Renewal of Teaching Certification

Connecticut has a 3 tier system for certifying educators: Initial, Provisional and Professional. When you obtain your Initial License, it is good for 3 years. You have to complete the teacher induction program (TEAM) and serve as a full-time Connecticut teacher for 10 months under your Initial License before you can apply for your Provisional License. Alternatively, you can be eligible for a Provisional License if you worked for 30 months during the past 10 years at a sanctioned nonpublic school in Connecticut.

TEAM contains 5 professional growth models for new teachers: environment, planning, instruction, assessment, and professionalism. Participation guidelines for TEAM differ according to your area of licensure. TEAM also includes mentorship of a teacher’s performance.

After 3 years, if you have fulfilled all of the TEAM conditions, you are eligible to apply for your Provisional License. Submit the Form ED-170, General Application for License along with any supporting documents and the necessary fees, to CSDOE, Bureau of Educator Standards and Certification, PO Box 150471 – Room 243, Hartford, CT 06115-0471.

Suppose you do not fulfill your TEAM conditions at the end of your Initial License life. You can apply for a continuation using Form ED-183, Application for Renewal of Connecticut Initial Educator License.

Once you obtain your Provisional License, its term is eight years. To move up the ladder, a Professional License, you have to have 30 months of experience in a school under a Provisional License and complete any additional course conditions based upon your licensure area. Submit Form ED-170, General Application for License, and any supporting documents and the necessary fees to the CSDOE at the above address. The Professional License is good for 5 years.

To renew a Professional License, you have to complete nine continuing education units (CEUs) during the 5-year duration of the license. Connecticut does not charge a fee to renew a Professional License, but you have to submit the Form ED-179, Application for Continuation of Professional Educator License, 6 months before its expiration date to the above address. Keep your original CEU licenses in case documentation is required for audit by the department later. 

Teaching Certification Reinstatement

If your Connecticut teaching license has lapsed, you can be eligible to have it reinstated. You have to fulfill any conditions necessary to bring the license up to date, including experience, CEUs, assessments, and/or extra course work required for your licensure area/level. You can be eligible for an Interim License, good for one year, while you take the courses and/or complete the assessments necessary to bring your qualification up to the required level. Interim Licenses are not renewable.

If you have had a Professional License but have not served as a contracted teacher under it for the 5 years of its duration, you do not need to fulfill the CEU requirement. Contact the Certification Office at (860) 713-6969 with questions you can have about reinstatement, as each case is unique.