5. Apply for the Preliminary Teaching License through eLicensing once the preparation requirements are met.

Source: oregon.gov

Changing careers into teaching in Oregon

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 Oregon was $79,570 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 published by the state; check with the agency.

Licensed in another state

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

Reciprocal Teaching License

Teachers who completed a preparation program and hold an active, non-provisional teaching license from another state can receive a one-year Reciprocal Teaching License. It is valid for full-time and substitute teaching while the teacher completes any missing Oregon requirements, most often the Oregon content knowledge test. By the end of the year the teacher must qualify for the Preliminary Teaching License or another non-provisional Oregon license. Applicants who previously held an Oregon non-provisional license or completed an Oregon program are not eligible.

1. Submit the application and out-of-state fee through TSPC eLicensing.
2. Upload or send a copy of the current unrestricted out-of-state license.
3. Have official transcripts showing the degree and teacher preparation program sent directly to TSPC.
4. Complete fingerprinting with the TSPC-issued Fieldprint codes.
5. Submit prior test score reports, or PEER forms verifying experience, if available.
6. Complete the requirements listed in the eLicensing message before the one-year license ends.

Source: oregon.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Oregon uses ORELA (NES) and 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

First-time Oregon licensees, and holders of licenses expired more than three years, must be fingerprinted specifically for TSPC using TSPC-issued Fieldprint codes; results from districts, the Oregon Department of Education or other agencies are not accepted. The check covers an Oregon State Police and FBI fingerprint-based criminal history, the Law Enforcement Data Systems, and the NASDTEC Clearinghouse. Fingerprints stay valid for three years for applicants without a valid license, and the fee is paid through eLicensing. Fee: $61. Source

Your first license

License: Preliminary Teaching License. It is valid for 3 years. Teachers later upgrade to the five-year Professional Teaching License; out-of-state teachers start on the one-year Reciprocal Teaching License. Source

Renewal

Renewal means applying for the same license again through eLicensing on or before the expiration date; late applications incur late fees. Reporting of professional development units (PDUs) is required again for licenses expiring on or after July 1, 2029, and can be shown through a district PEER form, college transcripts, or a PDU certificate and log. The Reciprocal Teaching License is not renewable. Requirement: 75 PDUs to renew the Preliminary Teaching License and 125 PDUs for the Professional Teaching License (licenses expiring on or after July 1, 2029). Source

Teacher pay in Oregon

Elementary teachers in Oregon earned a median of $77,130 a year in May 2025, $13,160 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

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

• Core Subjects: Elementary Education (statewide)
• Health and Physical Fitness (statewide)
• Language Arts (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science (statewide)
• Special Education (statewide)

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