How to Become a Teacher in Hawaii

Hawaii certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Complete a Hawaiʻi or other U.S. State-Approved Teacher Education Program

   Finish a teacher, librarian, or counselor SATEP. A Hawaiʻi-approved program sends a recommendation directly to HTSB. Completers of a SATEP in another U.S. jurisdiction submit HTSB Form LA3009. Hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the evaluated equivalent from a non-U.S. institution.

   Source: hawaiiteacherstandardsboard.org

2. 2

   Pass HTSB-approved Praxis tests and report them with code 8620

   Out-of-state SATEP completers must pass the tests identified in HTSB policy: Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics; Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching for the recommended grade levels; and the Praxis content test(s). ACTFL may be accepted for world-language applicants. Use ETS state code 8620 and your Social Security number so scores transmit to HTSB. Use only the Hawaiʻi ETS list—not the generic Praxis catalog.

   Source: hawaiiteacherstandardsboard.org

3. 3

   Create an HTSB online profile and clear Professional Fitness

   Every application is submitted from the HTSB portal. Upload a valid government-issued photo ID that matches the profile name, and complete the Professional Fitness check. HTSB states that even if you already gave documents to the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, you must still submit them to HTSB. Review can take up to six weeks or longer while specialists wait on outside agencies.

   Source: hawaiiteacherstandardsboard.org

4. 4

   Apply for a Provisional or Standard license (no HTSB fee)

   Completers with fewer than three years of full-time P-12 teaching receive a Provisional License valid for three years, expiring June 30, and it is not renewable. Completers who verify three of the last five years of full-time teaching in a P-12 contracted position in Hawaiʻi or another state may qualify for a five-year renewable Standard License. HTSB’s renewal page states Hawaiʻi does not charge a teacher licensing fee; Act 116 (2019) covers licensing, applications, and renewals for public-school teachers, librarians, and counselors.

   Source: hawaiiteacherstandardsboard.org

5. 5

   Convert Provisional to Standard and renew on audit-ready evidence

   Apply to convert as early as May 1 before the Provisional expires, or apply for a new Provisional as early as July 1 of the expiration year. Standard and Advanced renewals require verification of experience and HTSB performance standards. HTSB may randomly audit a renewal for up to one year after the renewal date.

   Source: hawaiiteacherstandardsboard.org

HTSB is not the Hawaiʻi Department of Education. The Board issues licenses and permits; HIDOE hires and assigns. Documents already in a HIDOE personnel file do not migrate to HTSB. Teachers who answer Professional Fitness questions only for the department and skip the Board will sit in a six-week review that is actually waiting on a blank fitness packet. Substitute credentials are also a HIDOE product, not an HTSB license.

June 30 is the calendar that runs the islands’ licenses. Provisional and Emergency Hire documents die on that date, and you cannot renew them—you wait until July 1 to file a new one. Standard conversion can start May 1. Educators who treat HTSB like a rolling anniversary system (common among people licensed on the continent) will gap a school year even though they finished a SATEP on time.

Score reporting is a two-key lock: state code 8620 and a Social Security number. ETS will not push official scores to HTSB without both. Using a generic Praxis dashboard or omitting the SSN produces a clean personal score report and an empty HTSB testing record. Specialists then ask for an official copy while the six-week clock keeps running.

Experience for Standard is contracted P-12 teaching in Hawaiʻi or another U.S. state, three of the last five years. Long-term substitute work, unofficial overload, and uncontracted tutoring do not satisfy the Board’s wording. HTSB’s getting-started page says experience verification applies to licenses and permits whether or not a specific form repeats the sentence. Build a Verification of Experience habit early; renewal audits reach back a full year after you click submit.

Required exams and fees

Hawaii uses HTSB-approved Praxis Core, Principles of Learning and Teaching, and content tests (ETS state code 8620); ACTFL accepted for some world languages. Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Full Hawaii exam requirements →

Moving a license to Hawaii

HTSB issues licenses to holders of a valid, unrevoked out-of-state teaching license (Provisional-equivalent issued first on or after July 1, 2006, uses Form OS3009). A current valid out-of-state license can support Standard licensure when experience and fitness are met. Out-of-state license holders who must still verify basic skills and content may use licensure tests from the home state. Current National Board certified teachers with a valid, non-deficient, unrevoked license from another state are exempt from all examinations. An HTSB online application is still required; a license from elsewhere does not authorize teaching in Hawaiʻi by itself.

Official Hawaii reciprocity guidance