Alaska Teacher Certification Renewal
Alaska teachers renew a five-year Professional Teacher Certificate by completing six renewal credits, the required mandatory trainings within the previous five years, fingerprint card or employment-verification requirements, and the TEACH-AK renewal application with fees. A certificate that has expired enters a 12-month reinstatement period. After that, an educator falls outside standard reinstatement and needs to apply under DEED’s current certificate rules instead.
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A Professional Teacher Certificate in Alaska is valid for 5 years and is renewed through continuing education, not retesting. Teachers whose renewable certificate has expired for less than one year may use reinstatement. Past that one-year mark, the educator falls outside the reinstatement period and may need to apply under DEED’s initial, reemployment, Professional, or Master certificate rules instead. This page covers renewing a certificate already issued by Alaska. Teachers moving to Alaska with an out-of-state license should check Alaska’s reciprocity rules instead.
Teaching Certification Renewal
Alaska’s Initial Two-Year and Initial Three-Year Teacher Certificates are not renewable (the Initial Two-Year certificate may be extended once for one year if extension requirements are met before it expires). Before an Initial certificate expires, teachers should meet the requirements for a Professional Teacher Certificate, Master Teacher Certificate, or another DEED-recognized next step, such as the Initial Five-Year Teacher Certificate,e if they don’t have the Professional Certificate experience requirement, as follows:
- Professional Teacher Certificate requirements (these depend on the applicant, generally include):
- Documentation of two years of teaching experience while holding a valid teacher certificate
- Approved basic competency and content-area exam scores (submit passing scores on DEED-approved exams. Avoid assuming the older “Pr” xis I/rPraxisII” n”ming still applies without checking DEED’s exam list)
- Teacher preparation program verification, plus required Alaska Studies and Alaska Multicultural coursework
- Six renewal/recency credits, which may include qualifying semester credits, quarter credits, CEUs, micro-credentials, or pre-approved non-academic credit under DEED rules (three semester hours should be upper-division or graduate credit, or an approved equivalent, not graduate-level coursework only)
- Completion of the mandatory training within the previous five years
- A fingerprint card or, for applicants using qualifying Alaska public school employment verification, an employment-verification document in its place
- A completed Professional Teacher Certification application, with supporting documents uploaded through TEACH-AK. Fingerprint cards are the one document DEED still has mailed in, to the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, PO Box 110500, Juneau, AK 99811-0500
- The Professional Teacher Certificate is valid for five years. Renewal requires:
- Six renewal credits meeting DEEDEED’s relevance rules
- Completed mandatory trainings (as stated above)
- A fingerprint card or qualifying employment verification (Alaska public school employment can substitute for a fingerprint card in certain cases, but it isn’t a universal renewal requirement)
- A completed Renewal Application and fees, submitted through TEACH-AK
- Applications are reviewed in the order received. DEEDEED’s certification page lists current processing times, which can shift with application volume
- Master Teacher Certificate requirements:
- Meet all of the requirements for a Professional Teacher Certificate
- Hold National Board Certification issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
- This requires 3 years of experience, a bachelor’s degree, passing the National Board Assessment, and payment of the NBPTS application fee. For more information, call NBPTS at 1-800-22TEACH.
- Completion of the four mandatory trainings
- A fingerprint card or qualifying employment verification, as required
- A completed Master Teacher Application, fees, and supporting documents through TEACH-AK
- The Master Teacher Certificate is valid for five years and is renewable. Renewal requires:
- Maintenance of National Board Certification requirements,s where applicable
- Six renewal credits and completed mandatory trainings
- A fingerprint card or a qualifying employment verification
- A completed renewal application and fees, submitted through TEACH-AK
Reinstatement of Certification
If a Professional or Master Teacher Certificate has expired for more than one year and the educator does not meet Professional Certificate requirements, the educator may qualify for a Reemployment Teacher Certificate under DEED rules. It’sIt’sid. It’s valid for 1 year and is not renewable.
- Use the specific TEACH-AK application that matches the certificate’s level, reinstatement within the 12-month reinstatement period, Reemployment Teacher Certificate, Professional Teacher Certificate, Master Teacher Certificate, or Initial Five-Year Teacher Certificate, along with applicable fees and supporting documents.
- If a renewable certificate has expired for more than 12 months, the educator is outside the reinstatement period and is treated as an initial applicant for certification purposes. Depending on qualifications, that can mean applying for a Reemployment Teacher Certificate, Professional Teacher Certificate, Master Teacher Certificate, or Initial Five-Year Teacher Certificate. See this overview of Alaska teacher certification paths for how each certificate type fits together.
- During the life of a Reemployment Teacher Certificate, the educator should work toward meeting current Professional Teacher Certificate requirements or, if eligible, Master Teacher Certificate requirements. If Professional requirements still aren’t met by the end of that year, DEEDDEED’s dance may require applying for a Second Initial Teacher Certificate instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often do Alaska teachers need to renew their Professional Teacher Certificate?
A Professional Teacher Certificate is valid for five years. Renewal requires six renewal credits, the mandatory trainings, a fingerprint card or qualifying employment verification, and a completed Renewal Application submitted through TEACH-AK.
Do Alaska teachers need to retake certification exams to renew their certificates?
Renewal generally doesn’t require redo testing. It runs on renewal credits and mandatory training instead. DEED’s initially to the certification, using DEED-approved basic competency and content-area exams, not the older “Pra” is I/”rax”s II” na” ing.
“WhaWhat’s thehe difference between certificate renewal and reinstatement in Alaska?
Renewal happens before a certificate expires. Reinstatement covers the 12-month window right after expiration, during which the educator is not certified until reinstatement is complete. Once that 12-month window passes, the educator is treated as an initial applicant and may need to apply for a Reemployment, Professional, Master, or Initial Five-Year certificate depending on their qualifications.
What happens if an Alaska teaching certificate expires for more than a year?
A certificate that has expired for more than 12 months can’t undergo ordinary reinstatement. The right next step depends on the educator’s education and may involve a Reemployment Teacher Certificate, a Professional or Master Teacher Certificate, or an Initial Five-Year Teacher Certificate.
How do Alaska teachers submit a renewal or reinstatement application?
Renewal and reinstatement documents are uploaded through TEACH-AK. A fingerprint card is the only document DEED has mailed to the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development in Juneau, unless a qualifying employment verification applies instead.
- Professional Certificates renew every five years — renewal requires six renewal credits that meet DEED’s level and relevance rules, plus mandatory training, a fingerprint card or employment verification, and a TEACH-AK application.
- Master Certificates renew every five years — renewal ties to DEED’s current Master Teacher Certificate rules, including National Board Certification maintenance where applicable, renewal credits, and mandatory trainings.
- Renewal generally doesn’t mean retesting — DEED’s exam requirements apply at initial certification, using its current approved exam list rather than older “Praxis I/Praxis II” naming.
- Applications run through TEACH-AK — Alaska’s online system handles renewal, reinstatement, and new applications. A fingerprint card is the one document still mailed in, unless qualifying employment verification applies.
- A 12-month lapse changes the process — certificates that have expired for less than a year may be reinstated. Past a year, the next step depends on DEED’s current certificate options, which may include a Reemployment Teacher Certificate if the educator qualifies.
Find approved renewal-credit options and teacher preparation pathways in Alaska, including accredited college coursework and pre-approved continuing education that may satisfy DEED renewal requirements.
