Checklist for Multiple Subject Credential Holders Who Want to Add A PK-3 Credential
Applying for:
PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential
Allows you to:
Teach all subjects in a self-contained general education classroom setting in grades preschool through 3rd grade, including Transitional Kindergarten (TK). You can also team teach or regroup students across self-contained classrooms within this grade range.
Before You Apply
You will need to obtain your fingerprint clearance specifically for the Commission. If you already have valid fingerprints on file with the Commission, it is not necessary to fingerprint each time you apply for a credential or permit. However, if your fingerprints are expired then you must re-establish fingerprints. Details on how to check your fingerprint status can be found at Check Application Status.
The online application will require you to answer questions related to your professional fitness. Please review How to Complete the CTC Online Professional Fitness Questions before completing the application. If you must answer "yes" to any of the professional fitness questions, please gather all documentation, including any required police reports, certified court records, and miscellaneous documents related to the incident and have them ready to upload as attachments along with the materials for verifying academic requirements listed below. If any of the records have been purged or are otherwise not available, provide an original statement from the agency on its official letterhead verifying that fact.
Ready to Apply?
The items below are required for this application. The Commission reserves the right to request the original(s) of any supporting documentation by mail to ensure authenticity.
A valid Multiple Subject Teaching Credential
- You must have a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing that is valid (not expired).
- The Multiple Subject Teaching Credential must be Clear or Preliminary level.
- NOTE: It is not necessary to attach anything as proof, since the Commission will already have this information if you were issued a document satisfying this requirement.
English Learner Authorization
- You must have an English Learner Authorization issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Please refer to CL-622 for a list of the types of English Learner Authorizations issued by the Commission.
- NOTE: A Bilingual Authorization issued by the Commission is considered a type of English Learner Authorization and would also meet this requirement.
Subject matter competence for the PK-3 Credential
Option 1: Possession of a bachelor’s or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a degree major in one of the following:
- Child Development
- Child and Adolescent Development
- Human Development
- Early Childhood Education
- Child and Family Studies
- Family Science
- Human Development and Family Science
- Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies
If you HAVE BEEN issued a document by the Commission that required you to submit this transcript, the Commission will already have this information and it is not necessary to attach anything as proof.
If you HAVE NOT already been issued a document by the Commission that required you to provide this transcript, then you must provide the transcripts now.
- The college or university must be regionally accredited.
- If you earned your degree outside of the U.S., you cannot provide the official transcripts. You must obtain a foreign transcript evaluation from an approved agency.
- Submitting paper transcripts or foreign transcript evaluations:
- Upload a scan of the original, official paper transcripts or foreign transcript evaluation. Clear photographs will also be accepted. All pages, front and back, must be included in the upload.
- Submitting electronic transcripts or foreign transcript evaluations:
- Upload the original file sent to you by the college, transcript service provider, or foreign transcript evaluation agency.
Option 2: Completion of 24 semester units or 36 quarter units of coursework in early childhood education and/or child development.
- The coursework must be non-remedial and degree-applicable.
- The college or university must be regionally accredited.
- If you completed this coursework outside of the U.S., you cannot provide the official transcripts. You must obtain a foreign transcript evaluation from an approved agency.
- Submitting paper transcripts or foreign transcript evaluations:
- Upload a scan of the original, official paper transcripts or foreign transcript evaluation. Clear photographs will also be accepted. All pages, front and back, must be included in the upload.
- Submitting electronic transcripts or foreign transcript evaluations:
- Upload the original file sent to you by the college, transcript service provider, or foreign transcript evaluation agency.
Important Notes:
- This checklist is ONLY for submission of an online application.
- This web-based checklist is a guide and does not need to be uploaded with the online application.
- The PK-3 Credential will be issued at the same level as your Multiple Subject Teaching Credential (for example, if you have a Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, your PK-3 Credential will also be issued as Clear).
- If you do not have a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, you must complete the requirements listed on CL-912 under the section Requirements for issuance and obtain the formal recommendation of a California college or university with a Commission-approved PK-3 Program. You CANNOT apply to the Commission directly.
- Full details on qualifying for the PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credential as a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential holder can be found on CL-912 under the section Adding a PK-3 Credential for Existing Credential Holders.
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
651 Bannon Street
Sacramento, CA 95811