Why Maintain Certification

Designed to support ongoing professional learning and signal demonstration of performance over time, Maintenance of Certification requires you, as a National Board Certified Teacher, to document your professional accomplishments every five years in order to keep your Board certification current and valid. This five-year timeline is aligned with the five-year renewal period found in a majority of state licensure systems.

MOC is intended to make ongoing certification engaging and professionally meaningful for NBCTs. In addition, MOC communicates to both the public and policymakers that the profession is continually ensuring the knowledge and skills of its own members.

MOC will allow you to keep your National Board certification current for five years from your current expiration date.

Maintaining your certification is a personal and public statement about your commitment to the profession and to your students. Accomplished teachers recognize that their professional learning and growth never ends. In any given subject and developmental area, best practice and knowledge are constantly evolving. At the same time, changes in technology and policy affect every aspect of education, from the classroom to administration.

Maintaining your certification allows you to maintain your title as a National Board Certified Teacher and will stay with you if you retire, leave the classroom, or change careers. The MOC process allows you to reflect on how your teaching practice continues to support student learning.