Georgia Teacher Certification Renewal
Georgia’s Professional Educator Certificate renews every five years. Teachers working in a public or charter school don’t apply themselves, their district requests renewal in MyPSC once they’ve completed an individualized Professional Learning Plan. Everyone else completes 6 semester hours, 10 PLUs, 10 CEUs, or 100 BFTS hours and submits it through their own MyPSC account.
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Georgia’s Professional Educator Certificate is valid for five years, and renewing it means showing GaPSC you’ve kept learning during that window. What you actually have to do depends heavily on who employs you, so this page walks through the public school path, the private school and non-employed paths, and what to do if your certificate has already lapsed. If you’re moving to Georgia from another state and need reciprocity from another state instead of a straight renewal, that’s a different process entirely.
Teaching Certification Renewal
Georgia issues several levels of renewable certificates, including Standard Professional, Performance-Based Professional, Advanced Professional, and Lead Professional. All of them run on the same five-year cycle, and renewal requests can start as early as December 1 of the year before your certificate expires.
If you’re employed in a Georgia public or charter school, you don’t submit the renewal yourself. Your district requests it electronically through MyPSC once you’ve completed an individualized Professional Learning Plan or Professional Learning Goal, coordinated with your supervisor, along with any outstanding Special Georgia Requirements from your original certificate. Ask your school system’s HR department if you’re not sure where that process stands.
If you work at a private school or education agency, you have two options: your employer can verify a Professional Learning Plan on an Employer Assurance Form, or you can complete one of the standard renewal requirements below. Either way, you submit the application yourself through the “Application/Documentation/Status” tab of your MyPSC account.
If you’re not currently employed in a Georgia school at all, you’ll need to complete one of these Standard Renewal Requirements, using activities completed during your certificate’s validity period or within the 5 years before you apply:
- 6 semester hours of college credit from an accredited institution, with a grade of B or better; or
- 10 Georgia Professional Learning Units (PLUs), approved by a Georgia LUA or GaPSC-approved provider; or
- 10 Continuing Education Units (100 clock hours) from an accredited college or university, or a provider authorized by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET); or
- 100 hours of Bright from the Start (BFTS)-approved training
A few less common paths count too: retaking and passing the GACE content assessment for your field, verifying one year of successful out-of-state teaching experience, or holding valid National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification.
You’ll also need a current criminal record background check before your certificate renews. If you haven’t had an FBI background check and fingerprinting completed while employed by your current school system, that has to happen now. If you’ve already gone through the FBI process, a Georgia criminal history check will cover you.
One more thing worth knowing: if you’ve had two or more Unsatisfactory, Ineffective, or Needs Development performance evaluations during your five-year certificate period, GaPSC won’t issue a renewable certificate until those performance issues are resolved.
Teachers who upgrade their credential level, for example, from a bachelor’s-based certificate to one reflecting a master’s or specialist degree, can also move up on the state salary schedule. That’s a separate process from renewal, but it’s worth asking your district about it if you’ve completed an advanced degree.
Reinstatement of Certification
An expired certificate isn’t a lost certificate. If you’re not employed in a Georgia school system, log in to your MyPSC account and submit the Standard Renewal Requirements documentation above, along with a $20 processing fee, through the “Application/Documentation/Status” tab. Official transcripts need to come directly from your college or university to GaPSC, either by email to [email protected] or through a secure transcript service. There’s no penalty for having let a certificate lapse.
If you haven’t yet met your renewal requirements, a Georgia employer can request a 1-year Non-Renewable certificate on your behalf so you can be placed on a professional learning plan while you finish up. That request costs a $20 processing fee and is entirely up to your employer to initiate, so talk to your school system’s HR office about whether it fits your situation. Once your learning plan and any other outstanding requirements are complete, your employer requests reissuance of your full certificate.
For questions about your specific situation, GaPSC’s Certification Call Center can be reached at 404-232-2500 (or 800-869-7775 toll-free outside metro Atlanta), Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a Georgia teaching certificate valid before it needs renewal?
Five years from the date it’s issued. Renewal requests can be submitted starting December 1 of the year before your certificate expires, and there’s no penalty for letting one lapse before you renew.
Can I renew my own certificate if I teach at a public school?
No. Public and charter school employees can’t apply for their own renewal; their employing school system has to request it electronically through MyPSC once the required Professional Learning Plan is complete.
What happens if my Georgia teaching certificate expires?
You can still renew it; there’s no time limit or penalty. If you’re not employed, submit your Standard Renewal Requirements documentation through MyPSC. If you’re employed but haven’t finished your requirements, your employer can request a temporary Non-Renewable certificate while you catch up.
Can I renew my Georgia certificate if I’m not currently teaching?
Yes. Complete one of the Standard Renewal Requirements, using activities from your certificate’s validity period or the 5 years before you apply, and submit it through your own MyPSC account along with a $20 processing fee.
Do unsatisfactory performance reviews affect certificate renewal in Georgia?
They can. Two or more Unsatisfactory, Ineffective, or Needs Development evaluations during your five-year certificate period can delay renewal until GaPSC confirms those issues are resolved.
- Renewal depends on your employer — public and charter school teachers can’t self-apply; their district requests renewal through MyPSC once a Professional Learning Plan is complete.
- Non-employed educators have four main paths — 6 semester hours, 10 PLUs, 10 CEUs, or 100 BFTS hours, submitted through your own MyPSC account.
- An expired certificate has no penalty — reinstatement runs through the same MyPSC process, with a $20 fee if you’re not employed.
- Performance reviews matter — two or more low-performance evaluations during the certificate period can delay renewal.
Renewing your Georgia certificate is just one part of building a long-term teaching career. Explore accredited programs below if you’re considering an advanced degree or a certificate upgrade.
