Teaching Initial Certificate

If you have 0.5 FTE years of experience for one school year in the last 5 years, you qualify to renew your initial.

If you hold a Nebraska Initial teaching certificate and have taught for two consecutive years, you are likely going to advance to the Standard teaching certificate

To advance to a Professional teaching certificate applicants must have taught for two consecutive years and meet the following:

• Submit an official transcript of a Master’s degree earned within ten years of the date of application from a standard institution of higher education in Curriculum and Instruction, SPED, Education Technology or in the applicant’s content area

To renew without teaching experience before or after expiration, applicants need to obtain six semester credit hours from a 4-year standard institution of higher education in education-related coursework or participate in equivalent professional development that has been signed off by a Nebraska school administrator.

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 initial teaching 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.

When should I apply?

• You can apply for your initial teaching certificate before you graduate from your program. Our processing time is 4-6 weeks.

I previously held a local sub permit, but have lived outside of Nebraska the past 5 years, do I need to do fingerprinting again? 

• You will not need to do fingerprinting again as long as you have held a certificate or permit with the Nebraska Department of Education.

I attended more than 1 institution. Do I need to send transcripts from all the colleges I attended?

• If applying for your initial teaching certificate, we will only need the transcripts from the institution where you completed your program. As we look for the required human relations training course and SPED course that are required, we may ask if you have any additional transcripts if we can’t locate those courses in your BA transcript.

What is the Human Relations Training Requirement? 

• The Human Relations Training Requirement (HRT) is a requirement for all certificate and permit holders in Nebraska based on state statute 79-807. If you attended a Nebraska institution for a complete program, this course should have been covered in your program and we use your IV form from your institution to verify this. If you are completing a program out-of-state, we look for a course that covers diversity or multi-culturalism in the classroom.

What is the Special Education Requirement? 

• The Special Education training requirement is a requirement for all teaching and administrative certificates in Nebraska based on state statute 79-807. If you attended a Nebraska institution for a complete program, this course should have been covered in your program and we use your IV form from your institution to verify this. If you are completing a program out-of-state, we look for a course that covers the five areas of special education outlined here: Special Education Training – Nebraska Department of Education

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 completed a program out-of-state, do I need to submit all my information? 

• If you did not receive a teaching certificate in the state that you completed your program, we will require transcripts and an IV filled out by the institution along with fingerprints. If you did receive a teaching certificate that is valid and has no deficiencies, you may use that instead of the transcripts and IV form.

I graduated with my BA but I didn’t fully finish my program. What do I qualify for? 

• If you have a job offer, you would qualify for an alternative program teaching permit. This would give you time to work with an institution on completing your program. Otherwise you would qualify for a local sub as long as you have taken a course that meets the Human Relations Training requirement.

Now that I have my teaching certificate, how do I find a job?

• The Nebraska Department of Education hosts a free online job search tool called Teach in Nebraska. Each district also has their own HR pages that you can check out.