• Overview
• BC Graduates
  • Application Information
  • Fee Information
  • Leaving BC?
• Canadian Graduates
  • Application Information
  • Fee Information
  • Language Proficiency
  • Alberta Applicants
  • Labour Mobility
• International Graduates
  • Application Process
  • Country-Specific Information
  • Fee Information
  • Language Proficiency
  • Translation Policy
  • PQP Graduates
• First Nations Language
  • Application Package
• Letters of Permission
• Previously Certified Teachers
• Information Sessions

Previously Certified Teachers

You will need to apply to reinstate your certificate, or apply for a new certificate, if:

• your certificate has expired
• we suspended or cancelled your certificate because you did not pay the annual Memberhsip Fee or
• you hold a Ministry of Education certificate.

Has your certificate expired?

If your certificate has expired, you will need to re-apply for a new certificate.

To qualify for a new certificate, you must meet our current certification requirements. You will not qualify for a new certificate if you have not completed coursework requirements from your previous evaluation that are still required under current regulations. If this is the case, we will send you a letter explaining what you need to do to qualify once we have completed the evaluation.

Please see the General Application Package for further information, including the necessary forms and a list of the documents and fees we require you to submit.

You will not need to re-submit the following documents that we already have on file:

• identification documents
• transcripts sent to us directly from the institutions. (If the transcripts in your file were submitted by you, you will need to contact the institutions where you completed your post-secondary studies and teacher education program and ask them to send your official transcripts directly to us.)

Has your certificate been suspended because you did not pay your membership fee?

If we suspended your certificate because you did not pay your annual membership fee, you will need to immediately submit a late payment fee of $30 and the annual membership fee of $90 to prevent your certificate from being cancelled. Please see Fee Information for more details.

Has your certificate been cancelled because you did not pay your membership fee?

If we cancelled your certificate because you did not pay your annual membership fee, you need to apply to reinstate your certificate. This applies if you hold:

• a non-expiring BC College of Teachers certificate
• an interim certificate that has not expired or
• a conditional certificate that has not expired.

You must have recent teaching experience for us to reinstate a certificate. You must have accumulated at least 75 days of teaching in one school year or 100 days in two consecutive school years in the last 10-year period to qualify. If you do not have this minimum teaching experience, you must apply for a new certificate using the process described in the General Application Package.

We expedite our review of applications to reinstate a certificate. Once we receive all your required documents and fees, we will review your application and, if you qualify, reinstate your certificate in as little as one week.

Please see the Application Package for Reinstatement of a BC College of Teachers Certificate for further information, including the necessary forms and a list of the documents and fees we require you to submit.

Has your certificate been cancelled for disciplinary reasons?

If we cancelled your certificate for disciplinary reasons and you wish to continue teaching in BC, you will need to apply for a new certificate. To qualify for a new certificate, you must meet our current certification requirements.

Please see the General Application Package for further information, including the necessary forms and a list of the documents and fees we require you to submit.

You will not need to re-submit the following documents that we already have on your file:

• identification documents
• transcripts sent to us directly from the institutions. (If the transcripts in your file were submitted by you, you will need to contact the institutions where you completed your post-secondary studies and teacher education program and ask them to send your official transcripts directly to us.)

Do you hold a Ministry of Education certificate?

If your certificate is dated before January 1, 1988, you probably have a BC Ministry of Education certificate. These certificates are no longer valid. Since the creation of the BC College of Teachers in 1988, teachers in BC are required to hold a BC College of Teachers certificate and pay an annual membership fee to maintain their certification.

If you are not sure whether or not you ever converted your Ministry of Education certificate to a BC College of Teachers certificate, please contact us and we will confirm your status.

If you have never held a BC College of Teachers certificate, you need to apply for one if you wish to teach in BC. Please see the General Application Package for further information, including the necessary forms and a list of the documents and fees we require you to submit.

It is possible that you may not qualify for certification as you will need to meet the current certification requirements. If this is the case, we will send you a letter explaining what you need to do to qualify once we have completed the evaluation.