• Overview
• Certificates Issued
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  • Application Information
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  • Application Information
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  • Language Proficiency
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• International Graduates
  • Application Process
  • Country-Specific Information
  • Fee Information
  • Language Proficiency
  • Translation Policy
  • PQP Graduates
• First Nations Language
  • Application Package
• Independent School Certificate
  • Application Package
  • Fee Information
  • Language Proficiency
  • Translation Policy
• Letters of Permission
• BC Offshore Schools
• Previously Certified Teachers
• Information Sessions
• Applicants Area

Application Package Information

You may submit your application online through the Applicants Area. Alternatively, you may download and print the General Application Package. This package includes several forms that you must complete as part of your application.

This section describes the documents that we require as part of your application and tells you how to complete and submit them.

You will notice that some of the documents need to be verified. A verified copy is a photocopy of a document on which a notary public or lawyer states in writing that it is "a true copy of the original" and signs the copy. Anyone who holds current, valid certification with the BC Ministry of Education can also verify your documents. On the photocopy, he or she must include his or her full name, certificate number and signature.

Application for Teacher's Certificate of Qualification

You must complete all four pages of this form and mail it to the Teacher Regulation Branch. We will only accept this form if you answer all of the Personal Information questions and if you sign and date the Declaration of Professional Commitment.

Having a criminal record does not automatically make you ineligible for a certificate. However, you may be ineligible for a certificate if you make false statements or if you do not tell us about a criminal record. If necessary, we may ask you to complete an additional criminal record check so we can review all the details related to your offence.

Consent to a Criminal Record Check

Please complete the Consent to a Criminal Record Check form and mail it to us with your Application for Teacher's Certificate of Qualification.

Under the Criminal Records Review Act, we are required to obtain an original signed form and a $20 fee from each person who applies for certification. We include this $20 charge in our application fee.

We keep your original completed form and send a copy of it along with the $20 fee to the Criminal Records Review Agency (CRRA). The CRRA is responsible for processing the criminal record check forms and identifying any criminal record that indicates that the applicant is a risk to children.

Criminal record checks are confidential. We cannot accept previous criminal record checks you have completed, and we cannot provide you with a copy of the results of our criminal record check.

Statement(s) of Professional Standing

A Statement of Professional Standing is a document that states you are a teacher in good standing and that your teaching certificate has never been revoked, cancelled or suspended for any disciplinary reasons. This document usually comes from the government authority that certifies teachers in a specific jurisdiction. All Statements of Professional Standing must be sent directly to us.

We must receive Statement(s) of Professional Standing from:

1. The education authority in the province where you completed your teacher education program.
   This is necessary whether or not you have taught in that province as it confirms that the program you completed qualified you to teach in the public school system.
   
   
2. The education authorities in all jurisdictions where you have held or currently hold a teaching certificate.
   This is necessary even if you have never used your certificate to teach in that jurisdiction and even if the certificate has expired.
   


3. The education authorities in all jurisdictions where you have taught.
   You must also request a Statement of Professional Standing from all jurisdictions where you have taught. This includes jurisdictions where you taught without registering with the government education authority. In this case, you need to ask the employing school(s) or school district(s) to write a letter of standing for you. The letter needs to state the basis upon which you were hired (i.e. your degree or your certification elsewhere). It must also state that you maintained good standing throughout your employment.
   

Verification of employment

We require verification of your teaching experience for each year of the last 10 years. If you have not taught within the last 10 years, please provide verification of your teaching experience for the last 20 years.

You can provide us with verification of your experience in one of the following ways:

• Download the Verification of Employment form from our website, complete the "information for certified teacher" section and ask your employer(s) to complete the rest of the form
• Ask your employer(s) to send us a letter that clearly states the period(s) of your employment and the position(s) you held.
• Provide us with letters that you already have. They need to confirm when you were employed and what you were teaching.

The verification must indicate whether you worked full-time, part-time, and/or as a teacher-on-call. If you have taught part-time and/or as a teacher-on-call, we need the percentage of full-time or number of days you taught each year.

If you only have student teaching experience, you do not need to submit a verification of employment document unless we specifically request it.

If you have not held a teaching position within the last five years, please provide a brief description of your work history since you last taught.

We can accept these documents by mail, fax (604.731.9142) or email (trb.certification@gov.bc.ca).

Assessment Form

Please ask the principal, vice-principal or supervisor of your most recent teaching experience to complete the Assessment Form.

It may be easiest for your supervisor to print the form directly from the forms and publications section of our website. He or she can then complete the form and mail it to us, fax it to 604.731.9142 or scan and email it to trb.certification@gov.bc.ca. A faxed or emailed Assessment Form must include the school stamp or seal on the last page.

If you only have student teaching experience, please send us a copy of all your final practicum reports (from the faculty and school associates) instead of the Assessment Form. If you have not taught in the last 10 years, please send us a copy of your last teaching report.

If you are unable to provide an Assessment Form, please send us a written explanation and we will tell you of an acceptable alternative.

Confidential Character Reference for Authorization to Teach in British Columbia forms

Your application must include two character reference forms. Each form must be completed by someone other than a family member who has known you for at least two years (called a referee). You need to complete page 1 of the form. Give the form to your referee and ask him or her to complete page 2 and then submit the form directly to us. We do not accept letters of recommendation as a substitute for the Character Reference form.

Official transcripts of all other post-secondary studies

We must receive official transcripts from all of the post-secondary institutions that you have attended. This includes transcripts for:

• all coursework for your degree(s)
• all transferred courses, including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs
• courses that were required for admission to your teacher education program
• courses for any exchange programs.

Transcripts should list each course you took at that institution, along with:

• the dates of enrolment
• the grades you received
• the credit granted (or number of lecture hours completed) for each course.

If the official transcripts do not include all of this information, we may ask you to have the post-secondary institution send us an outline or syllabus of the academic program you completed, including lecture hours and courses completed.

You need to ask each institution to send the official transcript(s) directly to us. We will not accept a transcript sent by you even if the transcript is sealed or notarized.

We cannot evaluate your credentials if you have not yet completed your teacher education program. Please continue with the application process, but do not arrange to send us official transcripts until:

• you have completed your program and your transcript shows the award of the degree, diploma or certificate, and
• you have qualified for certification in the province where you are completing your program.

If transcripts arrive in languages other than English or French, we will send a copy to you for translation. All translations must be made according to our Translation Policy.

Degree verification

Some transcripts from post-secondary institutions outside of Canada do not indicate the awarding of a degree or qualification. If this is the case with any of your transcripts, you must send us a verified copy of your degree or diploma. You can also ask the post-secondary institution to send us a letter stating the qualification they have awarded you.

Secondary school graduation diploma

If you completed your secondary schooling outside of North America, you need to submit a verified copy of your final secondary school diploma or certificate. If your diploma or certificate is not available, we will accept a letter from the secondary school you attended stating that you completed your studies. O-level and A-level certificates will meet this requirement. If you completed your secondary schooling within North America, you do not need to provide us with a verified copy of your diploma or certificate.

Identification documents

We require legal identification for all names appearing on the documents you submit as part of your application. We will only use your legal name on your certificate. We will not issue you a certificate that includes names or aliases for which official documentation does not exist.

We require one of the following as a primary identification document:

• Birth certificate: We require a verified copy of your birth certificate. If you were born in Canada and you do not have a birth certificate, you must obtain a replacement from the Vital Statistics department in the province where you were born. Send us a verified copy of the replacement certificate.
• Statutory declaration: If you were born outside of Canada and you do not have a birth certificate, you must have a notary public or lawyer prepare a statutory declaration in which you swear to the following:
  • your date of birth
  • your full name at birth
  • your birthplace
  • that you do not have a birth certificate.
  
  You must attach a verified copy of your passport, permanent resident/landed immigrant papers or a Canadian citizenship card to the statutory declaration. Please see the Sample Statutory Declaration form in the General Application Package.

We require the following if they apply to you:

• Marriage certificate: If you changed your surname as a result of marriage, you must include a verified copy of your marriage certificate.
• Divorce certificate: If you are divorced and cannot provide a marriage certificate as proof of a current or previous surname, you must send us a verified copy of the divorce certificate.
• Change of name certificate: If you changed your name for reasons other than marriage or divorce, you must send us a verified copy of an official change of name certificate.

Language proficiency results

Teachers in BC must be able to communicate clearly and proficiently in English and/or French. If you have completed any part of your post-secondary education in a country where the only official language is not English or French, we require results from an acceptable language proficiency test. Please see the Language Profiency page for more information.

Official results of this test must be sent directly to us from the testing agency. Please have the results sent to us as soon as they are available, whether or not you passed the test. Without this item, we cannot proceed with our evaluation or inform you of any other requirements you may need to complete before qualifying for certification.

Application fee

You must include a non-refundable application fee with your application. We will not evaluate your application or assign you a file number until you have paid the application fee. Please see Fee Information to find out the fee you must pay and the payment options.