Teaching License from Idaho to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-01 · source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality ↗
A teaching certificate transfers from Idaho to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, verify your Idaho license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The honest version of Idaho to Pennsylvania: your Idaho teaching license gets you in the door, not into the classroom on its own terms. Pennsylvania will review your credential, issue a provisional certificate so you can begin teaching, and then require its own tests and coursework within its completion window before the full license. Nothing about holding an Idaho license waives Pennsylvania's requirements — plan them into your first year.
What changes, Idaho → Pennsylvania
| Idaho (current) | Pennsylvania (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $75 ($75 application fee payable to the Idaho Department of Education; a separate Background Investigation Check (fingerprint) processing fee is additional) | $150 ($150 total for an out-of-state applicant's new credential (program completed outside PA: Instructional, Career and Technical, Educational Specialist, Administrative/Supervisory, LOE, CQL) per PDE's Fees and Forms schedule effective 11/12/25 — a $50 standard certification fee (capped at $50 by Act 47 of 2025) plus the separate $100 Professional Educator Discipline fee, which Act 47 did not waive. Charged inside TIMS at submission. Veterans and their spouses are exempt from both fees. Separate from this: Praxis/PECT test fees paid to the testing provider, transcript costs, and background-check clearances. Adding an endorsement is billed separately ($100). On the same PDE schedule, experience-based credentials and their add-ons are $0, but testing add-ons (Instructional I/II, Career and Technical Instructional I/II, Administrative) are $150 — add-ons are not uniformly free, so check which kind yours is.) |
| Processing time | Not stated on the official out-of-state page; applicants are told to include transcripts to expedite and to allow 1-2 weeks for separately mailed transcripts to be paired with the application | NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page |
| Licensing authority | Idaho State Department of Education (SDE) - Educator/Teacher Certification | Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Complete and submit the application through TIMS (Teacher Information Management System).
- Send official transcripts for the bachelor's degree and all subsequent study.
- Have required content-area test scores reported to PDE directly by the testing provider.
- Submit a photocopy of the valid out-of-state certificate.
- Submit the Verification of Experience Form (PDE338V) with two or more years of experience, or the Educator Preparation Program Verification Form (PDE338A) where an approved program was completed.
- Be a U.S. citizen or otherwise legally authorized to work in the United States.
- Pay the fees ($150 ($150 total for an out-of-state applicant's new credential (program completed outside PA: Instructional, Career and Technical, Educational Specialist, Administrative/Supervisory, LOE, CQL) per PDE's Fees and Forms schedule effective 11/12/25 — a $50 standard certification fee (capped at $50 by Act 47 of 2025) plus the separate $100 Professional Educator Discipline fee, which Act 47 did not waive. Charged inside TIMS at submission. Veterans and their spouses are exempt from both fees. Separate from this: Praxis/PECT test fees paid to the testing provider, transcript costs, and background-check clearances. Adding an endorsement is billed separately ($100). On the same PDE schedule, experience-based credentials and their add-ons are $0, but testing add-ons (Instructional I/II, Career and Technical Instructional I/II, Administrative) are $150 — add-ons are not uniformly free, so check which kind yours is.)) and allow NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Pennsylvania accept a Idaho teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from Idaho to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) — Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, verify your Idaho license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V.
Will I have to retake tests moving from Idaho to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania requires its own content test(s) (Praxis / PECT) as posted in PDE's Certification Test and Score Requirements; out-of-state tests are accepted only when the test provider, test name, and test code match Pennsylvania's list, and no substitutions are permitted. Applicants with two or more years of satisfactory out-of-state teaching experience may instead document that experience on Form PDE338V. Holding a Idaho license does not by itself waive Pennsylvania's tests — experience or National Board certification is what typically does.
Can I teach in Pennsylvania right away?
Generally yes on a provisional or one-year Pennsylvania certificate issued while you complete its requirements; districts hire on that credential.
What does the Idaho-to-Pennsylvania transfer cost and how long does it take?
$150 ($150 total for an out-of-state applicant's new credential (program completed outside PA: Instructional, Career and Technical, Educational Specialist, Administrative/Supervisory, LOE, CQL) per PDE's Fees and Forms schedule effective 11/12/25 — a $50 standard certification fee (capped at $50 by Act 47 of 2025) plus the separate $100 Professional Educator Discipline fee, which Act 47 did not waive. Charged inside TIMS at submission. Veterans and their spouses are exempt from both fees. Separate from this: Praxis/PECT test fees paid to the testing provider, transcript costs, and background-check clearances. Adding an endorsement is billed separately ($100). On the same PDE schedule, experience-based credentials and their add-ons are $0, but testing add-ons (Instructional I/II, Career and Technical Instructional I/II, Administrative) are $150 — add-ons are not uniformly free, so check which kind yours is.); processing NOT VERIFIED — PDE publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state certification applications on the reviewed page.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-01.
- Pennsylvania Department of Education — Out-of-State Educators (TIMS application, transcripts, test-score reporting, PDE338V/PDE338A forms, citizenship requirement) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-08)
- Pennsylvania Department of Education — Certification Fees and Forms (fee schedule effective 11/12/25: out-of-state new credential $50 standard + $100 Professional Educator Discipline fee = $150; veteran/spouse exemption) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-01)
- Idaho SDE - Certificate for Out-of-state Applicants ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho SDE - Educator Certification (department landing) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-01
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