Temporary Certificates
In accordance with Nebraska State Statute 79-8,145, the commissioner shall grant a temporary certificate to teach on a full time basis to any applicant who:
- Has completed two years at a college or university accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the United State Department of Education with at least forty-eight (48) or more semester credit hours or obtained an associate degree from a college or university
- Is employed as a paraprofessional or paraeducator at an elementary school, middle school or high school in Nebraska; and
- Has passed any appropriate subject area examination as designated by the State Board of Education
Any temporary certificate to teach issued pursuant to this shall be valid for a period of two years, during which the holder of the certificate must obtain a certificate to teach by completing a educator preparation program.
In order to qualify for the Temporary Certificate, the following need to be met:
- An application and Fee in the TEACH system (Please note that registration for TEACH is required first; then an application can be submitted)
- Fingerprints (required only if someone has lived outside of Nebraska in the past five years)
- Official Transcripts showing at least 48 credit hours
- Contract with school district for being hired as a para.
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 Teaching
- Ever held a Nebraska Teaching Certificate? = No
- Ever held an educator license in another state? = Yes/No
- Then select “First Time Applicant” and “Initial” from the dropdown box and complete the online application.
- Once you have finished the online application, please reach out to nde.tcertweb@nebraska.gov to let us know you will be completing the temporary permit pathway. We will update your application appropriately.
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
A .pdf copy of your completion certificate from your program can be uploaded in this section. They can also be sent to nde.tcerweb@nebraska.gov.
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.