Georgia Teacher Licensure Guide for Online Master's Students

Who Licenses Teachers in Georgia, and Which Exams Does It Use?

Georgia licenses teachers through Georgia Professional Standards Commission, and the exams it requires are the GACE, the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators.

For the programs themselves, the online master's in education programs at universities in Georgia are ranked at the in-state price, and the national and specialty lists cover schools in other states.

How Do I Get a Georgia Teaching License With an Online Master's?

A Georgia teaching license usually runs through a five-year Induction certificate, and an online master's gets you one only through the route that fits you: tiered certification, adopted July 1, 2014, runs from Pre-Service and Provisional through Induction and Professional to Advanced and Lead Professional. The commission says tiered certification is not tied to compensation, though the state still uses certificate levels for salary placement.

Moving from Induction to Professional takes three years of successful educator experience. Someone holding only a degree and no certificate cannot use the out-of-state route and is directed to the commission's Become a Georgia Educator page instead. Our special education and secondary education rankings cannot tell you which Georgia route a given program serves.

Which Exams Does Georgia Require for Teacher Certification?

Georgia requires GACE exams for teacher certification, and the commission says Evaluation Systems of Pearson replaced ETS as the supplier, so every part of an assessment must come from the same supplier to count. Its program covers content, literacy, educational leadership, ethics and other assessments.

The Special Georgia Requirements add specifics: a content assessment unless exempt, one literacy assessment in teaching fields, and Ethics for Teachers, Test Code 351, for Pre-Service, Provisional and Induction applicants. The literacy choices are codes 418, 406 or 350. Georgia has its own system, not Praxis.

Can I Transfer a Teaching License to Georgia From Another State?

A teaching license from another state transfers to Georgia only as a valid or expired professional certificate based on a state-approved preparation program with pedagogy and clinical practice, in a field comparable to one of Georgia's. Verification of lawful presence and official transcripts go with the application, and the literacy assessment is mandatory for teaching fields from July 1, 2026.

An out-of-state educator can receive the Induction certificate before finishing every Georgia item: the exceptional children course is not required for initial issuance but is required to convert to Professional. The 2020 comparison by the Education Commission of the States recorded no full reciprocity for Georgia, with an exceptional children course and a content assessment for candidates who do not qualify for an exemption.

Does NC-SARA Membership Cover Teacher Certification for Georgia Online Master's Students?

Teacher certification for Georgia online master's students sits outside NC-SARA membership: SARA does not address professional licensing board approval for teacher education, though Georgia was approved in December 2015 and its residents can enroll in programs run by participating schools online.

A school that participates in SARA must still say whether its program meets licensure requirements where you live. Read that statement against the commission's Georgia items above, since a program can be fully authorized to enroll you and still leave the exceptional children course or the ethics assessment for you to complete.

What Should I Ask an Online Program Before Enrolling From Georgia?

Before you enroll from Georgia, get the online program's written position on whether its curriculum meets Georgia's requirements, a disclosure 34 CFR 668.43 compels from schools that advertise licensure preparation, including a list of qualifying and non-qualifying states and a pre-enrollment notice when yours falls short or was never assessed.

The Georgia details to press on: if you hold no out-of-state certificate will your certification official complete the commission's Approved Program Completion Form, does the degree include the exceptional children course with a grade of B or better, and which GACE content assessment does it prepare you for?

Which Certificate Do Georgia Principals and School Counselors Need?

The certificates Georgia principals and school counselors need differ: principals hold Tier II Educational Leadership certification, and Tier I covers leadership below principal. Tier I asks for a GaPSC-approved program at the master's level, the Educational Leadership Tier I assessment (334) and Ethics for Leaders (352) and the exceptional children course, and the commission does not accept out-of-state programs from Georgia educators adding leadership to a certificate. An out-of-state educator with a comparable certificate, a master's-level leadership program and under three years of leadership experience can use reciprocity.

A school counselor needs a school counseling program at the master's level or higher, or a comparable out-of-state professional certificate, plus the exceptional children course, and accepts a National Certified School Counselor credential or a Georgia LPC or LAPC license in place of the program. Test an online master's in educational leadership or school counseling against those conditions.