About Post-Baccalaureate / Professional / Certification

APPLYING FOR A PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

Applications for all Texas Educator Certificates are made online at the State Board website.

IMPORTANT: Because professional certificates require evidence of teaching experience, you must ask your school district personnel office to fax a copy of your service record to 210-458-5410, attention Certification Officer. (if you have previously received a professional certificate and provided a service record at that time, it is not necessary to do so again.) All professional certificates (with the exception of Master Reading Teacher) require evidence of two years of teaching experience. The Master Reading Teacher certificate requires either (i) a Reading Specialist Certificate or (ii) a teaching certificate, three years of experience, and a passing score on the MRT exam.

At the website, click on “How do I Apply for My Certificate?” You must first create an account if you have not done so previously. Once you have an account, select “Applications” from the main menu and proceed as instructed. You are applying for a STANDARD certificate, and the recommending entity is University of Texas at San Antonio – UNIVERSITY BASED, unless you are applying for a Master Reading Teacher, in which case you will choose Master Teacher.

When you have completed the process, UTSA will receive notification that you have applied for your certificate. At that point, if you are eligible, UTSA will complete the recommendation and you will be notified by email that you have been recommended. Please note, however, that you will not be officially certified until SBEC has (i) received and applied the required fee and (ii) completed a criminal history background check.

NOTE: Please do not begin the application process until you are eligible to be recommended. You are eligible when ALL of the following conditions have been met:

• If a Master’s degree is required for the certificate, the degree has been awarded and posted on your transcript (the latter occurs approximately one month after graduation date)
• Your final grades have been posted; and
• You have passed any required TExES exam.
  

If you have questions, please contact a certification officer at 210-458-6287. Technical questions regarding problems with the SBEC website should be addressed to SBEC representatives at 1-888-863-5880.