Close Menu Element

Mobile Search Element

Mobile Portals

School Name

Left Header

Top Portals

Right Header

Teacher Licensure Renewals

Fifth grade math teacher points to equation on the whiteboard in her classroom.

Licensure Renewal Process 

NC Continuing Teacher licenses must be renewed every five (5) years. Failure to renew your license makes one ineligible for employment unless a validation of your expired license is requested by an employing school system.

Credits Required to Renew License

  • Six (6) semester hours or 8.0 units of renewal credit. Course work must be directly related to an individual’s professional responsibilities as a public school educator or to his or her area(s) of licensure
    • One contact hour in a workshop is equivalent to .1 CEU
    • Ten contact hours in a workshop is equivalent to 1 CEU
    • One semester hour from an approved college or university is equivalent to 1.5 units of credit
  • National Boards earn 8 renewal credits regardless of passing and must be renewed every five (5) years
    • These credits can count for 1 Literacy Credit and 1 Academic Subject Credit
    • Two credits (1 content and 1 literacy) are earned through National Board renewal certification

Renewal Criteria

  • A unit of renewal credit (CEU) is equal to 10 clock hours of professional development
  • 8 units of renewal credit are required to renew both a current and expired Continuing Professional License (CPL)
  • For a CPL to remain current, all renewal credit must be earned by the expiration date of the license
For Assistance Contact:

Mary Weiland
HR Licensure Specialist
(252) 480-8888 ext. 1935

Resources:

CEU Renewal Requirements

 


Total CEUs
Required 

General

Literacy 


Subject
Area


Executive's
Role

K-5 Teacher

8

2

3

3

 

All Other Educators

8

4

 

4

 

Administrators 

8

4

 

 

4


*RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON NC STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY UPDATES
  • For a license to remain current, all credit must be earned before the expiration date of the existing license
  • To renew an expired license, ten (10) semester hours or fifteen (15) units of renewal credit must be earned within the most recent five (5) year period

North Carolina Lifetime License

The State Board of Education shall issue a lifetime license, which shall require no renewal, to an individual
currently licensed as a professional educator who has met at least one of the following criteria:

  • Completed at least 30 or more years of creditable service with the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System
  • Completed a combined total of 30 or more years of employment as a licensed teacher, administrator, or student services personnel in one or more public school units in North Carolina

View NCDPI's Licensure Requirements