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  • Application Package
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• Applicants Area

Overview of the Application Process for an Independent School Teacher Certificate

The information in this section applies to you if you have not completed a teacher education program.

How to apply for an Independent School Teaching Certificate through the Teacher Regulation Branch

1. Download and review the Application Package for an Independent School Teaching Certificate. This package includes:
   • information about the Ministry of Education and the application process
   • the application form (called the Application for an Independent School Teaching Certificate)
   • the Consent to a Criminal Record Check form
   • two Confidential Character Reference forms
   • a list of all the documents we need as part of your application (these are described in full in the application information section)
   • a list of the fees you must pay
   • a copy of The Standards for the Education, Competence and Professional Conduct of Educators in British Columbia.
2. Print and complete the application form and the Consent to a Criminal Record Check form, which are included within the Application Package. Mail us these two forms and the application fee. Include any other documents you can, except for those that must come directly from an institution or individual.
3. Ask the applicable institutions and individuals to complete and send the relevant documents directly to us. For example, your post-secondary institutions must send us your official university transcripts and your character references must send us the Confidential Character Reference Forms. If these documents arrive at the Branch before your application, we will keep them and add them to your file when we receive your application.
4. Once we receive your application form and application fee, we will create a file for you and place it in a queue based on the date we received it. If you have included your email address on the application form, we will email you within three days to confirm that we have received your application and tell you your file number.
5. Documents will arrive for your file at different times from different sources. We will add each document to your file as it arrives (as long as it is properly identified with your full name).
6. Please be patient as we review all files according to the date we receive them. Once an evaluator has reviewed your file, we will send you a letter (called a T-Cert) listing any documents we are missing.
7. If you are eligible, we will send you a Letter of Eligibility telling you the annual fee amount we need to issue your certificate.

How to find out the status of your application

Please do not contact us to ask about the status of your application until we have sent you your T-Cert notification letter. This letter includes your file number and a list of any documents that are missing from your application.

You can contact us by phone or email for updates on whether we have received specific documents required as part of your application:

• Leave a telephone message at 604 731-8170 or 1 800 555-3684 stating your name, file number, phone number and the best time to reach you. We will return your call the next business day.
• Email us at trb.certification@gov.bc.ca. Please quote your file number in the subject line. We will reply to your email within three business days.

Our policy regarding your documents

All documents you send us as part of your application become the property of the Teacher Regulation Branch. We will not return any documents to you and we will not send any of your documents to other individuals or organizations.

Your non-refundable application fee is valid for a two-year period. However, some documents expire after a certain amount of time, and we may ask you to send us updated documents (such as a new application form) if we have not received any documentation or communication from you in over one year.