How to Become a Teacher in Virginia: 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.

Note: The Virginia Department of Education website could not be reached from our network on November 7, 2026, so the routes, license, renewal and background-check details on this page come from Virginia's administrative rules, 8VAC20-23, Licensure Regulations for School Personnel. Rules set the requirements but not always the current procedures or fees, so confirm both with the agency before you apply.

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 program

Candidates complete a teacher preparation program approved by the Virginia Board of Education, built on a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in the liberal arts or sciences plus endorsement and professional studies requirements. Professional studies include supervised clinical experience with at least 10 weeks of full-time student teaching. Applicants must pass the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the board, and those seeking early/primary, elementary, certain special education, or reading specialist endorsements must also pass a reading instructional assessment.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
2. Complete a Virginia Board of Education-approved preparation program in the endorsement area, including at least 10 weeks of full-time student teaching.
3. Pass the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the board, plus the reading instructional assessment if the endorsement requires it.
4. Complete study in attention deficit disorder, gifted education, and school-family communication.
5. Complete dyslexia awareness training, study in child abuse recognition and intervention, and emergency first aid, CPR and AED certification or training.
6. Submit the licensure application and pay the fees set by the board (applicants must be at least 18).

Source: law.lis.virginia.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

Career switcher alternate route to licensure (Provisional (Career Switcher) License)

Career professionals with a bachelor's degree, at least three years of full-time work experience, the endorsement content requirements, and Virginia qualifying scores on the professional teacher's assessments can enter a career switcher program certified by the Virginia Department of Education. After Level I preparation of at least 180 clock hours, including field experience, they receive a Provisional (Career Switcher) License valid for one school year and teach with a trained mentor while completing at least five Level II seminars. With the employing agency's recommendation, completers become eligible for a 10-year renewable license. The rule also offers a Provisional License of up to three years for people already employed by a Virginia school who still need part of their professional studies, and a separate provisional route for special education teachers.

1. Hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and at least three years of successful full-time work experience.
2. Meet the endorsement requirements through verifiable experience or academic study and earn Virginia qualifying scores on the required professional teacher's assessments.
3. Complete Level I preparation of at least 180 clock hours, including field experience, through a certified career switcher program.
4. Teach full time in a Virginia public or accredited nonpublic school on the one-year Provisional (Career Switcher) License with an assigned mentor.
5. Attend at least five Level II seminars totaling at least 20 instructional hours during the first year.
6. Obtain the employing agency's recommendation and apply for the 10-year renewable license.

Source: law.lis.virginia.gov

Changing careers into teaching in Virginia

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 Virginia was $72,170 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 verified yet: the state's website could not be reached when we checked. Check with the agency.

Licensed in another state

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

Licensure by reciprocity

Teachers coming from another state may qualify for a Virginia license with comparable endorsements if they completed a state-approved teacher preparation program at an accredited four-year institution or hold a valid out-of-state license with full credentials and no deficiencies. Universal licensure by reciprocity applies when that full out-of-state license has been in force for at least three years, with no service requirements or licensing assessments. Active National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification also qualifies, and military spouses holding a valid full out-of-state license are exempt from service requirements and assessments, with eligibility decided within 15 business days of a complete application.

1. Check eligibility: a valid out-of-state license with full credentials and no deficiencies, a state-approved program at an accredited four-year institution, or active National Board certification.
2. Submit a complete application packet to the Virginia Department of Education, including official transcripts.
3. For universal reciprocity, include a copy of an out-of-state license that has been in force for at least three years.
4. Military spouses also include the spouse's official permanent assignment orders.
5. Pass the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the board unless an exemption applies.
6. Submit third-party employment verification forms if needed.

Source: law.lis.virginia.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Virginia 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

License fees: Not verified yet: the state's website could not be reached when we checked. Check with the agency.

Background check

The licensure regulations do not themselves require fingerprinting; the reciprocity rule makes applicants subject to Code of Virginia sections 22.1-296.2 and 22.1-296.4, which require school boards to have anyone offered or accepting employment fingerprinted for a state and FBI criminal history record check and to search the child abuse and neglect registry. The school board decides whether it or the applicant pays for the fingerprint check. Under 8VAC20-23-750, a license may be denied for a felony conviction, certain misdemeanor convictions, or a founded case of child abuse or neglect. Source

Your first license

License: Collegiate Professional License. It is valid for 10 years. Renewable license for candidates who meet all requirements, including a bachelor's degree and the professional teacher's assessments. Holders of an appropriate graduate degree may receive the Postgraduate Professional License, also valid 10 years. Candidates with allowable deficiencies receive a nonrenewable Provisional License valid up to three years (one year for the Provisional (Career Switcher) License and two years for the Teach For America License). Licenses are effective from July 1 of the school year in which the application is made. Source

Renewal

Ten-year renewable licenses, including the Collegiate Professional and Postgraduate Professional Licenses, are renewed by earning 270 professional development points within the validity period under an individualized professional development plan; five-year renewable licenses require 180 points. Points can come from eight options, including college credit, professional conferences, curriculum development, publications, mentorship, educational projects and other professional development activities, and college coursework cannot be required. Renewal applicants also submit an application and complete emergency first aid, CPR and AED certification or training, dyslexia awareness training, child abuse recognition study, and training in instructing students with disabilities. Requirement: 270 professional development points every 10 years (180 points for a five-year renewable license). Source

Teacher pay in Virginia

Elementary teachers in Virginia earned a median of $65,550 a year in May 2025, $1,580 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

Virginia 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)
• English as a Second Language (statewide)
• General Shortages: Education General (statewide)
• Language Arts: English (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science (statewide)
• Social Studies: History (statewide)
• Special Education (statewide)
• World Languages (statewide)

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