Teaching License Handbook

Fee and Rule Changes

A dated log of teacher certification fee, test and rule changes our pages reflect, from Praxis 2026-27 to state fingerprint fees, with sources and read dates.

This is a dated log of the fee, test and rule changes our pages reflect, newest first. Each entry gives the state or vendor, what changed, the date it took effect, the source and the date we read it. Teacher certification fees and rules change often, many of them on 1 July, fingerprint vendor fees often on 1 October, and Praxis fees with each testing year on 1 August. A change appears here only once we have read it in a primary source.

This page is general information, not legal or career advice. Each state’s licensing agency decides every application, and rules, tests and fees change, often on 1 July. Confirm the current rules with the agency before you pay for a program, a test or fingerprints.

Changes in 2026

  • 1 October 2026, New York, fingerprints: the fingerprint fee for certification became $107.50 (DCJS $75, FBI $15 and IDEMIA $17.50). Source: NYSED fingerprinting, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 1 October 2026, Arkansas, background check: the state fingerprint submission fee became $15; the child maltreatment registry check is $11. Source: Arkansas DESE, educator effectiveness (background check page), read 11 November 2026.
  • 1 October 2026, Idaho, background check: the background investigation check for employment or certification became $37. Source: Idaho SDE background investigation check, read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 October 2026, Louisiana, fingerprints: IdentoGO’s fingerprinting service for Louisiana teacher certification became $57.50. Source: IdentoGO’s own service listing for the Louisiana Department of Education, read 12 November 2026. Louisiana’s certificate fees themselves are not confirmed.
  • 1 October 2026, District of Columbia, credential fees: OSSE announced a new credential fee schedule from this date. The amounts are not confirmed in official text, so our pages show DC’s fee as “not confirmed” and no longer show the older figure. Source: OSSE educator credentials, read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 October 2026, federal, TEACH Grant: for awards first disbursed from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, the grant is at most $3,772 a year, the $4,000 maximum less 5.7%, the same as the year before. Sources: Federal Student Aid electronic announcement GENERAL-26-28, read 12 November 2026; studentaid.gov TEACH Grant, read 13 November 2026.
  • 27 September 2026, California, program admission: a candidate must show professional fitness, a valid Commission document or a Certificate of Clearance application, before admission to a preparation program. Source: CTC leaflet CL-561C, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 1 September 2026, South Carolina, reading test: a reading-instruction test, Praxis 5205 or Pearson Foundations of Reading 890, became required for early childhood, elementary and special education. Source: SCDE certification (required examinations), read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 September 2026, Illinois, performance assessment: the pause on the teacher performance assessment (edTPA), in place from 4 August 2023, ended on 31 August 2026, and a state pilot runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029. An approved assessment is required again from 1 September 2029. Source: 105 ILCS 5/21B-30, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 25 August 2026, Florida, fees: the current version of the certification fee rule took effect: $75 per subject for an initial certificate, $75 for renewal and $105 for late renewal. Source: Rule 6A-4.0012, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 12 August 2026, Colorado, moving from a compact state: SB26-126 requires an initial license within 30 days for a holder of an unencumbered equivalent license from a compact member state with a clean background check, until the state issues licenses under the compact. It also removed “within the previous seven years” from the three-years-of-experience condition for a professional license. Source: SB26-126, read 13 November 2026.
  • 7 August 2026, Illinois, out-of-state applicants: a new Educator License with Stipulations “provisional educator” endorsement for out-of-state or foreign-trained applicants who have not passed all content tests: 2 fiscal years, not renewable, issued once. Source: Public Act 104-803, in 105 ILCS 5/21B-20, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 2 August 2026, Texas, alternative programs: program entry rules took effect (a bachelor’s degree, a 2.50 GPA overall or in the last 60 hours, and 12 semester hours in the subject, 15 for some math and science fields, or a passing pre-admission content test), and intern certificates for alternative-program candidates run 2 years from 2026-27. Sources: 19 TAC 227.10 and 19 TAC 230.36(c)(3), read 12 November 2026.
  • 1 August 2026, ETS, Praxis: the 2026-27 testing year began, running to 31 July 2027. Core is $90 a test or $150 for the combined test (5752); subject tests are $130 (selected-response), $156 (constructed-response or mixed) or $170 (world languages); Elementary Multiple Subjects (5001) is $180; online purchases add a 3% non-refundable service fee. Source: Praxis Information Bulletin 2026-27 (PDF), read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 July 2026, California, renewal: the Clear credential renewal fee became $125, plus the $2.65 online service fee. Source: CTC leaflet CL-659 (updated 20 October 2026), read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 1 July 2026, Georgia, literacy assessment: the GACE literacy requirement reached out-of-state (reciprocity) applicants; a comparable out-of-state literacy test exempts. It has applied to candidates enrolled in a Georgia program since 1 June 2025. Source: GaPSC Rule 505-2-.24, read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 July 2026, Maryland, minimum salary: the state minimum teacher salary became $60,000. Source: Md. Code, Education 6-1009(e), read 11 and 13 November 2026.
  • 1 July 2026, federal, student loan repayment: loans first paid out from this date can be repaid only under the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or a tiered standard plan, and only RAP counts for PSLF; older loans keep more choices, and the ICR and PAYE plans end by 1 July 2028. The PSLF regulation’s current version took effect the same day. Sources: studentaid.gov repayment changes, read 12 and 13 November 2026; 34 CFR 685.219, read 13 November 2026.
  • 29 June 2026, Illinois, elementary test: the new ILTS Elementary Education K-6 test (702) opened: six testlets at $25 each, $150 for all six. The older Elementary Education 1-6 test (305), $110, is offered through summer 2027. Source: ILTS program site, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • May 2026, Massachusetts, Communication and Literacy test: DESE set out four groups who may have the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL waived. Source: DESE licensure (alternative pathways page, updated 28 May 2026), read 13 November 2026.

Changes in 2025

  • 12 November 2025, Pennsylvania, certificate fee: an Instructional I or Level II certificate became $50 plus a $100 discipline fee, $150 in all, under Act 47 of 2025. Source: PDE certification, read 12 November 2026.
  • 31 October 2025, California, RICA: the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment was retired; results from before this date are still accepted. Source: CTC leaflet CL-402A, read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 October 2025, Connecticut, Initial certificate: the Initial certificate, first issue and renewal, became free of charge. Source: CSDE certification fees (effective 1 October 2025), read 13 November 2026.
  • 1 July 2025, Pennsylvania, basic skills: a basic-skills test is no longer required for entry to a bachelor’s preparation program, and it is not a certification requirement (Act 55 of 2024). Source: PDE certification testing, read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 3 June 2025, Oklahoma, professional education test: the Assessment of Professional Knowledge (APK) replaced the PPAT. Source: OSDE teacher certification, read 12 November 2026.
  • 1 January 2025, New Jersey, basic skills: Praxis Core is required only for the limited Certificate of Eligibility and limited CEAS (P.L.2024, c.26). Source: NJDOE basic skills, read 13 November 2026.

Earlier changes still repeated online

  • 1 July 2024, Kansas, fingerprints: KSDE’s fingerprint processing fee became $57, plus the fingerprinting agency’s own fee. Source: KSDE fingerprint information, read 13 November 2026.
  • 30 June 2024, California, test fee waiver: the state’s test fee waiver ended; registrations from 1 July 2024 get none. Source: California educator testing site, fee waiver notice, read 13 November 2026.
  • 29 June 2024, California, basic skills: a bachelor’s or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution meets the basic skills requirement (SB 153 of 2024). Source: Education Code 44252(b)(12), read 12 and 13 November 2026.
  • 27 April 2022, New York, edTPA: edTPA stopped being a certification requirement. Source: NYSED required exams, read 12 and 13 November 2026.

What we are watching

  • The teacher compact commission meets on 20 November 2026. No commission rule sets a start date for licenses under the compact as read on 13 November 2026, and we recheck members’ pages after each meeting.
  • Georgia’s proposed change to its GaTAPP rule is set for a vote on 10 December 2026, proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027. Colorado’s licensing office has proposed new fees from January 2027, pending State Board approval. Neither is in force, and our pages say so.
  • Many state fees change on 1 July, so every state row is rechecked each July.
  • The next Praxis testing year starts on 1 August 2027, with a new ETS bulletin.
  • New pay figures: BLS publishes new OEWS figures each spring and NEA its estimates each April.

Seen a change we haven’t?

If a state, a test vendor or the Department of Education has changed a fee, a test or a rule that one of our pages shows, please email contact@teachinglicensehandbook.com with the page address and a link to the agency’s notice, rule or fee page. We check every report against the source before a page changes. Our how we check page sets out our recheck schedule, and errors we fix are logged on our corrections page.

Changes on this page checked on 13 November 2026.