How to Become a Teacher in Alabama

Alabama certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Alabama State Department of Education — Educator Certification Section publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Complete a State-approved educator preparation program

   Finish an Alabama State-approved program leading to the Professional Educator Certificate at the Class B (bachelor’s), Class A (master’s), or Class AA (education specialist) level. Your certification officer recommends you through the State-approved program approach after all program and AECAP requirements are met.

   Source: alabamaachieves.org

2. 2

   Meet AECAP testing requirements

   Pass the Alabama-prescribed Praxis subject assessment(s) for your teaching field. Complete the AECAP pedagogy assessment—edTPA where a handbook exists, or Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching where it does not. Early Childhood (P-3), Elementary (K-6), and Collaborative Special Education (K-6) also require Foundations of Reading. Testing companies must send official scores electronically to ALSDE; do not mail paper score reports.

   Source: alabamaachieves.org

3. 3

   Complete Fieldprint fingerprinting and AIM setup

   Create an ALSDE Identity Management (AIM) account at aim.alsde.edu, then register for ASBI and FBI criminal history checks through Fieldprint, ALSDE’s authorized fingerprint contractor. Applicants who have not already been cleared through the Educator Certification Section must be fingerprinted before initial certification, additional certification, or renewal.

   Source: alabamaachieves.org

4. 4

   Apply in AIM/ACE and pay the Form NAL fee

   Submit Form NAL with Supplement CIT (citizenship or lawful presence), official transcripts, and the $38.00 nonrefundable application fee through the ACE dashboard in AIM. Personal checks and cash are not accepted. ALSDE automatically receives Praxis scores taken in Alabama when your Social Security number is on the registration; tests taken outside Alabama must designate ALSDE code 7020.

   Source: alabamaachieves.org

5. 5

   Receive a Class B, A, or AA Professional Educator Certificate

   Certificates issued beginning December 2013 are valid from the issuance date through the remainder of that scholastic year and then for the next five consecutive scholastic years. Continue the certificate in the expiration calendar year (January 1–June 30) through ACE.

   Source: alabamaachieves.org

Alabama’s certificate ladder is degree-labeled rather than induction-labeled. Class B is the bachelor’s-level Professional Educator Certificate, Class A the master’s level, and Class AA the education specialist level. Leadership certificates start at Class A. That structure means a first-year classroom teacher and a specialist-prepared colleague hold differently lettered credentials even when both are fully certified, and salary schedules and continuation coursework rules track the letter. ALSDE does not issue a doctoral-level educator certificate; out-of-state doctorate holders may be considered only at the Class AA level when Alabama offers a comparable area.

AECAP is a stacked testing system, not a single Praxis list. Content knowledge rides on ETS Praxis subject assessments. Pedagogy is split: edTPA (Pearson) is required wherever a handbook exists, and Praxis PLT fills the remaining fields. Foundations of Reading sits on top for Early Childhood, Elementary, and Collaborative K-6. Basic skills testing is gone—ALSDE rescinded Praxis Core for Class B admission—so candidates who still hunt for a basic-skills gate will miss the assessments that actually delay Form NAL. Scores must arrive electronically from the vendor; paper reports stall the file.

AIM and ACE are sequential, not optional. Fieldprint will not schedule fingerprints until an AIM account exists, and the $38 fee is paid from the ACE dashboard dollar-sign tile after login at aim.alsde.edu. Background clearance is a dual ASBI and FBI review tied to the Educator Certification Section, not a local school-system check you can reuse from a prior job. Applicants can confirm suitability in the TCERT/Certificate Search portal before assuming an application is complete.

Continuation is calendar-locked. You cannot renew early, and the application window is January 1 through June 30 of the expiration year. Class B continuation credit must be junior, senior, or graduate level with a C or better; Class A and AA continuation credit must be graduate level with a B or better. Educators who wait until July discover the certificate has lapsed into reinstatement rather than continuation, a different ALSDE packet with its own documentation rules.

Required exams and fees

Alabama uses Alabama Educator Certification Assessment Program (AECAP): Praxis subject tests, edTPA or Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching, and Foundations of Reading where required. Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Full Alabama exam requirements →

Moving a license to Alabama

Alabama issues Class B, Class A, and Class AA Professional Educator Certificates to applicants who hold a valid professional educator certificate from another state in an area Alabama offers. Experience reciprocity for instructional support and leadership areas requires documented full-time P-12 experience (two years for many support areas; three years including at least one year of classroom teaching for leadership). Apply through AIM/ACE using ALSDE’s Out of State Certificate approach—not a generic interstate compact.

Official Alabama reciprocity guidance