Renewing a practising certificate
Renewing a practising certificate ensures you continue to maintain high standards and best practice throughout your career.
When to renew
You may apply to renew your practising certificate up to three months before its expiry date. Applications submitted earlier than three months before expiry will not be processed as approval is based on your most recent teaching information.
Practising certificates are renewed for three years. The fee and levy for renewing a practising certificate is $464.37.
Requirements for renewing a practising certificate
The law requires the Council to be satisfied teachers have met certain requirements before renewing a practising certificate. This applies to all types of certificate renewal.
What happens if your practising certificate expires
If your practising certificate expires while the Council is processing it, you can continue to teach lawfully for up to 10 days (20 half days) in a year. If your application hasn't been processed beyond this, your professional leader can apply for an 'extension to teach' on your behalf.
If you apply after your practising certificate has expired, a late fee charge of $50 will be charged in addition to the practising certificate fee and levy if:
- Your renewal application form is submitted after your practising certificate has already expired; or
- You don’t have a practising certificate or Limited Authority to Teach (LAT), and you are currently employed in a teaching position in New Zealand that requires one.
What happens if you can't meet the requirements
If you don't currently meet the requirements for your practising certificate type there are several options available for you to continue teaching:
- If you have completed less than two years of uninterrupted teaching in the last five years, we will consider a range of other factors to determine whether you can deliver safe, high-quality teaching. You may be required to complete a teacher refresh process.
- If you have not completed any teaching in the previous five years, you will need to undertake a teacher refresh process.
- If your professional leader is not able to endorse you as meeting the Standards| Ngā Paerewa because of your role type, but considers you are likely to meet them, we may issue you with a Pūmau | Full (Category Two). The Council may contact you to discuss this change.