In order to become a substitute teacher in California, you must hold a valid Substitute Teaching Permit or valid California credential. Minimum requirements for a Substitute Teaching Permit are:

• Passing score on CBEST (or other approved Basic Skills Examination)
• Fingerprint Clearance  sent to the Commission for Teacher Credentialing
• Official (sealed) transcripts showing the appropriate level of education (see below)

Four types of substitute teaching permits are available but only two are commonly issued by our office. 

If you have a Bachelor's (or higher) Degree, you would apply for the Emergency 30 Day Substitute Teaching Permit.  If you have at least 90 semester (135 quarter) units of college level credits AND are currently enrolled at a 4 year college or university, you would apply for the Emergency Substitute Teaching Permit for Prospective Teachers.

The Emergency 30 Day Substitute Teaching Permit authorizes you to substitute no more than 30 days in one classroom over the course of an entire school year.  You may substitute in a variety of classrooms as long as you do not exceed a total of 30 days in any one classroom during the school year (20 day limit for special education classes).

To apply:  Print out the Online Recommendation Request Form and return it to our office with the required documents.  This process will take approximately 2 weeks and you will have a substitute permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). 

The Emergency Substitute Teaching Permit for Prospective Teachers authorizes you to substitute no more than 30 days in one classroom (20 days for special education) AND no more than 90 days total over the course of an entire school year.

To apply:  Pick up an application packet at our office (or call 782-7236).  It will take the Commission on Teacher Credentialing 3-4 months to complete the review of your application so you may need to apply for a Temporary County Certificate to begin work right away.

RENEWAL INFORMATION:  The Emergency 30 Day Substitute Teaching Permit is renewable online.  The Prospective Teacher permit must be renewed via paper application and additional requirements must be met to qualify for renewal.

For more information on other substitute teaching permits  you can go to the website for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

To access our full color, printable brochure on substitute teaching permits, click here.