Licensure

All licensure questions or concerns must be routed to the school division's License Specialist, Stephanie Sutton.  Please do not contact the Virginia Department of Education directly as all Richmond Public Schools employees must route their licensure questions or concerns through the Talent Office. 

Any new employee in a position requiring a license that does not already hold an active Virginia teaching license (or have the proper/required endorsement on their license) or has not already submitted their Application for a Virginia License, must immediately contact Stephanie Sutton, Licensure Specialist, for instructions on submitting their application packet and what type of application to complete.  

All licensure requests must be submitted to the Talent Office by mail to Stephanie Sutton (which will then be sent to the Virginia Department of Education on your behalf).  DO NOT mail any licensure request(s) directly to the Virginia Department of Education. *It is important that you keep copies of all certificates/trainings that you have completed for your records.

Please mail your licensure application or licensure request to:

Richmond Public Schools

Talent Office - Attn: Licensure

301 N. 9th Street, 12th Floor

Richmond, VA 23219

Information regarding the types of licenses, definitions, conditions for licensure, dating of licenses, alternate routes to licensure, reciprocity, all endorsement (teaching areas) offered in Virginia & requirements for each endorsement, and all pertinent licensure information can be found in the Virginia Department of Education's Licensure Regulations for School Personnel.

A Provisional License is a 3-year, nonrenewable license, which allows the individual to complete any allowable deficiencies (coursework, assessments, and/or supervised experience) during the allowed time frame.  A Provisional License is only issued to individuals that are employed (on full-time, contractual basis) by a Virginia Public School Division or Virginia accredited private school who meet certain license eligibility criteria based upon the specific endorsement (area of teaching or serving) required for their assignment/position.  This type of license can only be requested by the employer and will only be issued if the individual is deemed eligible for licensure by meeting certain criteria for the endorsement sought.  

Please note that you are not automatically issued a Provisional License when you are hired.  You must submit a complete Application for a Virginia License to the Talent Office in order for RPS (your employer) to request the issuance of the Provisional License on your behalf.  There is an application fee of $100 if you are an in-state applicant or $150 if you are an out-of-state applicant. The licensure specialist will send you the specific type of application that you need to complete once you are hired.

Please also note: The requirements for each endorsement area and eligibility for a Provisional License in that endorsement area vary. Not all endorsement requirements are the same & certain requirements must be met to become eligible for a Provisional License depending on the endorsement area.

Important Instructions/Reminders

When you receive a Provisional License, it is imperative that you safeguard this document and the attachments to the Provisional License as you will need to refer to this information periodically during the three-year time frame to stay on track with all of the requirements that you must complete by the expiration date to obtain the full, renewable license (ten-year license).

A Statement of Eligibility is an official document issued by the Virginia Department of Education confirming that they have reviewed your Application for a Virginia License and based upon review of your application, you are eligible for licensure, but you have additional requirements (allowable deficiencies) that need to be completed before you can be issued a full, renewable Virginia license. The Statement of Eligibility also certifies that if you become employed by a Virginia school division or accredited private school in Virginia, you are eligible for the issuance of a Provisional License (upon request of the employer) and the Provisional License would allow you a period of three (3) years to complete any allowable deficiencies that VDOE has cited you for needing to complete to obtain the full, renewable license.  A Statement of Eligibility can only be obtained by submitting your complete Application for a Virginia License to the Virginia Department of Education. Please contact the licensure specialist at licensure@rvaschools.net for assistance with this process.  If you are issued a Statement of Eligibility, it would serve as evidence that you would be eligible for the issuance of a Provisional License, once hired by any Virginia school division or accredited Virginia private school.

If the Virginia Department of Education reviews your application and determines that you are not eligible for licensure, they will provide you with an outline of what requirements you have met, and what requirements you will need to complete in order to become eligible for licensure. 

If you hold a valid (active) out-of-state teaching/educator license, you must apply for a Virginia educator license and you must submit a legible copy of your valid out-of-state license to the Talent Office included in your application packet. The Virginia Department of Education will issue you a Virginia License based upon reciprocity if you hold a full, valid out-of-state license with a comparable endorsement (an equivalent teaching/subject area or area in which you are certified to serve).

If you wish to change your name on your license and/or update your mailing address, please complete the form available at the following web address: 

Form to Request Name Change, Address Change, or Duplicate License 

You will need to mail this completed form to the Talent Office (which will then be sent to the Virginia Department of Education on your behalf).  If you wish to receive a new (duplicate) license reflecting your name change, you will also need to submit a check or money order in the amount of $25 made payable to the "Treasurer of Virginia". 

Please note that if you are changing your name and/or address, you must also have that information updated in your personnel record in the Talent Office by emailing either of the following individuals:

• For all address changes, please contact: Joanne Jones
• For elementary teachers/staff with name changes, please contact: Marie Holmes
• For middle & high school teachers/staff with name changes, please contact: Van Shelton

If you have earned a degree that you wish to add to your existing license, the official student transcript showing degree conferral and $25 fee to add the degree (check or money order made payable to the "Treasurer of Virginia" must be submitted to the Talent Office, to the licensure specialist, and the request will be submitted to the Virginia Department of Education on your behalf.  You will need to submit a letter indicating the nature of your request, your teaching license # and your current mailing address along with your official student transcript(s) and fee. 

1. To add an endorsement by testing (via passing the Praxis II) you must submit a copy of your official score report to the Talent Office, along with your check or money order made payable to the "Treasurer of Virginia" and a letter indicating the nature of your request, your teaching license # and your current mailing address. *Please note that not all endorsements can be added via Praxis II.  If you wish to add an endorsement to your license via testing, please consult with the licensure specialist to be sure that the endorsement can be added to your license solely via testing.  Information can be found on at Professional Teacher's Assessment Requirements for Virginia Licensure & School Leaders Licensure Assessment for Principals.

2. To add an endorsement by completion of a state-approved program you will need to submit a "College Verification Form" that has been completed by the designated certification/licensure officer of the college or university. You will also need to submit official student transcripts showing completion of the coursework (and degree, if applicable). Please note that adding an endorsement such as Reading Specialist, Administration & Supervision PreK-12, School Counselor PreK-12, School Psychologist, or School Social Worker requires a combination of completion of a state-approved program and may also require testing and a certain length of experience. Please contact Taryn Crawley for guidance on specific documents required for the endorsement that you have completed an approved program for (and the total cost including the additional fee to add a degree, if required for the endorsement). 

3. To add an endorsement by coursework (individual courses) a request for a course-by-course evaluation can be submitted to the Virginia Department of Education by the licensure specialist. The Virginia Department of Education will use the transcripts that they already have on file to do the evaluation (from when you applied for your initial license.  If you have completed new/additional coursework since then, you will need to submit official student transcripts to the Talent Office, to be sent to the Virginia Department of Education on your behalf.  If you've already had an evaluation done within the last three (3) years of the date on the evaluation and you have now completed all course requirements, you will need to submit the official student transcript(s) to the Talent Office to be sent to the Virginia Department of Education on your behalf (and in this case, you have already paid the evaluation fee previously and will not need to submit another fee).  Please note that the requirements for each endorsement can be found within the Licensure Regulations for School Personnel.

In October of each year, an email will go out to all teachers/staff with licenses due to expire on June 30th of the following calendar year, providing detailed information on the licensure renewal process and the updated license renewal application.  It is important that the license holder keep record of all professional development activities for each renewal cycle as these activities are not kept on file in the Talent Office nor the Professional Development Office.  All professional development activities will be approved by your principal or designated advisor.  Please note that effective July 1, 2018, renewable licenses will be issued for ten years.  Information on licensure renewal can be found in the Virginia Licensure Renewal Manual.

You may want to look into completing the training online through the American Red Cross or American Heart Association, but there are other organizations that also offer this training/certification. The First Aid, CPR, and AED training can be completed online through any organization as long as the certification/training is based on the current national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator (such as a program developed by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross).