Application Package Information
Please download and print the
Application Package for Recent Graduates of a BC Teacher Education Program.
This package includes several forms that you must complete as part of your application
and contains useful information about the College.
This section describes the documents that we require as part of your application
and tells you how to complete and submit them.
You will notice that some of the documents need to be verified. A verified
copy is a photocopy of a document on which a notary public or lawyer states in writing
that it is "a true copy of the original" and signs the copy. A member of
the College (anyone who currently holds a BC College of Teachers certificate) can
also verify your documents. The College member must include his or her full name
and College certificate number along with his or her signature.
Application for Teacher's Certificate of Qualification
You must complete all four pages of this form and mail it to us. We will only accept
this form if you answer all of the Personal Information questions and if you sign
and date the Declaration of Professional Commitment.
Having a criminal record does not automatically make you ineligible for a certificate.
However, you may be ineligible for a certificate if you make false statements or
if you do not tell us about a criminal record. If necessary, we may ask you to complete
an additional criminal record check so we can review all the details related to
your offence.
Consent to a Criminal Record Check
Please complete the Consent to a Criminal Record Check form and mail it to us with
your Application for Teacher's Certificate of Qualification.
Under the Criminal Records Review Act, the College is required to obtain an original
signed form and a $20 fee from each person who applies for certification. We include
this $20 charge in our application fee.
We keep your original completed form and send a copy of it along with the $20 fee
to the Criminal Records Review Agency (CRRA). The CRRA is responsible for processing
the criminal record check forms and identifying any criminal record that indicates
that the applicant is a risk to children.
Criminal record checks are confidential. We cannot accept previous criminal record
checks you have completed, and we cannot provide you with a copy of the results
of our criminal record check.
Recommendation and official transcripts from your Faculty of Education
All applicants graduating from a BC teacher education program must be recommended
for a College certificate by their Faculty of Education. The Faculty of Education
must send its recommendation along with an official transcript of all the studies
completed at the university directly to our office.
If you completed your teacher education program at one of the following institutions,
your institution will automatically send us your official transcript and the recommendation
for certification:
- Simon Fraser University
- Thompson Rivers University
- Trinity Western University
- University of British Columbia (UBC)
- University of the Fraser Valley
- University of Northern British Columbia
- UBC Okanagan
If you completed your teacher education program at one of the following institutions,
you must contact the institution's Office of the Registrar and ask them to forward
their recommendation and your official transcript to us:
- University of Victoria
- Vancouver Island University.
Official transcripts of all other post-secondary studies
We must receive official transcripts from all of the post-secondary institutions
that you have attended. This includes transcripts for:
- all coursework for your degree(s)
- all transferred courses, including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate
programs
- courses that were required for admission to your teacher education program
- courses for any exchange programs.
Transcripts should list each course you took at that institution, along with:
- the dates of enrolment
- the grades you received
- the credit granted (or number of lecture hours completed) for each course.
If the official transcripts do not include all of this information, we may ask you
to have the post-secondary institution send us an outline or syllabus of the academic
program you completed, including lecture hours and courses completed.
You need to ask each institution to send the official transcript(s) directly to
us. We will not accept a transcript sent by you even if the transcript is sealed
or notarized.
Degree verification
Some transcripts from post-secondary institutions outside of Canada do not indicate
the awarding of a degree or qualification. If this is the case with any of your
transcripts, you must send us a verified copy of your degree or diploma. You can
also ask the post-secondary institution to send us a letter stating the qualification
they have awarded you.
Confidential Character Reference for Authorization to Teach in British Columbia
forms
Your application must include two character reference forms. Each form must be completed
by someone other than a family member who has known you for at least two years (called
a referee). You need to complete page 1 of the form. Give the form to your referee
and ask him or her to complete page 2 and then mail the form directly to us. We
do not accept letters of recommendation as a substitute for the Character Reference
form.
Identification documents
We require legal identification for all names appearing on the documents you submit
as part of your application. We will only use your legal name on your certificate.
We will not issue you a certificate that includes names for which official
documentation does not exist.
We require one of the following as a primary identification document:
- Birth certificate: We require a verified copy of your birth certificate.
If you were born in Canada and you do not have a birth certificate, you must obtain a replacement from the Vital Statistics department
in the province where you were born. Send us a verified copy of the replacement
certificate.
- Statutory declaration: If you were born outside of Canada and you do not
have a birth certificate, you must have a notary
public or lawyer prepare a statutory declaration in which you swear to the following:
- your date of birth
- your full name at birth
- your birthplace
- that you do not have a birth certificate.
You must attach a verified copy of your passport, permanent resident/landed immigrant
papers or a Canadian citizenship card to the statutory declaration. Please see the
Sample Statutory Declaration form in the
Application Package for Recent Graduates of a BC Teacher Education Program
.
We require the following if they apply to you:
- Marriage certificate: If you changed your surname as a result of marriage,
you must include a verified copy of your marriage certificate. The College will
only use a hyphenated name on your certificate if the hyphenated name appears on
the marriage certificate. If you are using a hyphenated name that does not appear
on your marriage certificate, tell us in writing which surname (your birth surname
or your married surname) you would like to appear on your teaching certificate.
- Divorce certificate: If you are divorced and cannot provide a marriage certificate
as proof of a current or previous surname, you must send us a verified copy of the
divorce certificate.
- Change of name certificate: If you changed your name for reasons other than
marriage or divorce, you must send us a verified copy of an official change of name
certificate.
Application fee
You must include the application fee with your application. We will not evaluate
your application or assign you a file number until you have paid the application
fee. Please see Fee Information
to find out the fee you must pay and the payment options.