Teacher and School Professional Licensure

The NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI)  licensing process is separate from your program completion and degree conferral.

All students are expected to initiate the online application after program completion and when documentation is ready. Candidates should apply for a teaching license within six months of program completion. After six months, there may be additional requirements such as coursework and assessments. Students should review Requirements for Teacher Licensure before beginning the licensure application process.

EdTPA requirements must be satisfactorily evaluated before you begin your online license application. Questions about these requirements should be directed to your program coordinator. The edTPA score report should be attached to your online application.

All WCU teacher education and school professional candidates must provide documentation of passing scores on all relevant licensure exams prior to recommendation by WCU for a professional educator license. Licensure score reports should be attached to your online application. Please note: WCU does not receive individual score reports for students.

LEA/IHE Certification of Teaching Capacity (CTC) - The CTC is completed at the end of Student Teaching/Internship II by student, cooperating teacher, university supervisor, academic supervisor (if applicable), and principal. The original, signed document is uploaded to TK20 by the University Supervisor. Students must be rated Proficient on all criteria of the CTC before WCU will make your license recommendation to DPI.  

Information cannot be disclosed to prospective employers and DPI for the purpose of employment and your teacher/school professional license, without completion of the Authorization for Release of Information form to the CEAP licensure specialist. Do not attach it to your online application.

Occasionally, you will receive a job offer before you receive your license. In that case your potential employer may ask for an eligibility or status statement. We will gladly generate a letter for you after we have recommended you to DPI for a license. Include in your request the name, title and school system/county of the person to receive the letter along with their mailing, fax, or email address. Submit requests to the CEAP licensure specialist.

Professional Educator User Guide (Educator Access to Online System)

Registration and Affiliation (with school system) Guide

Exam details are subject to change. Be sure to confirm state exam requirements before you register. Go to Pearson North Carolina Foundations of Reading | General Curriculum and Educational Testing Service (ETS) Praxis II for the most up-to-date NC SBE approved exam details. Keep in mind that exams are offered during specific testing window dates so make plans to take them early enough so you will have your scores when you need to apply for your license.

Go to Licensure Exam Preparation for additional information, licensure exam preparation tips, strategies and resources for both Praxis and Pearson exams.

Chrome or Firefox are the preferred browsers for the NCDPI online application system.

Your online application screen will time out after 15 minutes of inactivity. If you are unable to complete your application in one sitting, click cancel to exit the application and save your work.

Use a personal, private email on your license application. This way you won’t need to update your email address if you change employers.

You must upload official transcripts, applicable test scores, edTPA score report, and pay a non-refundable processing fee to your online application. Other attachments may include Statement of Applicant documents (if applicable), work authorization (if not US citizen), and experience verification (if applicable). You can attach as many documents as apply.

It is recommended that attachments be in PDF format. There is a 2 MG size limit for attachments so some may need to be uploaded page by page. There is no limit on how many attachments can be uploaded. PAW Print ( Print Anywhere @ Western) printers on campus enable students to scan documents. No fee is required to scan with PAW Print.

Work Authorization: If you are not a US citizen, you are required to upload a copy of your work authorization documentation. You are also required to have a valid US issued social security number.

Your application can not be submitted until you make full payment of fees. Payment can only be made by VISA or MasterCard.

If you don’t select the submit button, the application you created will remain on file for 30 days. You must complete the application within 30 days or it will expire and you will need to upload your documents again.

You can print a PDF of your application content by selecting View PDF Summary Report when the Fee and Summary Report page is displayed.

Once the completed application is submitted, you cannot change information unless you submit a new request. This may include an additional fee.

WCU transcripts will not be issued until university accounts are paid in full and holds are removed. Contact the One Stop Student Service Center at 828-227-7170 for account information and to resolve any issues to remove holds.

You can request official transcripts through myWCU ($3.25 charge for official electronic copy) or from the Registrar’s Office (official paper copy). Please order transcripts AFTER completion of current coursework and/or degree conferral.

Transcripts for each of your degrees and any coursework you have completed not listed on your transcript (community college or post-degree credits) need to be attached to your application.

International Verification - if you have earned a degree from another country. Provide an evaluation from an international education evaluation service with a copy of a current work authorization visa, permanent resident card or US passport. Note: For degrees earned abroad, the transcripts must be evaluated for US equivalency and translated into English by an education evaluation agency. One of many acceptable evaluation agencies for foreign transcripts is International Education Evaluations (IEE). DPI will not accept translations done by the applicant.