After you have submitted your application form, we will review it and provide you with a list of documents. You will need to submit these documents as part of your application. Please do not start submitting documents before you receive the list.
On this page:
Required for: Certificate of Qualification, Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted), Letter of Permission, First Nations Language Teaching Certificate
Uploaded by: Applicant
Everyone who applies for a teaching certificate or letter of permission (LOP) must authorize a criminal record check. A signed Consent to a Criminal Record Check Form is required to complete your file. You can download a personalized copy of the form in Your Account.
Once you become certified, you will need to undergo a criminal record check every five years.
Required for: Certificate of Qualification, Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted), Letter of Permission, First Nations Language Teaching Certificate
Uploaded by: Applicant
Proof of legal identification is required for all names that appear on the documents you submit. If you receive a certificate, it will only include your legal name.
Identification document for current legal name: You must submit two identification documents that show your current legal name and date of birth. The first document must be from the primary list:
The second document must be from the secondary list:
If you were born outside of Canada or the United States and you are unable to provide any of the listed documents as your secondary identification document, you must upload a statutory declaration prepared by a notary public or a lawyer. In the statutory declaration, you must swear that you do not have a birth certificate. You must also swear to your:
Attach a notarized copy of your primary identification document to this declaration.
Additional identification documents for past legal names: If you have used previous legal names, you must submit one identification document for every previous legal name you have used. These documents may be expired but must clearly show your previous legal name(s). Your documents must be from the additional identification documents list:
Required for: Certificate of Qualification and Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted)
Submitted directly by: Pathways to Teach Canada, upon request by applicant
If you completed your teacher education program outside of Canada, we may ask you to have your international credentials assessed by Pathways to Teach Canada. This organization evaluates the credentials of internationally educated K-12 teachers who are applying for a certificate to teach in certain Canadian provinces, including B.C.
To have your international credentials assessed for B.C. teacher certification, you must submit a request to Pathways to Teach Canada. You will be responsible for paying any fees related to this credential assessment.
After Pathways to Teach Canada completes its assessment of your credentials, it will issue a credential assessment report. If you choose B.C. to receive the assessment report, Pathways will share the report with us. We will add it to your application for B.C. teacher certification.
Note: if you have already submitted your transcripts to World Education Services (WES) and WES has provided the Ministry of Education and Child Care with the evaluation report, you do not need to have your credentials assessed by Pathways to Teach Canada.
Required for: Certificate of Qualification, Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted), Letter of Permission
Submitted directly by: Educational institution or assessment organization
Mail to:
Ministry of Education and Child Care
201-828 8th Avenue W
Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1E2
Your university will send a letter to the Ministry of Education and Child Care to recommend you for a teaching certificate – sometimes they include your transcript. You don't have to wait for this – you can send your documents as soon as you have received your qualification.
If all your required documents have been received, your application will be evaluated within three weeks after your transcript and recommendation are received.
Practicum report: You may be asked to submit copies of your final practicum report from the faculty and school advisors. Upload the report through Your Account.
Official transcripts are required for all your post-secondary studies from all institutions you attended, including:
Transcripts should list the following information for each course you took: enrolment dates, grades and number of credits or number of lecture hours completed. If this information is not included, you may need to ask the institution for a course outline or syllabus that includes lecture hours and courses completed.
For transcripts from post-secondary institutions within Canada, request that your transcripts get sent directly to the Ministry of Education and Child Care. Transcripts are not accepted by fax, or from an applicant (even if they are in sealed envelopes or notarized).
Official transcripts are required for all your post-secondary studies from all institutions you attended.
Transcripts should list the following information for each course you took: enrolment dates, grades and number of credits or number of lecture hours completed. If this information is not included, you may need to ask the institution for a course outline or syllabus that includes lecture hours and courses completed.
If you completed your post-secondary studies, including your teacher education program, outside of Canada, we may ask you to have your international credentials assessed by Pathways to Teach Canada.
If we do not ask you to proceed with Pathways to Teach Canada, you may be able to share your academic transcripts and degrees electronically with the Ministry of Education and Child Care British Columbia through WES, Digitary, or My eQuals. This is an effective way to streamline your application. See if your institutions can share transcripts via Digitary. Transcripts are not accepted by fax, or from an applicant (even if they are in sealed envelopes or notarized).
Distance teacher education program details: If you completed any part of a teacher education program by distance or online education, your institution will need to provide details about the studies you completed within your teacher education program:
Ask your institution to send this information directly to the Ministry of Education and Child Care.
Required for: Certificate of Qualification, Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted)
Uploaded by: Applicant
Or submitted directly by: Testing centre to Ministry of Education and Child Care, upon request from applicant
Review the language proficiency requirements for the certificate you are applying for.
If you are required to provide evidence of an acceptable score on a language proficiency test, you will be notified.
Upload a PDF of your language proficiency test results through Your Account as soon as possible. You can use results from tests taken within the last two years.
Required for: Certificate of Qualification, Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted)
Submitted directly by: Jurisdiction
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. We must receive Statement(s) of Professional Standing from:
Required for: Certificate of Qualification
Submitted directly by: Post-secondary institution
We may require information about the practicum you completed during your teacher education program. If we do need this information, we will ask for it on your list of required documents.
The post-secondary institution where you completed your teacher education program must submit the completed form to us. We cannot accept a Verification of Practicum Information Form directly from you as the applicant.
If you completed your teacher education program outside of Canada, the institution where you completed your program needs to share this information with Pathways to Teach Canada. Pathways will include this as part of the credential assessment report.
Required for: Certificate of Qualification, Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted)
Uploaded by: Applicant
Only if you completed secondary school outside of North America, you need to submit a photocopy of your graduation diploma or certificate. If it's not available, request a letter from your secondary school stating that you completed your studies.
O-level and A-level certificates meet this requirement.
Required for: Certificate of Qualification
Submitted directly by: Employer
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.
The verification must indicate whether you worked full-time, part-time, and/or as a teacher-on-call. If you have taught as a teacher-on-call, the number of days you taught each year should be indicated. The completed form must be submitted to us by the employer. We cannot accept a verification of employment form directly from an applicant.
Required: Upon request from the Ministry of Education and Child Care
Submitted directly by: Employer
Ask the principal, vice-principal or supervisor from your most recent teaching experience to complete the Assessment Form (PDF) or le Formulaire d'évaluation (PDF) and send it to the Ministry of Education and Child Care. Forms that are faxed or emailed must include the school stamp or seal on the last page. If you are unable to provide an Assessment Form, please send an explanation – you will be notified of an acceptable alternative.
If you only have student teaching experience, please send us a copy of all your final practicum reports from the faculty and school associates. 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.
Required for: Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted) or upon request from the Ministry of Education and Child Care
Submitted directly by: Referees
Your application must include two character references from people who have known you for at least two years. They do not need to have observed you in any teaching capacity.
Forms cannot be completed by people who are too closely related to you – for example, relatives, partners or spouses. Letters of recommendation are not accepted as substitutes for a character reference.
Use the following form to complete your character references:
Required for: Independent School Teaching Certificate (Subject Restricted, School and Subject Restricted, System Restricted)
Submitted directly by: Employer
Teaching report: If you are currently teaching or have previously taught in a K-12 school, please ask your most recent employer to write a teaching report on your behalf. The report must include:
Additional Items required for School and Subject Restricted (SSR) Applications
School Authority Form
Please ask the school authority that is endorsing your application for a School and Subject Restricted Certificate to complete an Independent School Teaching Certificate – School Authority Form (PDF). Your prospective employer should complete the form and submit it directly to the Ministry of Education and Child Care.
Photocopies of post-secondary certificates earned in your area of expertise
Please send us photocopies of any post-secondary certificates you have earned in your area of expertise. These may include participation certificates or certificates that confirm completion of a course or program. If your area is Physical Education, you need to include evidence of a 16-hour First Aid training course.
Four letters of recommendation
We require four detailed letters of recommendation verifying your expertise in your subject area and suitability to teach children. These letters must be from the following individuals, affiliated with the school to which the certificate will be restricted:
Proof of employment: Send a copy of a signed letter on company letterhead that states:
Trades qualification:
OR