Directions to Apply for an Educator Certification, Endorsement, or Upgrade in Georgia

 

Steps if Seeking First Georgia Professional Teaching Certification

  1. Complete Personal Affirmation Questions in your MyPSC account.
  2. Ensure the following documents are uploaded in your MyPSC account as part of the application process:
    1. official transcript(s) depicting completion of program coursework or degree is conferred (if applicable) Note: See directions at the bottom of this document on how to send an official VSU transcript.
    2. If not a U.S. citizen: signed and notarized Verification of Lawful Presence form
    3. Employer Assurance Form submitted by your employing school system (if applicable)
  3. VSU will submit a Program Completion Form on your behalf to document completion of the educator preparation program once your degree is issued and all program requirements have been met. This will trigger the Georgia Professional Standards Commissions (GaPSC) to open a case/application and process your certification paperwork.

If additional documents are needed, the GaPSC will contact you at the email address on your MyPSC account.

 

Steps if Seeking First Georgia Professional Educator Certification and Does Not Already Hold Georgia Professional Educator Certification (Fields of Communication Disorders, Instructional Technology, School Counseling, and Media Specialist)

  1. Complete Personal Affirmation Questions in your MyPSC account.
  2. Submit an application in your MyPSC account for initial program completion. Ensure the following documents are uploaded in your MyPSC account as part of the application process:
    1. official undergraduate and graduate transcripts depicting completion of program coursework or degree is conferred (if applicable) Note: See directions at the bottom of this document on how to send an official VSU transcript.
    2. documentation of completing the exceptional child course requirement (if not included in transcript; SPEC 3000/7000 at VSU) (applicable for School Counseling and Library Media candidates only)
    3. official score report of passing scores on the GACE Program Admission Assessment or exemption method
    4. signed and notarized Verification of Lawful Presence form
    5. Official score report with passing scores on Praxis II (applicable for Communication Disorders only)
    6. Employer Assurance Form submitted by your employing school system (if applicable)
  3. VSU will submit a Program Completion Form on your behalf to document completion of the educator preparation program once your degree is issued and/or all program requirements have been met. This will trigger the Georgia Professional Standards Commissions (GaPSC) to open a case and process your certification application.

If additional documents are needed, the GaPSC will contact you at the email address on your MyPSC account.

 

Steps if Already Hold Georgia Professional Educator Certification and Are Adding a New Endorsement, Service, or Leader Field

  1. Make sure Personal Affirmation Questions are updated in your MyPSC account.
  2. Ensure the following documents are uploaded in your MyPSC account as part of the application process:
    1. official transcripts depicting completion of program coursework or degree is conferred (if applicable) Note: See directions at the bottom of this document on how to send an official VSU transcript to the GaPSC.
    2. If not a U.S. citizen: signed and notarized Verification of Lawful Presence form
    3. $20 processing fee or Employer Assurance Form submitted by your employing school system (if applicable)
  3. VSU will submit a Program Completion Form on your behalf to document completion of the educator preparation program once your degree is issued and/or all program requirements have been met. This will trigger the Georgia Professional Standards Commissions (GaPSC) to open a case/application and process your certification paperwork.

If additional documents are needed, the GaPSC will contact you at the email address on your MyPSC account.

Steps if Already Hold Georgia Professional Educator Certification and Are Upgrading Certificate Level (No New Field Added)

  1. Make sure Personal Affirmation Questions are updated in your MyPSC account.
  2. Submit an application in your MyPSC account. Ensure the following documents are uploaded as part of your application process:
    1. official transcripts depicting completion of program coursework or degree is conferred (if applicable) Note: See directions at the bottom of this document on how to send an official VSU transcript.
    2. If not a U.S. citizen: signed and notarized Verification of Lawful Presence form
    3. $20 processing fee or Employer Assurance Form submitted by your employing school system (if applicable)

The GaPSC will create a case and process your paperwork. If additional documents are needed, the GaPSC will contact you at the email address on your MyPSC account.

Directions for Sending a VSU Official Transcript to the GaPSC

  1. Navigate to this link: /academics/registrar/forms/requesting-academic-transcripts.php.
  2. Click “Order your official VSU transcript at this webpage”.
  3. Choose “Order PDF Transcript(s)”. Note: this is an electronic transcript(s), it costs $7.50, but it is the format required by the GaPSC to process your paperwork.
  4. Fill out the required “Student Information” and “Communication Information.”
  5. Click Next. Select one of the following radio buttons on this page. Enter reason for request.
    1. Select Hold Until Degree is posted for Spring/Fall semester if you are completing a degree
    2. Select Hold Until Grades are posted for Spring/Fall semester if you are completing a non-degree
  6. Click Next and choose the radio button: “Select an Application Service”. Select the Application Service of “Georgia Professional Standard Commission --- State Licensing”. Click Next.
  7. Review the recipient information. Confirm that you are sending it to the GaPSC. You should not need to include an attachment. Check the box to confirm this recipient. Click Continue to Summary.
  8. Add any additional recipients to this order. Click Next when done.
  9. Review the summary information. If everything is correct, click Go to Payment. If anything needs to be edited, click the Edit button on the right-hand side.
  10. Complete your payment information and submit the request.

Directions for Uploading Documents to the GaPSC

  1. Login to your MyPSC account.
  2. Locate the MyPSC Dashboard heading on the left side of the screen and click on the tab titled Applications/Documentation/Status.
  3. Enter/Edit the employment information shown on the screen and click “Proceed”.
  4. The screen should now show the heading “Apply for Certification or Provide Documentation”. Click on the first bullet point that says “Submit Documentation”.
  5. In order to submit the required files, you must choose what type of document you will be submitting under “Step 1”.
  6. Once you have chosen what type of file you want to upload, click on “Browse” and choose your file under “Step 2”. The file must be in the form of pdf, tif, & tiff to be accepted.
  • Click on “Upload”.
  1. Repeat the process of Step 1 and Step 2 for the documents you need to upload
  2. Once all documents have been uploaded, click on the “Finish” tab.