Professional Administrative Certificate
The Professional Administrative Certificate is valid for teaching and administration in all Nebraska school systems unless someone applies for a nonpublic certificate only. Someone serving as the superintendent must hold a valid administrative certificate with a superintendent endorsement.
A Professional Administrative Certificate expires August 31 in the tenth year following the year of issuance.
The requirements for a Professional Administrative Certificate include the following:
- An application and fee in the TEACH system (Please note that registration for TEACH is required before an application can be submitted.)
- Hold a Master’s Degree
- Qualify for or hold a Standard Nebraska 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.
- 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.
- Content Test – Nebraska only accepts the Praxis Content test which is required for each new endorsement added to a certificate after September 1, 2015. For the most up-to-date list of tests accepted by Nebraska and for information on how to register for a test, visit the ETS website.
- Human Relations Training
- Special Education Training
More information on how to send supporting documents can be found in the FAQ section of this website.
Create an account in TEACH.
You will need to use your personal email address. This will be the address that your certificate gets emailed to as a PDF.
Start a new application
- What type of Certificate or Permit are you applying for today? = Select Administrative
- Ever held a Nebraska Administrative Certificate? = No
- Ever held an educator license in another state? = Yes/No
- Then select “First Time Applicant-Certificates/Permits – Full Application” and “Professional” from the dropdown box and complete the online application.
In the application
A checklist will appear on the left side of the application. As you complete each section, the red X will change to a green check mark. Each tab has instructions to complete each section.
Certificate Type Tab
Select “All School Certificate or Permit” or “Nonpublic School Certificate”. Districts you add to the employment section will be able to monitor your application and status.
Personal Information Tab
Enter your information. On this tab you can select the option “I hereby give my consent to the Nebraska Department of Education to use SMS messaging to send me notifications via text message and email.”
Academic Record Tab
Follow the instructions on this tab with information about any college or university you attended as a student. Official transcripts must be sent directly from the college. Most colleges have a portal that will identify the service they use to send transcripts. A transcript from Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse can be sent directly to nde.tcertweb@nebraska.gov.
You can also mail a transcript to the following address: Nebraska Department of Education, Educator Certification, PO Box 94987, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. Please note that if you mail a transcript yourself, it must be in a sealed envelope from the college.
Personal & Professional Fitness Tab
Answer the questions listed. Any answer of “yes” will require explanation and documentation.
Testing Tab
Basic skills (Praxis Core) and a content test are required. If you did not send your scores to the Nebraska Department of Education, you may upload a PDF of your score report by selecting “Yes” to “Do you have any state testing which you have not previously submitted?”
You can submit your application if you do not have your test score(s) at the time of submission.
Upload any out of state teaching or administrative licenses on this tab. Applicants with out of state experience will work with their analyst to determine if they are eligible for a testing waiver.
Fingerprint Tab
Select the option that accurately describes your residency for the last 5 years. Please note, that attending an out of state college would require you to select option “C”, as this means you were not continuously living in the state of Nebraska.
Declaration, Authorization and Signature Tab
Your electronic signature will need to match the name on the application. If you previously had started the application, be sure to update your signature to reflect today’s date.
Fee and Payment Tab
To move to the fee and payment, all of the tabs must be saved and have a green check mark next to them.
Login to TEACH
If you have not registered, you will need to do so using your personal email address.
To renew only
- What type of Certificate or Permit are you applying for today? = Administrative
- Ever held a Nebraska Teaching Certificate? = Yes
- Are you making changes to your certificate? = No
- Select “Renewal or Short Form Renewal” and “Professional” from the dropdown menu
Renewal Requirements – Prior to expiration or within five years of expiration
- One year of experience as an administrator (half-time or more) within five years prior to the date of application, or
- Within five years prior to the date of application received 6 semester hours of graduate coursework in areas related to educational administration or educational leadership
Renewal Requirements – Five or more years after expiration
- Hold a current administrative certificate from another state and have administered one year within the past five years, or
- Within five years prior to the date of application received 15 semester hours of graduate coursework in areas related to educational administration or educational leadership.