On July 28, 2023 the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that processing timelines for In-State Level I certificates have been reduced by approximately 10 weeks since last year. The Department also launched a new feature on its website to improve transparency and responsiveness in the educator certification process. The certification “clock” on PDE’s Certification page will show, in real time, the length of time needed to process a certificate once all required information is submitted to the Department.

The online clock shows that, as of July 28th, an educator can expect their certification to be processed in the following timeframes:

-In-State Level I Certificates: 2-4 weeks
-Level II Certificates: 4-6 weeks
-Add-On Certificates: 1-3 weeks
-Emergency Certificates: 2-4 weeks

The new processing timelines reflect an approximate 10-week improvement in response time since last year for In-State Level I Certifications.

To reduce processing times, PDE increased staffing – hiring four new full-time employees, three temporary employees, and one summer annuitant, and evaluated the process to prioritize Instructional I certificates. The team is working around the clock to process certifications and respond to more than 1,500 emails per week.

Earlier this year, Governor Shapiro unveiled a plan to improve the Commonwealth’s licensing, permitting, and certification processes, beginning a comprehensive review of how long it takes agencies to process applications and how workers and businesses apply online.

Additionally, last year PDE revamped its website to allow current and prospective educators to more easily access information related to certifications. The site restructure used analytics to determine which pages were most highly visited and prioritized them in this effort. The Certification page is consistently one of the most visited pages on the PDE website.

Changes to the Certification page include more easy-to-follow breakdowns on common topics that educators are searching for; condensed and updated frequently asked questions; a step-by-step guide and instructional YouTube video for first-time users; and more. For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please visit PDE’s website.