Teacher Cert Pathfinder

Transferring a California teaching licence to Washington

Corridor record≈390 teachers a year ±12%

Open question · confirm with the agencyread 10 Sep 2026

Which of your California exam passes will OSPI accept in place of Washington’s basic skills test and the content test for your endorsement?

Who can answer: OSPI Professional Certification, 360-725-6400 (hours are not published on the pages captured)

OSPI says an out-of-state teacher’s passing score from their own state’s exam “may be used” for either Washington test, but publishes no list of the exams it accepts. If a score is not accepted, both tests must be passed within one calendar year of the Residency Teacher First Issue temporary permit. The decision is made once: tests from other states cannot be used to add an endorsement later, so every endorsement you do not get at the first application needs a Washington test.

The published rules do not settle this. We have not yet put the question to the agency; when it answers, the answer and its date go here.

Every entry is cited and dated. Where it is not settled:To confirm with the agencyNot published by the agencyNot in our record yetChanged on a date

Which framework applies to you

California
Not a compact member
Washington
Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact member (enacted 2024)

Washington licence terms: Residency Teacher, 5 years.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationCertificate Types & Roles

Route

Which regime applies

Washington is a member of the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact and California is not, so the compact does nothing for this move. OSPI evaluates a California teacher on its own out-of-state application.
Council of State Governments, National Center for Interstate CompactsInterstate Teacher Mobility Compact — member states

Which compact members actually operate the route →

Moving on military orders? Federal law gives a military spouse a separate route: a covered teaching certificate is valid in the new state on three documents. Washington’s education agency does not mention that route on the pages we read. What federal law and Washington publish →

United States Congress — 50 U.S.C. §4025a as amended by Pub. L. 118-159 §587 (text as published by the Mississippi Real Estate Commission)50 U.S.C. §4025a — Portability of professional licenses of servicemembers and their spousesWashington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationMilitary-Affiliated Educator Certification Applicants

What Washington requires

Route

How Washington evaluates an out-of-state teacher

On OSPI’s own out-of-state application: a bachelor’s degree, and either any state’s approved teacher preparation programme, or a full out-of-state teaching certificate with at least three years of out-of-state teaching.
hold or have held a full teaching certificate in another state with at least three years of out-of-state or out-of-country teaching experience
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

FrameworkTo confirm with the agency

The compact is not mentioned

Washington is listed as a member of the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (joined 2024), but none of the OSPI pages captured for this route — out-of-state, military, testing, dual endorsement, fees — names the compact.

Membership comes from the Council of State Governments list. Whether OSPI runs a separate compact route, and what it asks for, is unresolved from OSPI’s own pages as read on 10 September 2026.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

Who qualifies

An expired certificate is accepted

The certificate option accepts a full, regular teaching certificate from another state whether it is valid or expired, with three years of out-of-state teaching.
Submit a copy of a full, regular teaching certificate issued by another state (valid or expired) and three years of out-of-state teaching experience

Georgia and California also accept an expired certificate; New York and Nevada do not. The military route below is different: it asks for a valid certificate.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

Examinations

Two tests on the checklist

The out-of-state checklist lists a basic skills test (WEST-B or an approved alternative) and a content test for each endorsement sought (WEST-E/NES or an approved alternative).
Complete a basic skills test (WEST-B or approved alternative)
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

ExemptionTo confirm with the agency

Your own state’s scores may count

An out-of-state certificated teacher’s passing score from their own state’s certification exam may be used to meet either Washington test. Documentation that clearly shows the pass can be emailed, faxed or posted to OSPI.
your passing score from your state's teacher certification exam may be used to meet Washington's basic skills or content knowledge test requirement

OSPI publishes no list of which states’ exams it accepts, and “may be used” leaves the decision to OSPI on the documents you send.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher Assessments

Deadline

Otherwise, one year to pass

If your scores are not used, both tests must be passed within one calendar year of the Residency Teacher First Issue temporary permit.
the testing requirements must be successfully completed within one calendar year of issuance of the Residency Teacher First Issue (FI) temporary permit
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher Assessments

Not publishedNot published by the agency

Out-of-state scores cannot add an endorsement later

Once certified, an endorsement added later needs a Washington WEST-E/NES test. Tests from other states only help at the first application.
Tests from other states cannot be used to add endorsements.

Adding an endorsement costs $81 per endorsement on the fee schedule.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationAdding an Endorsement

How it goes wrong

General Science cannot stand alone

A Science endorsement must be paired with a second endorsement, and only a teacher who holds Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science or Physics can add it.
Only educators who hold an endorsement in Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, or Physics will be eligible to add the Science endorsement.

The same pairing rule applies to Bilingual Education and English Language Learner. PESB dates the requirement from 1 September 2019.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationDual Endorsement Requirements

Teaching meanwhile

Two permits at most to finish a dual endorsement

An out-of-state teacher still meeting the dual endorsement requirement teaches on a one-year permit, and can get one further 12-month permit if all other testing is done. No third permit is issued.
Additional permits will not be issued beyond the second 12-month permit.
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationDual Endorsement Requirements

Fee

First Residency Teacher certificate

$93 for the first Residency Teacher certificate. Professional Teacher is $81, and each endorsement added later is $81.
Residency Teacher (1st issue) | $93

The schedule is headed “Total Fee (as of January 1, 2022)”. Whether fees are refundable is not stated on the page.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationProfessional Certification Fee Schedule

Who qualifies

Straight to the second tier

A teacher who holds or has held a second-tier certificate from a state PESB has approved as comparable, or who holds National Board certification, can apply directly for the Professional Teacher certificate.
Hold a certificate issued by the National Boards

Professional Teacher also requires attesting to coursework on issues of abuse (Form 4020G). Which other states’ second-tier certificates PESB has approved is on a reciprocity page that was not captured.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

What to gather

Fingerprints

Fingerprints for a Washington State Patrol and FBI background check, unless you already have a valid Washington certificate on record.
Submit fingerprints for a background check if you do not already have a valid Washington certificate on record

OSPI Fingerprint Records: 360-725-6135.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

Framework

Grade bands are guidelines, not limits

Washington does not print mandatory grade levels on teaching certificates. The rule gives guidelines only: early childhood birth–grade 3, elementary K–8, middle level 4–9, secondary 5–12, all levels preschool–12.
the designation of mandatory grade levels on certificates for assignment purposes, no longer appears appropriate
Washington State Legislature (rule of the Professional Educator Standards Board)WAC 181-82-201 Grade designations for endorsements obtained after August 31, 2000

How long

No published processing time

None of the OSPI pages captured for this route publishes a processing time.
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher (first-time certification: Out-of-State Applicant and Professional Teacher)

Order of steps

Fingerprints before the application

OSPI’s five steps: review the requirements; create the E-Certification (EDS) account; complete fingerprints and the background check; gather transcripts, verification forms and out-of-state certificates; then apply in E-Certification. Fingerprinting can be skipped only if results are on file from the last two years.
Educators can skip this step if they hold a valid Washington educator certificate or if results are on file within the last two years.
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationHow to Apply for a Certificate

Your California credential

What California calls the certificate you hold, and where it sits in California’s own tiers — the thing Washington will compare.

Credential tier

The preliminary credential is a five-year clock

The preliminary credential is issued for a maximum of five years. If the clear requirements are not completed before it expires, the holder cannot teach in California public schools on that credential until they are met and the document renewed.
The preliminary credential is issued for a maximum of five years. … If requirements for the clear credential are not completed before the expiration of the preliminary, the holder will be unable to teach in California's public schools with that credential until those requirements are met and the document is renewed.
California Commission on Teacher CredentialingSingle Subject Teaching Credential Requirements for Teachers Prepared Out-of-State (CL-560)

Credential tier

Preliminary Single Subject Teaching Credential

Issued for a maximum of five years and not renewable in that form. If the clear-credential requirements are not completed before it expires, the holder cannot teach in California public schools on it.
The preliminary credential is issued for a maximum of five years.

Leaflet CL-560C carries a printed revision date of May 2021.

California Commission on Teacher CredentialingSingle Subject Teaching Credential Requirements for Teachers Prepared in California (CL-560C)

Credential tier

Moving from Preliminary to Clear

Complete a Commission-approved Teacher Induction Program, or obtain National Board Certification after earning the preliminary credential.
California Commission on Teacher CredentialingSingle Subject Teaching Credential Requirements for Teachers Prepared in California (CL-560C)

Credential tierTo confirm with the agency

California defines its elementary credential by setting, not by grade band

The Multiple Subject Teaching Credential authorises all subjects in a self-contained classroom across preschool, K-12 and adult classes — there is no grade range on its face to compare with a receiving state’s.
The Multiple Subject Teaching Credential authorizes the holder to teach all subjects in a self-contained classroom, such as the classrooms in most elementary schools, in grades preschool, K-12, or in classes organized primarily for adults.

What is unresolved: every receiving state we have researched asks whether the incoming certificate is “comparable” in subject and grade level. Texas’s Core Subjects is EC-6, Colorado’s Elementary Education is K-6, Florida’s is K-6. California’s is none of those — it is a setting authorisation. How a receiving state maps it is that state’s determination and no published text we have found resolves it.

California Commission on Teacher CredentialingMultiple Subject Teaching Credential (CL-561C)

The endorsement, side by side

The secondary mathematics endorsement in California and Washington
CaliforniaWashington
Certificate or endorsementSingle Subject Teaching Credential: MathematicsMathematics endorsement
Grade bandsingle subjectno mandatory band on the certificate (secondary guideline: grades 5–12)
Named examinationNot in our record yetWEST-E/NES Mathematics, or an approved alternative
California Commission on Teacher CredentialingSingle Subject Teaching Credential Requirements for Teachers Prepared in California (CL-560C)Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationTeacher Assessments

Note the grade-band mismatch. California issues single subject; Washington issues no mandatory band on the certificate (secondary guideline: grades 5–12). Whether that matters depends on whether the destination applies an identity test or a comparability test — and those are different tests with different outcomes.

What works in your favour

$93 for the first Residency Teacher certificate, and it carries no expiry date until you have 1.5 years of full-time Washington teaching.

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationProfessional Certification Fee Schedule

What it costs to get this corridor wrong

Money, time and outcomes, each set by a rule or published by the agency and cited on its entry. None is our estimate.

Money

First Residency Teacher certificate fee

Paid at application. Whether it is refundable is not stated on the fee schedule.
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationProfessional Certification Fee Schedule

Money

Per endorsement added later, plus a Washington test

Tests from other states cannot be used to add endorsements, so anything you do not get at the first application means a WEST-E/NES.
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationAdding an Endorsement

Blocked route

General Science on its own

A general Science endorsement must be paired with Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science or Physics, on no more than two 12-month permits.
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Professional CertificationDual Endorsement Requirements

Nothing here is a prediction about your file. It is what the published rules say happens, and what the agency charges, if a step is taken in the wrong order or on the wrong document.

Licence classes on this corridor

This corridor covers 6 licence classes: Secondary mathematics, Elementary, Middle grades, Secondary science, Secondary English language arts, Special education. The requirements above apply to all of them. No pack is written for any of them yet. Subject-specific facts are on the Washington page where we have them.

Where these facts come from

This page cites 11 sources. Every one is named on the entry that uses it, with the date we read it. The full register, including what we archived and what we could not retrieve, is at every source we cite.

Everything we have verified about Washington → · About California →

Cite this page: Teacher Cert Pathfinder, “California to Washington,” record as of 10 September 2026. Changes and corrections are logged on What changed.