To earn a teaching credential in California you need a bachelor’s degree, proof you know the subject you plan to teach, completion of a preparation program approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), and a cleared fingerprint background check. The teaching credential requirements in California are set by the CTC, which approves every preparation program and issues every credential in the state. The specific mix depends on whether you want to teach elementary grades, a single high school subject, or special education, but the backbone of the process is the same for everyone.
The Core Requirements
Five pieces have to come together before the CTC will issue a preliminary credential, which is the first full credential the state awards.
Bachelor’s Degree
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited college or university. For Single Subject and Multiple Subject credentials, the degree cannot be in professional education.
Basic Skills
Since June 2024, a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution automatically satisfies California’s basic skills requirement for any credential that requires a degree. If your credential path does not require a degree, you can still meet the requirement by passing the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), scoring at qualifying levels on the SAT or ACT, earning a 3 or higher on approved AP exams in both math and English, or completing qualifying college coursework with a B or better in reading, writing, and mathematics.
Subject Matter Competence
You have to prove you know the subject you intend to teach. Most candidates do this by passing the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) in their subject area. The alternative is completing a CTC-approved subject matter preparation program at a California college or university.
Teacher Preparation Program
A CTC-approved teacher preparation program combines coursework with classroom fieldwork and covers reading instruction, educational technology, health education, and teaching English learners, among other topics. You must also pass a Teaching Performance Assessment. When you finish, the program sponsor recommends you to the CTC for your preliminary credential.
U.S. Constitution
California Education Code Section 44335 requires most credential applicants to pass an exam or complete a two-semester-unit course on the provisions and principles of the U.S. Constitution. It is usually embedded in undergraduate coursework or the preparation program, so many candidates clear it without noticing. Teachers prepared out of state are exempt.
Fingerprinting and Background Check
Every applicant must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check before the CTC will issue a document. The CTC runs the prints through the California Department of Justice and the FBI, and a school district cannot employ you until the check clears. A conviction does not automatically disqualify you; the CTC reviews each case to decide whether it affects your fitness to teach.
Which Credential You Need
The credential type is driven by who and what you want to teach.
A Multiple Subject Teaching Credential authorizes you to teach all subjects in a self-contained classroom, the typical elementary school setup. It covers preschool through grade 12 and adult education and allows core or team-teaching assignments.
A Single Subject Teaching Credential authorizes you to teach a specific subject in departmentalized classes, which is primarily middle school and high school. California issues Single Subject credentials in more than two dozen areas, including mathematics, English, science, social science, art, music, and world languages.
An Education Specialist Instruction Credential is required to teach special education. It authorizes you to assess students, deliver instruction, and provide special education support across settings from resource rooms to general education classrooms to correctional facilities. California issues it as a preliminary credential that you later upgrade to a clear credential.
Starting to Teach Before You Finish
California offers several temporary authorizations if you want to be in a classroom while you work on your credential. None of them bypass credentialing; they keep you on the path.
A Provisional Internship Permit (PIP) lets you teach while you work toward entering a formal internship or preparation program. You cannot apply yourself. A school district has to request it on your behalf after verifying a diligent search turned up no fully credentialed teacher for the position. You need a bachelor’s degree plus a minimum number of subject-area college units: at least 18 semester units (or 9 upper-division units) in the subject for a Single Subject PIP, or at least 40 semester units spread across several subject areas for a Multiple Subject PIP. The PIP is valid for one year.
An intern credential lets you serve as the teacher of record while you are actively enrolled in a CTC-approved preparation program. You get mentorship and on-the-job support as you move through the coursework.
The Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit is the most common entry point for substitute teaching. You need a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, which also satisfies the basic skills requirement. You can substitute in any classroom from preschool through grade 12, but you are capped at 30 days per teacher during the school year, or 20 days in special education classrooms. The permit is valid for one year and renewable online.
From Preliminary to Clear Credential
A preliminary credential is valid for five years and cannot be renewed. You have to upgrade it to a clear credential within that window or your authorization to teach expires.
The standard path is a CTC-approved Teacher Induction Program, a two-year program of individualized mentoring and professional development you complete during your first years of teaching. You and your mentor build an Individual Learning Plan tied to California’s teaching standards and work through it together. California also accepts certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in place of induction.
If your preliminary credential is about to expire and you have not finished, contact your employer right away. The CTC has an extension-by-appeal process that may cover your assignment temporarily, but it is not automatic, and letting a credential lapse without a plan causes real problems for your job.
Transferring a Credential From Another State
If you hold a professional-level credential from another state in a comparable subject area, you can apply directly to the CTC without additional testing or coursework. The CTC evaluates your out-of-state preparation and issues either a preliminary or clear credential depending on your qualifications and experience. You submit official transcripts, a copy of your out-of-state license, and complete a fingerprint background check.
Not every out-of-state document qualifies. Intern credentials, apprentice documents, temporary or non-renewable licenses, and documents that still require you to pass subject-matter exams generally do not meet the definition of a professional-level credential, and if yours falls into one of those categories you will likely need to apply through a standard preparation pathway.
When the CTC issues a preliminary credential, you have five years to complete California’s remaining requirements and clear it. What those requirements are depends on what you submitted with your application, and they are listed on the credential itself. Out-of-state prepared teachers are exempt from the U.S. Constitution requirement.
Where a Credential Is Not Required
Private schools are the main exception. California’s Education Code requires only that private school students be “instructed in a private full-time day school by persons capable of teaching,” which leaves hiring standards to the school. Many private schools prefer or require credentialed teachers, but the state does not. Private tutoring works differently: if you tutor a child outside a school setting, you must hold a valid state credential for the grade you teach. Charter school teachers, despite the “charter” label, must hold a CTC credential, permit, or other authorized document for their assignment, just like teachers at traditional public schools.