Delaware Teacher Reciprocity: Transferring Your Out-of-State License

Reciprocity Is Not Automatic

Delaware participates in the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement, which provides a framework for evaluating out-of-state teaching credentials. But "reciprocity" is misleading — the state doesn't simply accept your existing license. It evaluates your credentials and issues a Delaware-specific license at a tier based on your verified experience.

The distinction matters because your license tier determines your salary placement, renewal timeline, and professional obligations for the next several years.

How Delaware Assigns Your License Tier

Your experience under a valid out-of-state credential determines which Delaware license you receive:

Initial License by Reciprocity: Granted if you have at least one year but fewer than four years of successful teaching experience verified under your out-of-state credential. You'll enter Delaware's mentoring and induction program as though you were a new teacher.

Continuing License by Reciprocity: Granted if you have four or more years of successful teaching experience. This places you on the five-year renewal cycle — 90 clock hours of professional development required per cycle, with at least 45 hours directly related to student or staff work.

What Credentials Delaware Won't Accept

Delaware explicitly excludes several credential types from reciprocal recognition:

• Provisional or conditional licenses
• Emergency certificates
• Intern certificates
• Substitute teaching licenses
• Certificates of Eligibility

If your only active credential falls into one of these categories, you don't qualify for reciprocity. You'd need to apply through the traditional or ARTC pathway instead.

The Form E Requirement

This is where most reciprocity applications stall. Form E (Verification of Teaching Experience) is Delaware's mechanism for confirming your out-of-state classroom experience. The form requires verification of at least two satisfactory summative evaluations from your previous employer.

The submission rules are strict and frequently misunderstood:

• The applicant cannot submit Form E. It must be sent directly from your former employer's superintendent or personnel officer.
• The form can be mailed from the district's official postal address or emailed from an official district email domain to [email protected].
• Forms submitted by the applicant — even if properly completed — are rejected automatically.
• The top section is completed by you. The bottom section must be completed and signed by your former employer.

Form E must be submitted during your initial application process. After holding a Delaware license for more than one year, it can no longer be used to adjust your salary scale placement. This means getting your previous employer to act quickly directly affects your long-term compensation.

Special Education Reciprocity Complication

Delaware has a specific regulatory challenge for special education teachers transferring from another state. Under Delaware law, you must hold a Standard Certificate in a content area to qualify for a Special Education Standard Certificate. If your out-of-state credential is exclusively in special education — without an underlying content-area certification — you can't receive reciprocal status until you fulfill the requirements for a content-area certificate.

This catches a significant number of applicants who held general special education credentials in states that don't require a separate content-area certificate.

The Application Process

The administrative steps are the same as any Delaware certification application:

1. Create an EdAccess account (select "eLearning" since you're not yet employed in Delaware)
2. Apply in DEEDS 3.0 for both your license and content-area Standard Certificate ($100 fee, credit card only)
3. Complete background clearances — fingerprinting through IdentoGO ($38–$85), Child Protection Registry check ($14), TB test
4. Have your transcripts sent directly from your university's registrar
5. Route Praxis scores to Delaware using code R7065 (if your existing test scores meet Delaware's requirements, you may not need to retest)
6. Coordinate Form E submission from your previous employer

Processing takes 2 to 4 weeks, stretching to 6 weeks during the June–September peak. Your license issues as "inactive" until a Delaware district submits employment verification.

The $100 application fee is reimbursable under House Bill 307 once you're hired and fully licensed and certified.

The Delaware Teacher Certification Guide includes a document submission tracker specifically designed for reciprocity applicants, covering Form E coordination, transcript routing, and the timing dependencies that determine your salary placement.

See more Delaware guides →