Student working on her computer.
Teacher Certification Requirements

Applying for Your Initial Certificate

Congratulations on completing a Pace University Program that leads to New York State Teacher Certification!

Graduation/completion of an education program is not enough to become certified in NY State. You will need to be recommended for certification by the Director of Certification and apply for the certificate(s) online via TEACH.

Student Application Information and When to Apply

Applying for Initial or Professional certification is done online using the TEACH System. Initial and Professional College Recommendations are entered AFTER a degree date is recorded by the Pace Registrar on your transcript (see example below). Please allow up to 45 days after graduation for your Pace records to be finalized by the Office of the Registrar and the college recommendation to be entered. Applying for your certificate before receiving a college recommendation will not speed up the processing time. The date of your college recommendation will be your graduation date.

Program codes for Westchester / New York City and specific TEACH application instructions will be sent to each student (Pace email only) as soon as the college recommendation is entered. Again, this part of the process can take up to 45 days AFTER your graduation date.

Applying For Your Certificate(s)

  1. Log in to the TEACH to apply for the certificate.
  2. From TEACH Home, select "Apply for Certificate"
  3. Read the "Important Things to Know Page" & select NEXT
  4. Verify/Update profile information & select NEXT & possibly NEXT a second time
  5. Select your Area of Interest (Classroom Teacher / Administration / Classroom Teacher Extensions), Subject Area (Adolescent / Childhood....), Grade Level (1-6 / 7-12.…), Title & Type (Initial / Professional) then Add. Below are EXAMPLES, your choices will vary based on the selections made in each dropdown matching your program.
  6. Approved Teacher Preparation > Enter Program Code Submit > Select > Next > Next again.
  7. Select option (if displayed) to have the application reviewed by NYSED, then Next to sign the affidavit. Certificate Application is not complete until payment has been submitted to NYSED (Step 5). The current fee is $50 per application. If you would like to apply for more than one certificate, you will need to repeat the entire application process for each.

For an Initial or Professional certificate to issue in TEACH, you must meet all NYS requirements in place at the time of application (NOT graduation date). This includes passing all required exams, fingerprint clearance, and having received a college recommendation. You do not need to have your exams completed in order to receive a college recommendation.

The NY State Education Department considers it YOUR responsibility to know what is required to maintain your certificate, including when a certificate is set to EXPIRE.

NYSED Contact Information