Louisiana Teacher Certification for International Teachers

Foreign Degrees Don't Automatically Transfer

If you earned your teaching credential and degree outside the United States, Louisiana won't accept your transcripts at face value. The LDOE requires that international academic documents be evaluated by a credential evaluation service before any certification application can proceed.

This is the step that catches most international educators off guard — and mistakes here cost both money and months of processing time.

The NACES Credential Evaluation

For Louisiana applications, use a course-by-course evaluation from a NACES member agency that includes:

• Degree equivalency to a U.S. bachelor's degree or higher
• GPA conversion to the U.S. 4.0 scale
• Identification of specific coursework areas

A basic evaluation runs $50–$250 depending on the agency and turnaround time. Rush processing is available but costs more.

The critical requirement: your degree-granting institution must be accredited under standards equivalent to 34 CFR 602 (the U.S. federal accreditation framework). If LDOE determines the institution doesn't meet this standard, the coursework is not accepted for certification. Ask LDOE or your preparation provider what additional accredited coursework, if any, would establish eligibility.

Which Certification Pathway Applies

Your pathway depends on whether you held a valid teaching certificate in your home country:

If you hold (or held) a foreign teaching certificate: Do not assume it transfers automatically. Have LDOE evaluate the credential and experience documentation first. If LDOE places you on the out-of-state pathway:

• A three-year, non-renewable OS Certificate applies when you completed a teacher preparation program but haven't passed the corresponding Louisiana Praxis exams
• A one-year, non-renewable OS1 Certificate applies when you haven't served as a regular, full-time classroom teacher for at least one year in the five years before applying (requires six semester hours of content coursework during that year)

If you don't hold a foreign teaching certificate: You'll need to enter through one of Louisiana's standard alternative pathways — Practitioner Teacher Program, Certification-Only Program, or a Master of Arts in Teaching program. The standard baseline is a bachelor's degree (equivalency confirmed through NACES evaluation), a minimum 2.20 GPA, and passing Praxis content exam scores; an approved program may use Act 392 conditional admission for candidates below 2.20.

The Praxis Exemption for Experienced International Educators

If LDOE recognizes your foreign credential as a valid, standard out-of-state certificate, at least three years of verified, successful, full-time teaching experience can qualify you to bypass Louisiana Praxis testing through the Praxis Exclusion policy. You'll need:

• An Out-of-State Experience Verification Attestation form completed by your former school administration (or its equivalent — LDOE evaluates foreign experience documentation on a case-by-case basis)
• Satisfactory annual evaluations for each of those three years

Meeting these out-of-state requirements places you directly at Level 2, bypassing the Level 1 entry credential. With a master's degree and five or more years of experience, Level 3 is possible immediately.

Step-by-Step for International Applicants

1. Credential evaluation first. Select a NACES member agency and request a course-by-course evaluation with GPA conversion. Don't start anything else until this is complete — everything downstream depends on it.
2. Fingerprint-based background check. Schedule with IdentoGO using LDOE code 27N5HQ ($55.75). If you're applying from outside the U.S., IdentoGO offers a mail-in ink-and-roll option for out-of-state fingerprint cards, though processing takes longer.
3. Praxis content exams (unless you qualify for the exemption). Register through ETS and designate Louisiana as the score recipient using state code 7330.
4. Submit your application through the LEC portal. You'll need your NACES evaluation, official transcripts, Praxis scores, and background clearance. Pay the $50 processing fee.
5. Complete the application within 45 days. The LEC system automatically deletes unsubmitted applications after that window.

What International Teachers Often Miss

The DCFS CANS check. Beyond the state fingerprint check, your employing school district requires a separate Child Abuse and Neglect System clearance through the Department of Children and Family Services. This is a district-level employment requirement, not something you handle through the state certification portal.

Transcript translation. NACES evaluation agencies typically require certified English translations of all academic documents. If your transcripts aren't in English, factor in translation time and cost before the evaluation even begins.

Score report routing. When registering for Praxis through ETS, make sure Louisiana (state code 7330) is selected as an automatic score recipient during checkout. Scores sent to a different state won't appear in the LDOE system.

The Louisiana Teacher Certification Guide includes a complete document checklist for international applicants and a timeline tracker that accounts for the evaluation and translation steps most generic guides skip.

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