How to Become a Preschool Teacher in Michigan: Requirements by Setting

To become a preschool teacher in Michigan, first decide where you want to teach, because the requirements branch sharply from there. A licensed childcare center or private preschool will accept a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential as your minimum qualification. A public school preschool classroom requires a bachelor’s degree and a Michigan Standard Teaching Certificate with an early childhood endorsement. A Head Start program follows federal qualification rules that sit somewhere in between. Every path also requires a fingerprint-based background check and several registry clearances before you can start working with children.¹

The Michigan Department of Education and the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (formerly LARA) share oversight of these standards. Which one governs your job depends on your employer.

Start by Choosing Your Setting

Michigan has three main preschool employment settings, and each has its own rulebook:

Licensed childcare centers and private preschools, regulated by state childcare licensing rules under the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential. Lead teachers need training benchmarks but not necessarily a state teaching certificate.
Public school preschool programs, including classrooms funded through Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program. These positions typically require a Standard Teaching Certificate with an early childhood endorsement.
Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which are federally funded and follow federal staff qualification standards, with Michigan’s background check rules layered on top.

Qualifying for one setting does not automatically qualify you for another. A CDA credential is enough to lead a classroom at a licensed center, but it will not get you hired in a public school preschool without further education and a state certificate.

Requirements for Licensed Childcare Centers and Private Preschools

Michigan’s childcare licensing rules set the floor for lead teachers in licensed centers and private programs. To qualify, you generally need one of these:

A bachelor’s degree in child development or early childhood education
An associate degree with at least 18 semester hours of coursework in early childhood education
A Child Development Associate (CDA) credential from the CDA Council

Coursework must come from an accredited institution and cover the developmental needs of children from birth through age eight. Child psychology, curriculum planning, and classroom management are standard topics. Classrooms tied to the Great Start Readiness Program, Michigan’s state-funded preschool for four-year-olds, generally expect lead teachers to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a closely related field.

If you’re entering the field without a degree, the CDA credential is the most common on-ramp. Earning one requires 120 hours of formal training, 480 hours of professional experience working with children, a professional portfolio, and a verification visit. The CDA expires every three years, and renewal has its own set of steps described later.

Requirements for Public School Preschool

To teach preschool in a Michigan public school, you need a Standard Teaching Certificate with the right endorsement. Two endorsement codes cover early childhood:

ZS, Early Childhood General and Special Education, covers preschool through third grade and qualifies you to teach both general and special education students. It is the more versatile of the two and the one most public school employers look for.
ZK, Pre-K and Kindergarten, is narrower and limited to younger children.

ZS opens the door to special education placements, which are consistently in demand.

The MTTC Exam

Earning the ZS endorsement requires passing the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification Early Childhood Education exam, Test #106.² The exam covers child development theory, family engagement, assessment methods, and instructional planning for young learners. Check the MTTC website for the current test and any replacement exam number before you register.

Your teacher preparation program should match the endorsement you’re pursuing. A general elementary program without an early childhood focus may not include the coursework and student teaching placements required for ZS or ZK.

Applying Through MOECS

Michigan handles all teaching certificate applications through the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS). You’ll first need a Michigan Education Information System (MEIS) account, which generates your login for MOECS.

Have these ready before you start:

Official transcripts from every college or university you attended
MTTC score reports showing passing results for your endorsement
Current CPR and First Aid certification that specifically covers infants and children

Inside the portal you’ll enter your educational history, select your endorsement codes, and upload documents. Make sure your name and contact details match your legal ID exactly, because mismatches slow processing. After you submit, a University Verifier at your degree-granting institution reviews the file to confirm all academic requirements are met. That review typically takes five to seven business days. The Michigan Department of Education charges $160 for an initial Standard Teaching Certificate, paid through MOECS. Your MTTC registration fee is separate and paid to the testing service.

Requirements for Head Start Programs

Head Start programs in Michigan follow federal qualification rules rather than state childcare licensing standards.

Lead teachers: at least 50 percent of Head Start lead teachers nationwide must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education, or a bachelor’s with coursework equivalent to a major in early childhood education plus preschool teaching experience. Lead teachers who don’t meet that bar must hold at least an associate degree in early childhood education or a related field with equivalent coursework.³
Assistant teachers: must hold at least a CDA credential, a state-awarded certificate meeting CDA-equivalent standards, or be actively enrolled in a program leading to an associate or bachelor’s degree. Enrollment in a CDA program that will be finished within two years of hire also counts.⁴

Every Head Start teacher also needs at least 15 clock hours of professional development each year.³ Individual agencies can set requirements above these federal minimums, so ask the program you’re applying to.

Background Checks Apply to Every Path

Michigan requires everyone with unsupervised access to children in a childcare setting to clear a full background check before starting work. These rules come from the Child Care Organizations Act (Act 116 of 1973) and include:

A fingerprint-based criminal history check through both the Michigan State Police and the FBI⁵
A Michigan Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry check⁵
A National Sex Offender Registry check through the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, required under federal Child Care and Development Block Grant rules⁶

If you’ve lived in another state within the past five years, federal rules also require interstate criminal history, sex offender registry, and child abuse registry checks in each of those states. Processing fees for fingerprinting and background checks typically run between $27 and $100. Results go to the licensing agency directly, and you cannot start working with children until clearance is confirmed.

Convictions That Disqualify You

Certain criminal convictions permanently bar you from childcare employment. Under federal rules, you cannot work in a childcare role with a felony conviction for murder, child abuse or neglect, any crime against children (including child pornography), spousal abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, or physical assault or battery.⁶ Felony drug convictions within the past five years are also disqualifying, and any misdemeanor involving violence against a child or child pornography bars employment. Being listed on a sex offender registry is an automatic disqualifier regardless of the offense.

Providing false information or omitting relevant history during the background check is itself grounds for disqualification under Michigan law.⁵

Keeping a CDA Credential Current

If your path runs through the CDA rather than a bachelor’s degree and state certificate, renewal is on you. The CDA expires every three years from the date it was awarded, with no extensions or grace periods. You can submit your renewal up to six months before expiration, and the CDA Council must receive it by the expiration date itself.⁷

Renewal requires all four of the following:

Professional development completed after your current credential was issued: either 4.5 continuing education units, a three-credit-hour college course, or 45 clock hours of training in early childhood education⁷
Current membership in an early childhood professional organization at the time you submit
At least 80 hours working with children in the same setting and age group as your credential, completed within one year before you apply
A recommendation from an early childhood education reviewer who has observed your work within the past year

A percentage of applicants are randomly audited and given 30 calendar days to produce documentation. Miss that window and your application expires along with the renewal fee. As of January 2026, all applications must be submitted online; the CDA Council discontinued paper applications at the end of 2025.⁷

Paying for the Education: Loan Forgiveness

Two federal loan forgiveness programs can offset what you spent getting qualified. Neither is automatic.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public Service Loan Forgiveness cancels your remaining Direct Loan balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments made while working full-time for a qualifying employer. For preschool teachers, qualifying employers include government-run programs, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and other nonprofit early childhood providers.⁸ What matters is your employer, not your job title. A lead teacher and a classroom aide at the same qualifying nonprofit both count. Teachers at for-profit childcare businesses generally do not qualify.

You must be on an income-driven repayment plan and hold Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal loans into Direct Loans) for payments to count. Deferment, forbearance, and default periods do not count.⁸

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program offers up to $5,000 for eligible elementary teachers and up to $17,500 for highly qualified special education teachers. To qualify, you must teach full-time for five complete, consecutive academic years at a school serving low-income students, hold at least a bachelor’s degree, and have full state certification. The same five years generally cannot count toward both this program and the 120 PSLF payments, so plan the sequence carefully if you want both.

What the Job Pays in Michigan

Preschool teaching is not high-paying, and it helps to know that going in. Nationally, median preschool teacher salaries range from roughly $27,000 to $50,000 per year depending on the state, with a typical figure around $37,000. Michigan sits in the middle of that range. Public school preschool teachers with a Standard Teaching Certificate and a ZS endorsement generally earn more than those in licensed childcare centers with a CDA, because public school pay scales are higher and include benefits. Head Start compensation falls between the two and varies by the local agency’s funding.

1
State of Michigan: Michigan Department of Education. Approval of Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Birth to Kindergarten
2
Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC). Early Childhood Education (General and Special Education) (106)
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 9843a – Staff Qualifications and Development
4
eCFR. 45 CFR 1302.91 – Staff Qualifications and Competency Requirements
5
Michigan Legislature. Child Care Organizations Act 116 of 1973
6
eCFR. 45 CFR 98.43 – Criminal Background Checks
7
CDA Council. CDA Renewal Procedures Guide
8
Administration for Children and Families (ACF). What do Early Childhood Educators Need to Know About Public Service Loan Forgiveness