How to Become a Principal in Ohio

Ohio principal requirements, step by step

Professional Principal License. Each requirement is stated as State Board of Education of Ohio publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Earn a master’s degree

   Hold a master’s degree as required for the Professional Principal License. The degree accompanies an approved principal-preparation program; it does not replace that program.

   Source: sboe.ohio.gov

2. 2

   Complete an approved principal-preparation program

   Finish a principal-preparation program approved by the State Board of Education of Ohio and obtain the dean’s recommendation. Recommendation is a distinct step from simply completing coursework.

   Source: sboe.ohio.gov

3. 3

   Pass OAE 015 Educational Leadership

   Pass the Ohio Assessments for Educators Educational Leadership examination, test code 015. This is the assessment the State Board lists on the principal-licenses pathway.

   Source: sboe.ohio.gov

4. 4

   Document two years of successful teaching for the ages you will lead

   Complete two years of successful teaching under a standard or professional license, or under a professional pupil-services license, for the ages or grade levels of the principal license sought. Ohio issues grade-banded principal licenses (early childhood, middle, 5–12, and related bands) based on that teaching experience.

   Source: sboe.ohio.gov

5. 5

   Apply through CORE / OH|ID — or review the alternative principal pathway

   Submit the Professional Principal License application in CORE using an OH|ID account. An alternative principal pathway also exists; the State Board describes it on the administrator-licenses page.

   Source: sboe.ohio.gov

Ohio’s principal license is grade-banded, which is the detail that most often undoes an otherwise complete CORE application. The State Board of Education of Ohio issues a Professional Principal License tied to early childhood, middle-level, 5–12, or related bands that match the ages and grade levels of the candidate’s qualifying teaching. Two years of successful high-school teaching under a standard or professional license supports a 5–12 principal license; those same years do not automatically unlock an early-childhood principal license. Professional pupil-services experience can substitute for teaching when it is the professional pupil-services license and the ages align, but a pupil-services role in a high school does not, by itself, create a PK–6 principal license.

Preparation is an approved principal program plus a dean’s recommendation, not a self-assembled transcript of leadership electives. The State Board’s principal-licenses page treats the recommendation as a required element. Candidates who finish coursework, pass OAE 015, and then wait months for a dean’s letter are not “done” in CORE until that recommendation posts. OAE 015 Educational Leadership is the examination the pathway names; other Ohio Assessments for Educators content tests used for teaching licenses do not replace 015.

An alternative principal pathway sits on a different State Board page—the administrator-licenses overview—rather than inside the standard principal-licenses checklist. People who are already serving in a leadership role sometimes belong on that alternative route instead of forcing a traditional program match. The existence of the alternative path does not waive OAE 015 or the age-band experience rules unless the administrator-licenses page says so for that specific route; read that page before assuming a shortcut.

Applications file through CORE with an OH|ID login, the same infrastructure classroom educators already use. Selecting “administrator” without choosing the correct principal band is a recurring data-entry error. Because the two successful teaching years must be under a standard or professional license (or professional pupil services), time on a substitute, alternative, or temporary credential generally will not count toward the principal license even if the classroom assignment looked identical. Align the teaching-license type, the grade band, the dean’s recommendation, and OAE 015 before paying the CORE application fee.

Required exams and fees

Ohio uses OAE 015 Educational Leadership. Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Institutions with educational leadership programs

The table lists educational leadership CIP codes and award levels from IPEDS. This extract reported no completion counts, so none are shown. An award conferred does not mean the program is approved to recommend candidates for Professional Principal License. Verify approval with State Board of Education of Ohio.

Moving an administrator credential to Ohio

Confirm out-of-state administrator evaluation rules directly with State Board of Education of Ohio. This site does not republish NASDTEC interstate-agreement text.

State Board of Education of Ohio