National Board Certification

National Board Certification is a voluntary process developed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards intended to “develop, retain, and recognize” accomplished educators as a means of facilitating ongoing school improvement. The positive impact on educators, their students, and schools has been documented in numerous research studies.

To be eligible for National Board Certification, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution (*Career and Technical Education teachers must meet this requirement only if it was required for their state teaching license requirement.)
• Have completed 3 full years of teaching in one or more of the following settings: early childhood, elementary, middle, high school. Candidates for certification in school counseling must have completed 3 full years of teaching in one or more of these settings. Individuals who have worked part-time may be eligible provided they have worked an equivalent of 3 full-time years in the setting described.
• Have held a valid teaching or school counseling license throughout the 3 full years of work experience described above.

Additionally, candidates for certification in World Languages other than English must obtain a ACTFL certificate with a rating of Advanced Low or higher on speaking proficiency and writing assessments.

Update! Effective September 19, 2022, educators may begin their National Board certification process during the first three years of their teaching or counseling experience. Candidates still must have completed three full years of teaching or counseling by the time they complete their components, but they may begin prior to year three. For more information, refer to the National Board website or call NBPTS at 1-800-22TEACH.

National Board Certification is not a licensure process. Educators may be eligible for relicensure points for the work completed in the certification process. Please contact the licensure specialist in your school division.

The National Board certification process is designed for educators to work at their own pace to complete certification in 1 to 5 years. Candidates can choose how many components to complete each years, but all four components must be attempted within the first 3 years of candidacy. Candidates may re-take any components to improve their score and improve their likelihood of achieving certification.

Candidates may select between 1 and 4 components to complete each year. They pay only for the components selected for that year plus an annual registration fee. As of the 2021-22 cycle year, the costs were as follows:

• Annual registration fee: $75 (paid each year of candidacy)
• Each component: $475 each (paid only for components selected during a given year)
• Retake fees for Components 2, 3, 4: $475 per component (paid only when candidate opts to redo a previous submission)
• Retake fees for Component 1: $125 per exercise (candidates may opt to redo one or more parts of this component)

National Board Certification is valid for 5 years and may be maintained through the Maintenance of Certification process.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offers a payment plan for candidates to pay their fees over a period of several months.

Some school divisions may offer financial support to help educators pay for the certification process.

Virginia has offered grants to help cover the cost of certification in the past, but the availability of such grants will vary from year to year.

Virginia does offer a stipend to eligible educators who have successfully achieved National Board Certification which is contingent upon legislative budget approval each year. Learn more about this stipend on at the Virginia Department of Education website.

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is the process through which an NBCT keeps their certification current after the 5-year certification period. Begun in year 4 or 5 of the NBCT’s current certificate, MOC is a 1-year process which requires NBCTs to reflect on their professional growth since their initial certification and its impact on their students. In this process, the candidate submits one portfolio comprised of two components. The process is grounded in the same foundational principles of the initial process, and candidates must maintain their certificate in the original certification area even if their teaching assignment or role has changed.

The cost of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process consists of completing one portfolio (containing two components) which costs $495 plus an annual registration fee of $75. If the candidate does not successfully maintain their certificate in their first year of eligibility, they may complete the MOC process again in their second and final year of eligibility, and all fees must be paid again.

Yes, but NBCTs must maintain their certificate in the original area of certification. If you have moved into a different role or have a different teaching assignment than that designated by your certificate, you will need to “borrow” a class to complete the required component elements.

A PLF, or Professional Learning Facilitator, is an NBCT or other qualified individual who has been trained to provide candidate support that is both effective and ethical. The VEA provides PLF training and pairs candidates with PLFs to support their National Board journey.

An NBCT, or National Board Certified Teacher, is an educator who has successfully completed the National Board Certification process in one of 25 available certificate areas. Once they have achieved this certification, the educator is considered an NBCT as long as they maintain their certification through the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process.

The Architecture of Accomplished Teaching is a framework to describe the practice of accomplished teaching as it relates to the Five Core Propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The Architecture of Accomplished Teaching is referenced in the National Board Certification process for each certificate area.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards currently offers 25 different certificates. These are categorized by the developmental level of students and content area.

The Five Core Propositions identify and describe what the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards asserts accomplished educators should know and be able to do.

• Proposition 1: Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
• Proposition 2: Teachers know the subjects to teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
• Proposition 3: Teachers are responsible for managing students and monitoring students’ learning.
• Proposition 4: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
• Proposition 5: Teachers are members of learning communities.

National Board Standards for each certificate area have been developed by committees of educators recognized as highly accomplished in their respective fields, and the majority of the committee members are NBCTs themselves. National Board Standards are an integral part of the certification process and are separate from the Virginia Standards of Learning or standards established by professional teaching organizations.

The VEA’s Teaching & Learning department provides support for candidates through PLF mentors and small group cohorts as well as intensive workshops such as Jump Start. We also offer presentations and webinars to increase stakeholder awareness of how National Board Certification can benefit students, teachers, and schools. For more information, contact us.

Candidates for their initial National Board Certification will complete Component 1: Content Knowledge at an approved testing center. While the specific requirements for the component will vary by certificate, this component requires Candidates to respond to selected response (multiple choice-style) items and created response (essay-style) items. If a candidate does not achieve a passing score on this component, they may choose to re-take all or parts of the component (re-registration and re-take fees apply).

There is no test-style component for the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process.

Virginia currently offers a stipend to eligible educators who have successfully achieved National Board Certification which is contingent upon legislative budget approval each year. Learn more about this stipend on at the Virginia Department of Education website.
Some school divisions offer additional stipends, bonuses, or payroll scale steps. Contact your school division to determine what incentives may be available to you.

There are currently 3,920 NBCTs in Virginia and 130,630 NBCTs nationwide (per NBPTS, as of December 2021).

Based on data collected since 2017, the current rate of certification among initial candidates is 70% and 99% of NBCTs who seek to maintain their certificate are successful. Learn more about certification rates here.