Professional Administrative Certificate
General Information
Who Applies?
- A Professional Administrative Certificate is for applicants who have completed a minimum of sixty (60) graduate hours in an approved Educational Administration or Education leadership program, an educational specialist or doctorate program or a state approved program for the preparation of a Superintendent.
Where is it valid?
- A Professional Administrative Certificate is valid for school administration in all Nebraska school systems.
When does it expire?
- A Professional Administrative Certificate is a 10-year certificate that expires September 30th in the tenth year following the year of issuance.
What are the requirements for this certificate?
- An application and fee in the TEACH system (Please note that registration for TEACH is required first; then an application can be submitted.)
- Qualify for or hold a Standard Teaching Certificate
- Qualify for or hold a Standard Nebraska Administrative Certificate
- Fingerprints (required only if someone has lived outside of Nebraska in the past five years)
- Official Transcript(s) showing a minimum of sixty graduate credit hours in an approved Educational Administration or Educational Leadership program or completion an Educational Specialist or Doctorate program or a state approved program for the preparation of a superintendent. If completing a program through a Nebraska institution for superintendent, no transcripts will be needed.
- Institutional Verification – This form is used to show that a program was completed and is needed only if adding an endorsement. The form is sent electronically to Nebraska colleges and universities.
- Educator Certificate – A certificate is required only for those who have not been certified in Nebraska.
- Employment Verification – This form is required for those who have employment experience in a school district/system outside of Nebraska. Teaching experience from Nebraska is submitted by the district or system each year through Adviser and does not need to be submitted again.
- Human Relations Training
- Special Education Training
Renewals
If you have 0.5 FTE years of experience in school administration in the last 5 years, you qualify to renew your Professional Administrative Certificate.
To renew without admin experience before or after expiration, applicants need to obtain six semester credit hours from a 4-year standard institution of higher education in educational leadership related coursework or participate in equivalent professional development.
If you have a job offer but do not hold a valid administrative certificate and have not obtained the 6-credit hours, you could qualify for our Alternative Program Administrative Permit.
FAQs
Is the content test a requirement?
- As of June 4th, 2025, the completion of the Praxis content test is no longer a requirement for a full certificate if you have completed your program through a college or university.
Where do I send my transcripts?
- If you are graduating from a Nebraska institution, you do not need to submit your transcripts for your administrative certificate. If you are completing a program out-of-state, you will need request that your institution send transcripts to us at nde.tcertweb@nebrsaka.gov.
I accidently applied for the wrong certificate but it won’t let me change it. How do I fix this?
- If you reach out to our office at nde.tcertweb@nebraska.gov and let us know, we can change over your application.
I have held an administrative certificate in another state, can I get reciprocity?
- Nebraska currently only has reciprocity for teaching certificates. To receive an administrative certificate in Nebraska, you will need to meet our requirements.
How do I qualify for a professional administrative certificate?
- In Nebraska, you may qualify for this certificate if you have completed an educational specialist program, a doctoral program, at least 60 graduate level credit hours in educational leadership or completed a superintendent program and qualify for one of our administrative endorsements.
Can I use an out-of-state program for my administrative degree?
- Yes, you will just need to make sure your program meets our endorsement requirements. If your program does not meet our requirements, you may be eligible for an alternative while you complete the Nebraska specific requirements.
Can I receive an administrative certificate without completing an administrative endorsement?
- No in order to obtain an administrative certificate, you need to complete one of the qualifying endorsements.
What if I see a job that I am interested in but have not completed my program?
- If you have at least 50% of your program completed for principal/special education director or 75% completed for superintendent, you may qualify for an alternative administrative permit.
Do I need to hold both an admin certificate and teaching certificate?
- Your admin certificate carries your teaching endorsements. If you hold an administrative certificate, you do not also need to hold a teaching certificate.
Would a superintendent endorsement allow me to be principal?
- A superintendent endorsement allows you to be a building leader in any capacity.
What do I do if I am not coded as an administrator through my district?
- If you are trying to renew but aren’t coded as an administrator, your district has the ability to request a code change or they may write a letter along with your contract to show that you do at least half-time work as an administrator. It is up to the district. If you don’t, there are additional ways that you can renew. Please see the renewal section for more information.