Alternative Teacher Certification in Kentucky

Kentucky alternative certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) — Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Choose a statutory alternative option under KRS 161.048

   Kentucky publishes nine alternative options. The most commonly used employment-plus-preparation routes are Option 6 (university-based post-baccalaureate program with concurrent district employment) and Option 7 (approved institute). Other options include exceptional work experience, college faculty, armed-forces veterans, Teach For America, and the Option 9 expedited bachelor’s-plus-certification residency (classified employment, not teacher of record until completion).

   Source: goteachky.com

2. 2

   Meet the degree and GPA floor

   Option 6 and Option 7 candidates need a bachelor’s degree and a GPA of at least 2.75, or a 3.0 GPA on the last 30 hours of credit. Option 6 candidates must also meet university admission requirements and obtain an offer of employment from a Kentucky school district. Option 7 requires a bachelor’s degree in an academic content area and training through an EPSB-approved institute.

   Source: goteachky.com

3. 3

   Obtain a one-year temporary provisional certificate

   Eligible Option 6 and Option 7 candidates are issued a one-year provisional teaching certificate while enrolled and employed. Senate Bill 49 extended renewals of that temporary provisional from two to four for most programs. Federal rules still limit special education and interdisciplinary early childhood candidates to a shorter provisional period (three years / two renewals).

   Source: goteachky.com

4. 4

   Teach while completing the university or institute program

   Remain employed and enrolled. Renewal of the temporary provisional requires concurrent employment and continued enrollment in the Option 6 or Option 7 program. Complete required Praxis assessments for the certification areas sought as directed by EPSB and the provider.

   Source: goteachky.com

5. 5

   Apply in KECS for the professional certificate

   When the approved alternative program and assessments are complete, apply through KECS for the professional certificate and pay the $85 regular-certificate fee. Temporary provisional and emergency-type credentials are not eligible for the Highly Qualified add-on route used by already-certified Kentucky teachers.

   Source: goteachky.com

Option 6 is the workhorse alternate route and is inseparable from employment. Go Teach KY requires a bachelor’s degree, the 2.75 / last-30-hours 3.0 GPA floor, university admission, and an offer of employment from a Kentucky school district. The candidate enrolls in a post-baccalaureate preparation program and teaches concurrently. That is a different legal object from Option 9, which partners a college with districts so a classified employee can earn a bachelor’s degree and initial certification in three school years but may not serve as teacher of record until the degree and assessments are done.

Option 7 shifts the provider from a university to an EPSB-approved institute that addresses research-based teaching strategies. The academic bar is similar—bachelor’s degree in an academic content area and the same GPA floor—but the training vendor is an institute rather than a campus-based post-baccalaureate program. Approved Option 7 providers are listed on the Go Teach KY alternative-pathways page; there is no implication that every national institute is automatically Option 7 in Kentucky.

The temporary provisional clock lengthened in 2023 and is still published in 2026. Senate Bill 49 and the matching EPSB regulations extended Option 6 and Option 7 provisional renewals from two to four for most teaching areas, provided the candidate stays employed and enrolled. Exceptional children and interdisciplinary early childhood education remain capped by federal alternate-certification timelines. Candidates in those fields should plan a three-year finish, not a five-year provisional runway.

Kentucky’s other options are easy to misuse. Option 1 (exceptional work experience) and Option 5 (armed-forces veterans) also use the 2.75 GPA floor and either an academic major or a passing Praxis content score for a one-year provisional. Option 4 adjunct instructor is part-time and does not lead to professional certification. Option 2 local district training programs are authorized in statute, but Go Teach KY states there are no current Option 2 programs approved by EPSB. The Highly Qualified route is reserved for already fully certified Kentucky teachers and expressly excludes emergency, adjunct, temporary, temporary provisional, conditional, probationary, and occupation-based credentials.

Required exams and fees

Kentucky uses ETS Praxis specialty-area tests and Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT). Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Moving a license to Kentucky

Alternative options under KRS 161.048 are Kentucky statutory pathways. Out-of-state educators who completed a state-approved alternative training program may apply under 16 KAR 4:030 using the CA-1 out-of-state process (experience or Praxis). Kentucky does not recognize out-of-state credentials earned only by passing an assessment. Compact-eligible standard licenses use the separate Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact application.

Official Kentucky reciprocity guidance