To become a substitute teacher in California, you need an Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). Getting one takes a bachelor’s degree, proof of basic skills in reading, writing, and math, a fingerprint clearance through the DOJ and FBI, a TB risk assessment, and an online application with a $102.65 fee. Once the permit is in hand, you still have to register with the individual school districts where you want to work.
The permit lets you cover any teacher’s classroom in preschool, K-12, or adult education for up to 30 days per teacher during the school year, or 20 days in a special education classroom.
Step One: The Degree and Basic Skills
You need a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited college or university. The major doesn’t matter. You’ll upload official transcripts showing the degree and its conferral date when you apply.
You also have to meet California’s Basic Skills Requirement. There’s an important shortcut worth checking first: if your bachelor’s degree was conferred on or after June 29, 2024, the degree by itself satisfies both the degree requirement and the basic skills requirement. Nothing further is needed.
If your degree was conferred before that date, you have four ways to prove basic skills:
- Pass the CBEST with a scaled score of at least 41 in each section (reading, writing, math).
- Submit SAT scores. For tests taken after March 2016, at least 560 on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 570 on Math. For tests before March 2016, at least 500 on Critical Reading and 550 on Math.
- Submit ACT scores of at least 22 in English and 23 in Math.
- Show one qualifying college course each in reading, writing, and math from a regionally accredited institution. Each must be at least 3 semester units (or 4 quarter units), degree-applicable, and completed with a B or better. Reading includes critical thinking, literature, philosophy, or textual analysis. Writing covers composition, rhetoric, or written communication. Math covers algebra, geometry, statistics, or quantitative reasoning.
The coursework path is where applicants get tripped up. A C+ in college algebra won’t count, no matter how strong the rest of the transcript is. Check the grades before you rely on it.
Step Two: Fingerprints, Background, and TB Clearance
Every applicant is fingerprinted and cleared through both the California Department of Justice and the FBI before the CTC will approve a permit. Your application sits in the queue until clearance comes back, so start this early.
If You Live in California
Complete a Live Scan electronic fingerprint at an authorized location. Bring the CTC’s form 41-LS, which contains the agency identifier that routes your results directly to the Commission. Results typically reach the CTC in three to seven business days. You’ll pay a rolling fee to the Live Scan operator plus DOJ and FBI processing fees; budget roughly $75 to $100 total, depending on the operator.
If You Live Outside California
Live Scan isn’t available to you. Instead, visit a local law enforcement office and get fingerprinted on two FD-258 cards. Mail both cards to the CTC with a $49 processing fee. If your local office doesn’t stock FD-258 cards, request them through the CTC’s online Fingerprint Card Request portal.
Tuberculosis Risk Assessment
California requires school employees to complete a TB risk assessment before starting work. A licensed healthcare provider walks you through a short questionnaire. With no risk factors, the provider signs a certificate of completion and you’re done. With risk factors, you’ll need an actual TB test, and possibly a follow-up exam. A negative result or clear assessment stays valid for four years.
Criminal History That Blocks a Permit
A conviction for a violent felony, serious felony, or sex offense will prevent a district from hiring you and will lead the CTC to deny or revoke your permit. California Education Code section 44830.1 makes this an absolute bar for substitute employees. The narrow exception is a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon, or, for serious but non-violent felonies, proof of rehabilitation to a court by clear and convincing evidence. Lesser offenses don’t automatically disqualify you, but the CTC reviews all criminal history under its professional fitness standards and can deny a permit on that basis.
Step Three: Applying Through CTC Online
Once your transcripts, basic skills documentation, and fingerprints are in, file your application through CTC Online, the Commission’s credentialing portal. Choose the Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit, upload your documents, and pay the $100 non-refundable application fee plus a $2.65 online service fee. Total: $102.65.
Processing currently takes up to 50 business days, assuming your file doesn’t need additional background or professional fitness review. That’s roughly two and a half calendar months. Plan the timeline backward from when you want to start.
You cannot request expedited processing on your own. Only a school district’s credentialing office can, and only when the district wants to make an immediate job offer or the educator is at risk of losing a position or pay. Even then, expect seven to 10 business days for the expedited evaluation, and expedite is unavailable while fingerprint clearance is pending. The practical lesson: get fingerprinted as early as possible.
Permit Length and Renewal
The Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit is valid for one year. Renew before it expires and the new year runs from the old expiration date, so you don’t lose any time. Renew after it lapses and the new year starts from the date you submit the renewal. Renewals go through CTC Online and cost the same $102.65. There’s no cap on renewals.
Alternative Permits If the Standard Path Doesn’t Fit
The 30-day permit is the standard route, but three alternatives exist.
Emergency Substitute Teaching Permit for Prospective Teachers
For applicants still working on a bachelor’s degree. You need at least 90 semester units from a regionally accredited four-year California college or university, proof of current enrollment, and satisfaction of the Basic Skills Requirement. You can substitute up to 90 total days per year, with the same 30-day-per-teacher cap in general education and 20 in special education. It can be renewed only once, and renewal requires 15 additional semester units completed since the original permit was issued.
Emergency Career Substitute Teaching Permit
For experienced substitutes staying with one teacher longer than usual. It raises the per-teacher cap from 30 days to 60. You need three consecutive years of at least 90 days per year of day-to-day substitute teaching in participating California districts, plus a signed endorsement from the employing district’s superintendent. You can’t apply for this one without a district behind it.
Basic Skills Waiver
Some districts that can’t recruit enough substitutes meeting the Basic Skills Requirement request waivers for individual applicants. You still need the bachelor’s degree, but you skip the CBEST, SAT/ACT, or coursework thresholds. The district must present the waiver to its governing board in a public meeting. The waiver lasts one year and can be renewed up to three times. Only the district can initiate it.
Getting Hired by a District
The CTC permit is state-level authorization. It doesn’t put you in front of students by itself. To actually work, register with individual school districts or County Offices of Education, each of which runs its own hiring process.
Most districts post substitute openings on EDJOIN, the statewide education job board at edjoin.org. You can search by county, district, or job title. Many districts also accept applications directly through their HR offices year-round. Getting on the active substitute list usually means submitting the district’s local application, providing your CTC permit number, interviewing, and attending an orientation on the district’s policies.
Register with several districts if you want steady work. Unless a substitute staffing company or consortium handles placement across them, you’ll go through separate onboarding with each, and some districts require a fresh set of fingerprints on top of the CTC’s clearance.
Mandated Reporter Training
Once hired, you must complete training on child abuse and neglect reporting under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act within six weeks of starting. The district handles this during onboarding, and it repeats annually. Districts will require proof of completion before putting you in a classroom.
What to Expect on Pay
Daily substitute pay varies widely by district. Rates in many districts fall between $150 and $350 per day, with urban and suburban districts in high-cost areas generally paying more. Long-term assignments and substitutes who hold a full teaching credential often earn higher rates. Pay is usually listed in the job posting or available from the district’s HR office. Check it before committing to a district’s onboarding.