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Home > Initial Certification Process

Updated 07/10/06...wl

 

Thank you for inquiring about initial certification in the State of Maine.  An application for initial certification is enclosed.

FEE:

  1. Initial Teacher/Educational Specialist Certificate   $100
  2. Each Additional Teacher Endorsement  (beyond initial endorsement) $35
  3. Initial Administrators  $200
  4. Administrative Portfolios Reviews (In addition to the initial $200) $300

Please make check payable to:  Treasurer State of Maine.  You may also elect to use M/C or VISA. 

APPLICATION PROCESS:

To apply for initial certification evaluation, you need to:  (1) complete both sides of the enclosed application; (2) attach an official transcript of your undergraduate (showing bachelor's degree and date conferred ‑ required for all endorsements and certificates except career and technical teacher endorsements) and graduate transcripts (if applicable); (3) if you are in another state, submit a copy of your teacher or educational specialist certificate from that state; (4) put the certificate or endorsement code and the grade level on the bottom of the application; (5) appropriate non-refundable fee; and (6) explanation of questions answered with "YES".

FINGERPRINTS: 

You may receive an evaluation for a certificate before having your fingerprints taken.  However, prior to being issued any type of Maine certification, you must have your fingerprints taken through a process approved by the Maine Department of Education.  Information regarding approved fingerprint sites and on-line registration in Maine is available at http://www.informe.org/cgi-bin/doe/fingerprint.pl or by calling the Certification Office.  For information regarding the approved process for having fingerprints taken outside of Maine, please call the Certification Office for an out-of-state fingerprint packet. There is a one-time $55 fee for this process, whether you are fingerprinted in Maine or submit an out-of-state fingerprint packet.

TRANSCRIPTS: 

Send only official college transcripts.  The transcript must show your degree and date conferred, social security number, all courses for which you have received credit, the registrar’s signature and the embossed seal. We do not accept copies of transcripts, scanned transcripts, or grade reports. If you have transcripts from colleges outside the United States, you will need to submit a foreign transcript evaluation completed by a company recognized by this office.  Please call us for the forms.  All transcripts and degrees must be from an accredited college, whether the college is inside or outside the USA. If already hold a Maine certificate in another area, you do not need to send transcripts that you have sent to us previously.

EXAMINATIONS:

If you have taken and passed the appropriate assessments, please include them with your application package. If you had ETS report to this office, you need not include them with your application.  To register for examinations, contact the Educational Testing Service at www.ets.org/praxis

"YES" QUESTIONS

  1. If you answered “yes” to Question 1: for each conviction, attach a brief explanation stating the date and nature of the conviction.  If additional information is requested from the Department of Education, you may need to provide attested copies of the Judgment and Commitment papers (including probation conditions).  These documents may be obtained from the Clerk of Courts where you were convicted. 
  2. If you answered “yes” to question 2 and/or 3:  attach an explanation for each situation.
  3. If you answered “yes” on a previous application and there have been no additional convictions, submit a statement that there have been no new convictions since the previous “yes” was submitted.

PLEASE SUBMIT ALL OF YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS TOGETHER IN ONE PACKAGE.  INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE RETURNED. YOUR PACKAGE SHOULD INCLUDE:

  1. A completed and signed application, list the code and grade level on the bottom of the application;
  2. Official graduate and undergraduate transcripts showing courses, degree and date conferred;
  3. Foreign transcript evaluation (if applicable);
  4. Examination scores, if applicable;
  5. Where applicable, a copy of out‑of‑state teaching certificate, Maine RN license (524), driver's license and driver education license issued by the Secretary of State (530), or NCSP or Maine psychologist license (093);
  6. Appropriate non-refundable fee; and
  7. If you answered yes, your explanation and, if necessary, court documents.

A complete application package will enable the Certification Office to process your application in a timely manner.