Colorado Professional License (Master Teacher Certificate) Renewal

Preparing to Apply

Am I in the Right Place?

This checklist is for applicants who wish to renew their master teacher certificate. You may apply to renew your certificate any time within 6 months of expiration, but no sooner. If you have never held a master teacher certificate, please review the other checklists and make the appropriate selection.

To renew this certificate, you must also hold a valid Colorado professional license. If your professional license expires within the next 6 months, you will need to renew it as well.

Plan Ahead

You will need electronic copies of all documentation.
( Get Help with Document Scanning )
Allow ample time to request any third party transcripts or other documentation.
Please refer to the professional teacher renewal checklist for information on professional development renewal requirements

Application Fee:

$90.00

License Expires:

7 years from date of issue
(5 years for professional license plus 2 years for master certificate)

Checklist

Identification

In most cases, additional fingerprinting is not required for license renewal applications.
- If you already hold a valid, CDE-issued educational credential and have consistently maintained an active credential (authorization or license) since you submitted your fingerprints, you can skip this step. We reserve the right to evaluate your application for adherence to the fingerprint requirements and will notify you by email should any follow-up be needed.
- If you have submitted fingerprints for CDE credentialing in the past, but allowed all credentials to lapse and have held no active credential for a period exceeding 1 year, you must submit a new set of fingerprints.

( View Fingerprinting Instructions )

Confirm you have a valid form of government-issued identification.
( View List of Valid IDs )

Employment

Within the application you must include employment history for at least the past 5 years.
- Include employer/business name, dates of employment, reason for leaving, work addresses, supervisor names, and contact information.
- Include teaching experience from more than 5 years ago, if you have it.

Self-Disclosure

If applicable, obtain supporting documentation on the following:
- Past criminal history
- Disciplinary actions
- Any issues related to licensure or employment
( View Self-Disclosure Requirements )

Register and Apply

Once you have gathered all of the information listed above, you are ready to begin the online application process! Just register for the eLicensing system or, if you are already registered, log in.

Then, select the application titled "Teacher" to get started.

Register or, if already registered, Log In

For questions, email CDELicensing@cde.state.co.us or call 303-866-6628.

For questions, submit a Licensing Support Request form or call 720-739-3304 (7:30 am to 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday).