Georgia teaching certificate lookup and renewal, including expired certificates and the Retired Educator certificate

1. How to look up a Georgia teaching certificate

Georgia teaching certificates are issued by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC). Rule 505-2-.02 sets out the system: “Certification is classified according to category, title, type, field and level.” Anyone can check a certificate on GaPSC's public lookup.

• Where: the Certification Lookup page at gapsc.com. The page says: “To check certification, enter either the certificate number or educator's name below.”
• How to search: enter the numeric Certification ID, or the educator's first and last name. The page asks for no sign-in and shows no fee.
• If you don't know your number: “If you do not know the Certification ID number, you may retrieve it at Certification ID Lookup.” That link goes to MyPSC, GaPSC's account system.

Reading your own certificate

Your own certificates and applications live in your MyPSC account. GaPSC's Understanding Your GA Certificate page explains what a certificate shows:

• Dates: “The print date is the date the certificate was printed and has no effect on the validity period or effective date.” Each field has its own validity period.
• Codes: “Certificate codes are designated by specific letters which identify particular types and titles of certificates.” For example, T is a teaching certificate, I5 a Five-Year Induction, SR Standard Professional, PR Performance-Based Professional, D Life and R Retired.
• Level: the number shows your highest degree that GaPSC recognizes (section 2).

2. Certificate types, levels and how long they last

Rule 505-2-.02 lists the titles: “There are thirteen (13) titles.” For teachers, Georgia's certificates form tiers: Pre-Service (for students in preparation programs), Induction, Professional, Advanced Professional and Lead Professional. Rule 505-2-.05: “Georgia issues two (2) types of renewable Professional certificates: Standard and Performance-Based.” The titles a teacher is most likely to hold:

• Five years: rule 505-2-.32 says “Induction, Standard Professional, Performance-Based Professional, Advanced Professional and Lead Professional certificates are valid for five (5) years”.
• June 30: “The expiration date of all certificates, with the exception of Waiver certificates, is June 30 of the final year of validity.” Years are counted by calendar year, so a certificate can run less than five full years. The rule's example: “a five (5)-year certificate with an effective date of December 10, 2014, would expire on June 30, 2019.”
• Added fields: a field you add later expires with the certificate it was added to.
• Life certificates: “Life certificates were issued prior to July 1, 1974, to educators eligible under requirements in place at that time.” Rule 505-2-.12 adds that “the life status remains in effect without any renewal requirements”.
• Non-Renewable certificates: rule 505-2-.09 says: “Non-Renewable Professional certificates may not be renewed or extended.” The same rule allows an extension, at a Georgia school system's request, for full academic years the certificate went unused. Rule 505-2-.21 lets a teacher from another state extend a one-year certificate for four more years once the missing tests are passed while it is valid (section 6).

Certificate levels. Every certificate carries a level, set by your highest degree. Levels 1 and 2 exist only for selected career, technical and agricultural education fields. For teachers:

Special education fields, the GACE tests and adding a field are in our special education certification guide.

3. How to renew a Georgia teaching certificate

GaPSC's Certificate Renewal page says: “Induction certificates are non-renewable. To convert an Induction certificate, you must meet the requirements outlined in your Induction Issuance letter.” The page adds that your issuance letter is in the Correspondence/Notification section of your MyPSC account.

How you renew a Professional certificate depends on where you work when you renew. The renewal page and rule 505-2-.36 set out three routes:

For public and charter school employees, the renewal page is plain: “Public School/Charter School Employees cannot apply for renewal on their own.” Rule 505-2-.36 lists the standard options under the heading “Educators who are not employed in schools, agencies, or other education organizations in Georgia.” Georgia private school educators may use the same options. They are:

• When the work must be done: “Renewal requirements for certificates that are currently valid must have been completed during the validity period established on the certificate.” For an expired certificate, within the five years before you apply (section 4).
• Mixing credit: the rule says “Complete any combination of the following:” before the coursework, PLU, CEU, training and National Board options. The renewal page's examples include 5 PLUs plus 5 CEUs, or 3 semester hours plus 2 PLUs plus 3 CEUs.
• Any subject: for semester hours, CEUs and PLUs, the renewal page says: “Coursework does not need to be in your certification area or in education”.
• CEU hours: “Ten (10) contact hours are the equivalent of one (1) CEU.”
• PLUs from outside Georgia's schools: “Third party vendors are not accepted unless a Georgia LUA accepts the credit and awards PLUs” (an LUA is a Georgia school system). The page also says: “The GaPSC does not approve PLUs”.
• Re-testing: “Only the field(s) for which the educator passes the appropriate assessment will be renewed.” And: “This is not an option to renew fields for which there is no GaPSC-approved content assessment at the time of renewal.” GaPSC's Special GA Requirements page lists Physical and Health Disabilities, Special Education Preschool and Visual Impairment among the fields with no approved content assessment.
• The Georgia school-year option: it is for teachers who worked in a Georgia school system “for at least one (1) school year during the most recent validity period of their certificate, and within five (5) years of the date of renewal application”.
• Experience abroad: the experience option also covers work “outside of the United States on a valid Georgia certificate in a position in which it is utilized.”

How to file. In MyPSC, the application begins in the Applications/Documentation/Status link. You upload your documentation and Verification of Lawful Presence documentation, “unless previously submitted or not a U.S. citizen,” as the renewal page puts it. College transcripts are emailed straight to GaPSC by the college or through a secure parchment service, and GACE scores reach GaPSC from the testing company. The fee: “$20 processing fee payable via the Payments link of the applicant’s MyPSC account.”

When you can file. Rule 505-2-.36: “Valid certificates may be renewed from December 1 of the calendar year preceding the ending validity date to June 30 of the calendar year in which the certificate expires.” The renewal page's example: a certificate that expires June 30, 2025, can be renewed from December 1, 2024.

• Background check: a criminal record check is part of renewal for educators employed by a Georgia school system. If you are not employed in a Georgia public or private school when you renew, rule 505-2-.36 exempts you “until such time as Georgia public or private school employment is resumed”.
• Evaluations: the renewal page says an educator with any combination of two Unsatisfactory, Ineffective or Needs Development annual evaluations in the previous five-year validity period may not receive a renewable certificate until those deficiencies are remediated.

Does tutoring count toward renewal?

Rule 505-2-.36 and GaPSC's renewal page, as read for this guide, don't list tutoring for a company as a way to renew. As we read them, a teacher who is not employed in a Georgia school, agency or other education organization renews with one of the options in the table above. Whether any particular training or tutoring hours could earn PLUs or CEUs depends on who awards the credit (the rows above), so ask GaPSC before you count on it.

4. If your Georgia certificate has expired

GaPSC's renewal page says: “There are no penalties for expired certifications.” An expired Professional certificate is renewed, not replaced. Rule 505-2-.36: “To renew an expired certificate, the individual must meet all applicable renewal requirements outlined above, including any remaining Special Georgia Requirements”. What that takes depends on when it expired:

• Old credit: under rule 505-2-.36, credit for an expired certificate counts only if it was completed in the five years before your renewal application.
• No backdating: “Certificates/Licenses cannot be backdated earlier than the current fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).”
• Taking a Georgia teaching job before you finish: at the request of the Georgia school system that employs you, a teacher who meets the other requirements but not the professional learning can be issued a one-year Non-Renewable Professional certificate to finish renewing.

For SpecialEdResource's tutoring job: if your license has expired or is inactive, you can still apply, as long as you’ll renew it before you start. We check licenses before the first interview. For an expired Georgia Professional certificate, that step is a GaPSC renewal (the table above).

5. The Retired Educator certificate

Georgia has a separate certificate for retirees. Rule 505-2-.44: “The Retired Educator certificate is a renewable certificate that allows retired Georgia educators to maintain certification for the purposes of substitute teaching or other educational activities for which GaPSC educator certification is not required but may be desirable.”

• Who qualifies: the rule lists three conditions. You must have held a GaPSC renewable professional certificate before (“Has previously held a GaPSC renewable, professional educator certificate;”); your retirement must be verified by TRS, a comparable Georgia private school system, or a comparable public or private college or university retirement system; and you must hold no other valid Georgia certificate (“Does not hold any other valid Georgia educator certificate.”).
• How to show you retired: GaPSC's FAQ asks you to “please submit a Retirement Verification Letter on official letterhead from the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia.”
• How long it lasts: rule 505-2-.44 says “An initial Retired Educator certificate is valid for thirty (30) years;” a renewed one is valid for ten years. Renewal takes the application documents and fee, “but does not require completion of professional learning or renewal credit.”
• What it allows: substitute teaching and other educational activities where certification is not required but may be desirable. GaPSC's FAQ: “Retired Educator certificate holders are placed in the highest priority group on substitute teaching lists for Georgia local units of administration (LUAs).”
• What it does not allow: “Retired Educator certificate holders may not serve in any position requiring GaPSC educator certification.” The rule continues: “Retired educators who are hired in positions requiring certification must meet requirements to renew their expired professional certificates.”
• How it looks: it lists the Professional fields you held, each marked “R” for retired.
• Going back to a Professional certificate: you meet the renewal requirements in rule 505-2-.36 (sections 3 and 4). GaPSC's FAQ: “Your Retired Educator certificate will be invalidated upon renewal of your Professional certification.”

Working after you retire: TRS has its own rules for that. GaPSC's Retired Educator FAQ also has an entry on SB 150, the 2026 law for some TRS retirees in Georgia public schools. SB 150 and TRS's rules for substitute teaching and part-time work are explained, with every condition, in our TRS working-after-retirement guide.

If you are a TRS disability retiree, different rules apply. TRS says: “ALL employment, including self-employment, must be reported to TRS prior to accepting the employment.” Its page for employers adds: “Report all employment to TRS; this includes all positions covered and not covered under TRS.” TRS’s Member’s Guide says: “Georgia law places strict salary limitations on disability retirees.” It adds: “TRS will monitor your employment and income on a regular basis and, if necessary, reduce or discontinue your monthly benefit”. TRS asks: “Before accepting any post-retirement employment as a TRS disability retiree, contact the TRS office for detailed guidance and instructions.” Confirm your own situation with TRS (800-352-0650 or 404-352-6500) before you start.

For SpecialEdResource's tutoring job, the requirement is special education certification and a current teaching license from any US state. The hiring site's license question reads: “Answer Yes if your license is current, or if it has expired or is inactive and you’ll renew it before you start.”

6. Moving a certificate to Georgia: reciprocity and the literacy test

Rule 505-2-.21's first condition for an out-of-state educator: “Hold a valid or expired professional certificate issued based on completion of a GaPSC-accepted educator preparation program to include pedagogy and clinical practice in the base field of certification.” The certificate must be in a field comparable to a Georgia field. GaPSC's Out-of-State Educators page warns that reciprocity “does not mean that an out-of-state educator will automatically qualify for a Georgia certificate.”

• Professional or Induction: with a bachelor's degree and “a minimum of three (3) years of successful full-time out-of-state experience”, you can qualify for a Georgia Professional certificate. With fewer than three years, the route leads to an Induction certificate.
• Missing a test: if the Georgia school system that employs you asks for it, an out-of-state teacher who has not met the content or literacy test requirement may get a one-year Non-Renewable certificate (three or more years of experience) or a one-year Induction certificate (fewer than three years). The missing tests must be passed while it is valid before it can be extended for four more years (rules 505-2-.21, .09 and .04).
• No Provisional certificate: “Educators applying by reciprocity do not qualify for Provisional certification in their field of certification or in a new field of certification.”
• Your level is set by Georgia: rule 505-2-.21 says “Certificate levels seldom mean the same among different states; therefore, the level is not considered part of the Interstate Agreement.” Georgia assigns its own level from your degree (section 2).

The literacy test, from July 1, 2026

GaPSC's Special GA Requirements page: “Effective July 1, 2026, all out-of-state educators applying for Georgia Teaching certification must pass the appropriate Georgia state-approved literacy assessment or a GaPSC-accepted literacy assessment approved by another state.” Rule 505-2-.24 adds that applicants “who have passed a comparable literacy assessment required for issuance of the out-of-state certificate field may exempt the aligned literacy assessment for Georgia.”

• Which test: the special education fields of General Curriculum, Adapted Curriculum, Physical and Health Disabilities and Visual Impairment, plus Special Education Preschool and Special Education General Curriculum/Elementary Education (P-5), align to Application of the Science of Reading (test code 418). Deaf Education aligns to Application of Literacy Instruction for Deaf Education (test code 406). The Literacy Assessment page notes: “The appropriate literacy assessment for the field of Visual Impairment will be available at a later date.”
• While the test is pending: “A Georgia employer may request 1-Year Non-Renewable or Induction certification should an educator not meet literacy testing requirements.”

The other Special Georgia Requirements

• The special education (exceptional child) course: a general survey course on identifying and educating children with special needs, taken for 3 semester hours with a grade of B or better (for courses completed on or after July 1, 2019) or as 5 Georgia PLUs through a Georgia public school system or RESA; National Board certification or a special education major also counts. GaPSC warns that “a course covering only selected exceptionalities (such as a course focused on working with students with autism) will not satisfy this requirement.” An out-of-state teacher can get the first Georgia certificate before finishing it, but must finish it before renewing.
• The ethics test: Rule 505-2-.26: “For those applying by reciprocity, three (3) or more years of successful educator experience can exempt the GACE Ethics for Teachers Assessment.” With fewer years, the Induction certificate calls for Ethics for Teachers (test code 351).
• The content test: it can be exempted if your state required a content test for that certificate, if you hold valid National Board certification in the field, or by the five-year rule below.
• The five-year exemption: a veteran out-of-state educator with a valid out-of-state certificate and five full years of successful experience may “exempt all Special Georgia Requirements except the Standards of Conduct and Literacy Assessments” (rule 505-2-.26). GaPSC's Special GA Requirements page says which years count: full-time (at least 120 days each school year; partial years cannot be combined), in the certificate's field and in the state that issued it, with a satisfactory performance review each year. Rule 505-2-.24 names what five years exempts: the content knowledge assessment, the Special Education course and the GACE Ethics for Leaders assessment (a leadership test). GaPSC's web page leaves the literacy test out of that sentence; the current rules include it, so five years of experience does not replace the literacy test.

How to apply. Through your MyPSC account: the online application, Verification of Lawful Presence documentation, the Experience Verification Form (if you have a year or more of experience), a copy of your out-of-state certificate, the score reports for any content or literacy tests your state required, official transcripts sent by your colleges, and the $20 processing fee. If you work for a Georgia school system or private school, your employer's Employer Assurance Form (sent through the school's GaPSC account, or on the PDF form for a private school without one) takes the place of the fee.

For SpecialEdResource's tutoring job: licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome. The hiring site also asks that you “live in one of the states where we can currently employ tutors”, and Georgia is one of them, so Georgia residents can apply.

7. Contacts: GaPSC and TRS

• Online: your MyPSC account for applications, renewals and payments; GaPSC's Certification Rules page for the current rule texts.
• Phone: (404) 232-2500 (metro Atlanta and long distance) or (800) 869-7775 (toll free outside the metro Atlanta area). GaPSC's pages say: “Our Certification Call Center is open 8:00 am to 11:30 am and 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays,” except state holidays. The page names no time zone, and GaPSC's pages show no date, so check the hours before you call.
• In person: “Our office currently does not accept walk-in visitors or take appointments.” The mailing address is Georgia Professional Standards Commission, 200 Piedmont Avenue SE, Suite 1716, West Tower, Atlanta, GA 30334-9032.
• Transcripts: sent by your college to mail@gapsc.com, or through a secure parchment service.
• Retirement verification letter and TRS questions: the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, trsga.com, 800-352-0650 or 404-352-6500.