How to Become a Teacher in West 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 West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) 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 West Virginia's administrative rules, 126CSR136, Policy 5202, Minimum Requirements for the Licensure of Professional/Paraprofessional Personnel and Advanced Salary Classification. 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.

State-approved educator preparation program

Candidates complete a state-approved educator preparation program at an accredited college or university and hold at least a bachelor's degree with a minimum overall 2.50 GPA. Unless exempt, they must meet the board's required scores on pre-professional skills tests in reading, writing and mathematics and on content specialization tests, and program completers must complete a board-approved teacher performance assessment. Completers receive an initial Professional Teaching Certificate valid for three school years and must complete a Beginning Educator Internship/Induction.

1. Earn at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum overall 2.50 GPA.
2. Complete a state-approved educator preparation program, holding a Clinical Experience Permit before any clinical placement in a West Virginia school.
3. Meet the required scores on the pre-professional skills and content specialization tests and complete a board-approved teacher performance assessment, unless exempt.
4. Be fingerprinted by the West Virginia State Police or its designee for state and FBI criminal history record checks.
5. Apply to the West Virginia Department of Education within 12 months of completing the program and pay the processing fee.
6. Complete the Beginning Educator Internship/Induction once employed.

Source: apps.sos.wv.gov

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

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

County-Based Alternative Route to Certification

Candidates enroll in a West Virginia Board of Education-approved alternative certification program under Policy 5901 and teach on an Alternative Teaching Certificate, which is issued only in shortage areas covered by the program, for one year, and can be renewed twice. After completing the program, meeting the required exam scores, holding at least a 2.50 GPA and receiving the county superintendent's recommendation, the teacher converts to a Provisional Alternative Certificate valid for one school year and renewable twice. That certificate can then be converted to an Initial Professional Teaching Certificate after induction, coursework, the required years of teaching, and successful evaluations.

1. Meet the entry criteria in Policy 5901 and obtain an Alternative Teaching Certificate before enrolling in a county-based alternative program.
2. Complete a West Virginia State Police and FBI criminal history record check and receive approval from the West Virginia Department of Education.
3. Teach in a shortage area covered by the approved program while completing it.
4. Finish the program, meet the required exam scores and a 2.50 GPA, and obtain the county superintendent's recommendation for a Provisional Alternative Certificate.
5. Complete the Beginning Educator Internship/Induction, six semester hours of coursework (or an MA+30 or age 60 exemption), and two years of full-time teaching on the Provisional Alternative Certificate with successful evaluations.
6. Apply to convert to an Initial Professional Teaching Certificate.

Source: apps.sos.wv.gov

Changing careers into teaching in West 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 West Virginia was $56,610 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 West Virginia.

Out-of-State Candidates

West Virginia belongs to the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement but sets its own criteria for out-of-state candidates. A candidate with a valid out-of-state certificate equivalent to a West Virginia Professional Certificate, graduation from an approved teacher education program at an accredited institution, and a passed State Police and FBI criminal history record check may be issued a certificate. Candidates applying after October 1, 2024 may receive a three-year Non-Transferrable Professional Teaching Certificate, which becomes transferable after a board-approved teacher performance assessment, while five years of full-time teaching in the endorsement area or a nationally normed performance assessment adopted by the licensing state qualifies for a transferable certificate. A permanent out-of-state certificate plus five years of full-time experience in its endorsement areas can lead to a Permanent Professional Teaching Certificate.

1. Hold a valid out-of-state certificate that meets the issuing state's requirements for full certification.
2. Document graduation from an approved teacher education program at an accredited institution or one approved in the licensing state.
3. Submit the application with a copy of the valid out-of-state certificate.
4. Pass a West Virginia State Police and FBI criminal history record check.
5. Complete a board-approved teacher performance assessment, or document five years of full-time teaching in the endorsement area, to hold a transferable certificate.

Source: apps.sos.wv.gov

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

West 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

All candidates applying for initial licensure, and holders of credentials issued before January 1, 2001 that have expired, must be fingerprinted by the West Virginia State Police or its designee. The State Police run a state criminal history and central abuse registry check and forward the prints to the FBI for a national check, and information from either record may be grounds to deny a certificate. Candidates pay the current FBI and West Virginia fingerprint check fees on top of the board's processing fee, and when a county hires a candidate in good faith, the background check must be completed and the application received within 10 calendar days of the hiring date. Source

Your first license

License: Initial Professional Teaching Certificate. It is valid for 3 years. Valid for three school years and expires on June 30 of its last year. It can later be converted to a five-year Professional Teaching Certificate after two years of full-time teaching (one in a West Virginia public or accredited non-public school), six semester hours of coursework (or an MA+30 or age 60 exemption), and the Beginning Educator Internship/Induction, and later to a Permanent Professional Teaching Certificate. Out-of-state candidates applying after October 1, 2024 may receive a three-year Non-Transferrable Professional Teaching Certificate. Source

Renewal

A three-year Professional Teaching Certificate is renewed by applying after January 1 of the year it expires with six semester hours of public-education coursework from an accredited institution or WVDE WVLearns courses, each with at least a 3.00 GPA and completed within the five years before applying; a Master's +30 salary classification or being at least 60 also satisfies the coursework requirement. Renewal also needs a recommendation from the employing county superintendent, or from a personal or professional reference if the educator is not employed by a county board. Five-year certificates renew on the same coursework terms, and the Permanent Professional Teaching Certificate remains valid unless surrendered, suspended or revoked. Requirement: 6 semester hours of coursework (3.00 GPA in each course) completed within the five years before each renewal. Source

Teacher pay in West Virginia

Elementary teachers in West Virginia earned a median of $55,630 a year in May 2025, $8,340 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

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

• Language Arts: English (in some districts or regions)
• Mathematics: Basic and Advanced Mathematics (in some districts or regions)
• Science: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, General Science, Physics (in some districts or regions)
• Social Studies: History (in some districts or regions)
• Special Education: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Behavioral Disabilities, Cognitive Disabilities, Elementary Pre-school (Pre-kindergarten), Hearing Impairment, Multi-Categorical, Severely and Profoundly Handicapped, Visual Impairment (in some districts or regions)
• World Languages: French, German, Russian, Spanish (in some districts or regions)

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