Eligibility & Policies

Eligibility

To seek National Board Certification you must meet the following requirements prior to applying:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree
• Have completed three full years of teaching/counseling experience
• Possess a valid state teaching/counseling license for that period of time, or, if teaching where a license is not required, have taught in schools recognized and approved to operate by the state

Before applying, please carefully review all eligibility requirements outlined in the Guide to National Board Certification (PDF - 1.2mb) and the Eligibility Verification Packet (PDF - 256kb). You will be required to submit written verification that you satisfy these requirements with your application.

All candidate materials - including written correspondence, eligibility forms and withdrawal forms - should be sent to our new processing center at:

NBPTS Processing Center
11827 Tech Com Way, Suite 200
San Antonio, Texas 78233

Please continue to send payments to the address located on the Methods of Payment page.

Policies & Ethics

NBPTS makes every effort to assure that the National Board Certification process is fair for all applicants. We are committed to examining and refining these policies on a regular basis to ensure that they benefit all candidates and enhance our ability to provide efficient and high quality services.

As a candidate you must read and agree to all terms addressed in the National Board Policies statement. The policies are located and defined in the Guide to National Board Certification (PDF - 1.2mb). Under no circumstances do we tolerate cheating or any breach of confidentiality.

Note: Reports of unethical behavior must be directly supported by persons who have firsthand knowledge of the occurrence.