Checklist for Multiple Subject or Single Subject Teaching Credential Holders Who Want to Add a Supplementary Authorization

Applying for:

Supplementary Authorization(s) added to your existing Multiple Subject or Single Subject Teaching Credential

Allows you to:

With a Supplementary Authorization on a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, you can teach the subject matter content listed on the credential in departmentalized classes in grades 9 and below.

With an Introductory Supplementary Authorization on a Single Subject Teaching Credential, you can teach the subject and those related to it at any grade level (preschool, grades K-12, and in classes organized primarily for adults), but you are limited to subject matter content typically included for that subject in curriculum guidelines and textbooks for study in grades 9 and below.

With a Specific Supplementary Authorization, you can teach only the subject listed on the credential in preschool, grades K-12, or in classes organized primarily for adults. It does not allow instruction of related or subsumed subjects.

Supplementary Authorizations to be added to a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential
  • Agriculture
  • Art
  • Business
  • Computer Science
  • Dance
  • English
  • Health Science
  • Home Economics
  • Industrial Arts
  • Mathematics
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Science
  • Theater
  • World Languages (Specify)
Introductory Supplementary Authorizations to be added to a Single Subject Teaching Credential
  • Introductory Agriculture
  • Introductory Art
  • Introductory Business
  • Introductory Computer Science
  • Introductory Dance
  • Introductory English
  • Introductory Health Science
  • Introductory Home Economics
  • Introductory Industrial Arts
  • Introductory Mathematics
  • Introductory Music
  • Introductory Physical Education
  • Introductory Science
  • Introductory Social Science
  • Introductory Theater
  • Introductory World Languages (Specify)
Specific Supplementary Authorizations to be added to a Single Subject Teaching Credential
  • Accounting (including Finance)
  • Agricultural Mechanics
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Auto Mechanics
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Child Development (Home Economics)
  • Clothing and Textiles (Home Economics)
  • Comparative Political Systems and
  • International Relations
  • Computer Science
  • Consumer Education (Home Economics)
  • Crafts, including Jewelry and Ceramics (Art)
  • Dance
  • Drafting
  • Economics
  • Economic and Consumer Education
  • Electronics
  • English Composition
  • Family Life and Parenting (Home Economics)
  • Family Life Education including Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Use Prevention (Health Science)
  • Food and Nutrition (Home Economics)
  • Forestry and Horticulture
  • Geography
  • Geosciences
  • Graphic Arts
  • Industrial Crafts and Plastics
  • Instrumental Music
  • Interior Design (Home Economics)
  • Journalism
  • Literature
  • Marketing/Entrepreneurship
  • Metals (Industrial Arts)
  • Office Technologies including Word Processing and Business Communications
  • Ornamental Horticulture
  • Painting and Drawing
  • Photography
  • Physics
  • Plant Science
  • Plastics (Industrial Arts)
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Speech
  • Theater
  • US Government and US Civics
  • US History and California History
  • Vocal Music
  • Woods (Industrial Arts)
  • World History

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.

Recommended Resources

The checklist below references two important resources, the leaflets (CL-629 for holders of Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials and CL-603 for holders of Single Subject Teaching Credentials) and the Supplementary Authorization Guideline Book. It is strongly encouraged that you consult these resources as you prepare your application for submission.

A valid prerequisite teaching credential
  • You must have a teaching credential issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing that is valid (not expired).
  • The following would be considered acceptable prerequisite credentials:
    • Single Subject Teaching Credential (Clear, Preliminary, or University Intern level)
    • Multiple Subject Teaching Credential (Clear, Preliminary, or University Intern level)
  • The following ARE NOT appropriate prerequisite credentials:
    • Emergency Permits
    • District Intern Credentials
    • PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction Credentials
    • Special Secondary Teaching Credentials in Non-Academic Subjects
    • Special Education Teaching Credentials (current or previous)
    • Adult or Vocational Teaching Credentials
    • Services credentials
  • NOTE: It is not necessary to attach anything as proof, since the Commission will already have this information if you were issued a credential satisfying this requirement.
Meet the academic requirement through one of the following options:

Option 1: 20 semester units (30 quarter units) of coursework in the subject, or 10 upper-division semester units (15 quarter units) of coursework in the subject. 

  • For both the Supplementary Authorization (added to a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential) and the Introductory Supplementary Authorization (added to a Single Subject Teaching Credential), the coursework must include at least one course in each specified area for the subject being requested.
    • If you are trying to add a supplementary authorization to a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, the specified areas are listed after the bolded subject in the Supplementary Subjects section on CL-629.
    • If you are trying to add a supplementary authorization to a Single Subject Teaching Credential, the specified areas are listed after the bolded subject in the Introductory Subjects section on CL-603.
    • The balance of the 20 semester units (or 10 semester units, if upper-division) may be in any courses within the subject category.
  • For the Specific Supplementary Authorization (added to a Single Subject Teaching Credential), the coursework must be in the subject requested.
    • The subjects are listed under the Specific Supplementary Authorizations to be added to a Single Subject Teaching Credential section above.
    • For additional guidance on what coursework would be considered to be in the subject, please refer to the Supplementary Authorization Guideline Book.
  • Acceptable coursework:
    • The college or university must be regionally accredited.
    • Must be non-remedial and degree-applicable, completed with a grade of C or better (Credit, Passing, or Satisfactory grades are acceptable), and granted regular semester or quarter hour credit.
    • Community college, correspondence, online, or extension coursework meeting this requirement may also be used.
    • Advanced Placement units may be used but require an official transcript of the course and written verification from the college or university admission or registrar’s office that the units were used towards a bachelor’s degree and are in the subject category of the requested subject matter authorization.
  • Unacceptable coursework:
    • Coursework that is not applicable toward a bachelor’s degree or higher degree (remedial), professional development or continuing education units, and in-service training or workshops.
    • Coursework that does not cover the subject matter authorized by the requested supplementary authorization, unless a letter is provided from the chair of the department that aligns with the subject requested, stating that the course is equivalent to one offered by that department.
  • Submitting transcripts:
    • If you earned 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.
  • Submitting course descriptions or syllabi:
    • The Commission will also consider course descriptions and syllabi if you wish to provide them for any courses that do not obviously meet the requirements based on the course titles alone. Upload the course description(s) or syllabi from the college or university’s website or course catalog.

Option 2: Degree major from a regionally accredited college or university in the requested subject or in a subject directly related to the requested subject.

  • For details on how to submit your transcript, see the bullet Submitting transcripts in Option 1 above.

Option 3: Professional-level teaching license earned in a state other than California, with a middle school or departmentalized classroom teaching authorization that is not comparable to a full California Single Subject credential, but aligns with a Supplementary Authorization.

  • Scanned copy, image, or screenshot of your professional-level teaching license from another state.

 Option 4: Pass the appropriate CSET exams.

  • For charts of which CSET exams should be taken to add a Supplementary Authorization, see Appendix B on CL-629 if adding a Supplementary Authorization to a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and the sections Supplementary Authorizations for Single Subject Teaching Credentials and Specific Supplementary Authorizations for Single Subject Teaching Credentials on CL-603 if adding an Introductory or Specific Supplementary Authorization to a Single Subject Teaching Credential.
    • You must upload the official score report of passing. In order to be valid, the exam must have been passed within the past 10 years.

    • NOTE: Not all authorizations have a corresponding CSET examination (for example, there is no CSET option for any type of Supplementary Authorization in Computer Science), so a careful review of the respective chart is encouraged.

Option 5: Letter from a Commission-approved program verifying that subject matter has been met through coursework, CSET exams, or a combination of coursework and exams.

  • The letter must be on official letterhead and signed by a Commission-approved program, specifying the type of authorization you are seeking and verifying that you satisfied subject matter competence requirements for that authorization.
  • The letter must be a scanned copy of an original letter or an electronic PDF. If the letter is a scanned copy, the original letter that was scanned must be signed with a wet ink signature. If the letter is an electronic PDF, it must be signed with an acceptable electronic signature. Screenshots are not acceptable.

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 Supplementary Authorization will not be issued as a separate document but as an added authorization attached to your existing Multiple Subject or Single Subject Teaching Credential.
  • A subject area subsumed under an authorization listed on your prerequisite teaching credential MAY NOT NEED to be added as a Supplementary Authorization. For more information, please refer to the Supplementary Authorization Guideline Book.
  • Full details on qualifying for the Supplementary Authorization for holders of Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials can be found on CL-629, and on CL-603 for holders of Single Subject Teaching Credentials. The Supplementary Authorization Guideline Book and Coded Correspondence 25-03 are also helpful resources.

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Sacramento, CA 95811

 

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