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SECTION 6: TEACHER CERTIFICATION

Certification

Every member of our professional staff must have a valid SC teaching certificate recorded in the personnel office.  Salaries are based on the level of certification and years of experience.  It is the responsibility of each person to secure his/her own certification from the Office of Teacher Education, Certification and Evaluation and to record it promptly in the personnel office and keep his/her certification current.

Certificate Renewal

It is the responsibility of the individual educator to maintain all verification for certificate renewal. Each educator must accrue 120 certificate renewal points within the five years expiration date of the certificate. Pre-approval of all certificate renewal activities is required. All professional personnel, regardless of degree, must meet the requirements for certificate renewal every five years.  Certified staff members who have a permanent certificate must also comply with the State requirements every five years.

Certificate Upgrades

If teachers earn an advanced degree or complete a specified amount of graduate study, they may secure a new teaching certificate that will immediately reflect this change in educational attainment. Teachers may also request that the state department add years of experience to their certificates. The South Carolina Department of Education grants one year of experience credit for 152 days or more of service per school year. In order to add years of experience to teaching certificates, teachers must submit the Experience Verification form found at the South Carolina Department of Education website. The effective date of change for compensation is based on the date recorded on the certificate. For administrative purposes the following rules apply:

It is the sole responsibility of the teacher to see that transcripts for credit are sent to the S.C. Office of Teacher Education, Certification and Evaluation by the college/university where the credits are earned.  If eligible for a certificate upgrade, teachers must submit a Request for Change/Action  Form to:  SC Department of Education, Office of Teacher Recertification, Landmark II Office Building Suite 500, 3700 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC  29204.

Teachers must request the Office of Teacher Education/ Certification to make changes on certificates such as name, address, or certification class changes.

Submit all requests in writing to the Personnel Division to have pay upgraded due to a certificate upgrade. Teachers must also submit a copy of their new certificate reflecting the upgrade, which can be accessed through the South Carolina Department of Education’s website free of charge. Please allow three (3) business days for the Personnel Office to process these requests.