How to Become a Teacher in Wyoming

Wyoming certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Complete an approved educator preparation program with student teaching

   PTSB—not the Wyoming Department of Education—issues educator licenses. The traditional route requires a teacher preparation program from a regionally or nationally accredited institution that includes student teaching, leads to a degree in education in a specific endorsement area, and produces an Institutional Recommendation for licensure. Out-of-state completers must be eligible for licensure in the state where the college is located; they do not have to obtain that license, but they must meet that state’s eligibility rules, including any testing that state requires.

   Source: wyomingptsb.com

2. 2

   Demonstrate U.S. and Wyoming Constitution knowledge

   W.S. 21-7-304 and PTSB Chapter 2 require documentation of a course on the Constitutions of the United States and Wyoming or passing PTSB-administered exams. Coursework must be passed with a grade of C or better; University of Wyoming and Wyoming community-college graduates typically meet the course route if the grade threshold is met. Exams are two 20-question multiple-choice tests available in the Educator Portal; a score of 75 percent or better is required. Applicants who already hold or have held a PTSB license or permit do not repeat the requirement.

   Source: wyomingptsb.com

3. 3

   Pass Praxis II if this is a first-time Elementary or Social Studies endorsement

   First-time initial licensure in Elementary Education requires Praxis II 5001 Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects, with passing scores of 157 (5002), 157 (5003), 155 (5004), and 159 (5005). First-time Social Studies Comprehensive grades 6–12 requires Praxis II 5581 with a passing score of 153; grades 5–8 requires 5089/5589 with a passing score of 153. Out-of-state applicants complete testing required by the state where their preparation program is located, not Wyoming’s Praxis II exams, for initial licensure.

   Source: wyomingptsb.com

4. 4

   Submit two FBI fingerprint cards and apply through the PTSB portal

   Provide official transcripts, the Institutional Recommendation, two blue FBI fingerprint cards, constitution documentation, any required Praxis scores, and a complete application. PTSB’s fee schedule effective October 15, 2025, lists $185 for University of Wyoming in-state program completers and $235 for out-of-state completers, plus a $50 fingerprint processing fee unless a current fingerprint record is already on file. All fees are non-refundable.

   Source: wyomingptsb.com

5. 5

   Receive a five-year Standard Educator License

   A Wyoming Standard Educator License for a classroom teacher, including library media specialist, is valid for five years and authorizes teaching in any Wyoming school district according to the holder’s preparation. Adding endorsements later can be done by Institutional Recommendation (no extra fee if added with an initial, reinstatement, or renewal application) or by Demonstration of Competency, which requires a Praxis II exam for that endorsement.

   Source: wyomingptsb.com

The institutional split is the first fact every relocating teacher needs: PTSB licenses educators; the Wyoming Department of Education does not. Applications, fingerprint cards, constitution exams, and Exception Authorizations all run through wyomingptsb.com and the Educator Portal. Using a WDE contact or a generic “state department of education license” checklist will send candidates to the wrong agency. PTSB’s Cheyenne office (2001 Capitol Avenue, Emerson Building, Room 128) and 307-777-7291 are the published points of contact.

Constitution knowledge is a statutory third rail, not a workshop. W.S. 21-7-304 requires either coursework covering the U.S. Constitution (U.S. history prior to 1865 that includes the Constitution) and the Wyoming Constitution, or PTSB’s two 20-question exams at 75 percent. Political science courses count only if they included the Constitution; PTSB may demand syllabi. Wyoming community-college and University of Wyoming graduates usually satisfy the course route with a C or better. Digital exams in the portal are scored immediately and may be retaken. Anyone who has ever held a PTSB license or permit is done with this requirement for later applications.

Praxis II is narrowly targeted. Wyoming does not require a Praxis content exam for every first-time secondary field. The published first-time mandates are Elementary Education 5001 (four subtest cuts) and Social Studies Comprehensive (5581 at 153 for 6–12; 5089/5589 at 153 for 5–8). Out-of-state program completers take the preparing state’s tests instead of Wyoming’s Praxis II for initial licensure—an Arizona completer, PTSB notes, must finish Arizona testing and then does not also take Wyoming Praxis for that initial license. Demonstration of Competency to add an endorsement later flips the other way: a Praxis II in that endorsement is required.

The October 15, 2025 fee schedule prices in-state and out-of-state initial licenses differently: $185 for University of Wyoming completers and $235 for out-of-state completers, each plus $50 fingerprint processing unless prints are already on file. Reinstatement of a Standard License is listed at $250. Those figures are PTSB Chapter 2 amounts mirrored on the public fees page. They do not include ETS Praxis registration. Checks are payable to the Professional Teaching Standards Board; cards are accepted in the portal (Visa, Mastercard, Discover).

Required exams and fees

Wyoming uses Praxis II for first-time Elementary Education and Social Studies Composite endorsements; PTSB U.S. and Wyoming Constitution examinations (or coursework). Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Moving a license to Wyoming

Out-of-state traditional completers apply with an Institutional Recommendation showing they are eligible for licensure in the program’s state, official transcripts, fingerprint cards, constitution knowledge, and that state’s required tests rather than Wyoming Praxis II for initial licensure. Military spouses with orders to Wyoming may use a portability pathway that still requires fingerprint cards, constitution knowledge, and proof of an active professional license in good standing from another state. PTSB is the licensing agency; do not apply to the Wyoming Department of Education for a teaching license.

Official Wyoming reciprocity guidance