Program pathway
These 15 states license principals through completion of a state-approved preparation program, with no state licensure exam. Each state still sets its own degree, experience, internship, and coursework rules.
35states require a leadership exam or scored performance assessment in the ordinary in-state pathway
15program-pathway states license principals through approved preparation, with no state licensure exam
Build your prep route
The assessment landscape clusters into four practical starting points. Use the state directory below to identify the right path, then work from the current official materials linked in that state's record.
Performance and Praxis routes
For portfolio models such as PASL and Massachusetts PAL, or states using SLLA and Praxis 5412. Task structures, accepted versions, and passing scores vary.
State-specific exam route
For assessments such as FELE, GACE, AEPA, and New York SBL. Each state record identifies the applicable assessment route and links to its cited source.
Reciprocity review route
For licensed administrators applying across state lines. Experience, prior testing, coursework, and certificate status can determine whether an exam is waived.
Explore all 50 states
Open a state for its pathway, assessment, reciprocity notes, and cited source.
First-time pass rate methodology: Rates are shown only where the state education agency or testing vendor officially publishes them. Most testing programs do not publish first-attempt pass rates, and medians or score distributions are never presented as pass rates.
Salary figures are published averages for each state, collected October 15, 2026. Each figure links to its source: Salary.com state benchmark pages where available, with ZipRecruiter state salary pages and Indeed state salary pages for the states Salary.com could not be read for. Sources measure pay differently, so compare states within the same source with care.
Methodology and verification
The 35-state count includes states whose ordinary in-state principal pathway requires a licensure exam or scored performance assessment. The 15 program-pathway states license principals through state-approved preparation without a state principal licensure exam. California is counted for CalAPA, Maine's SLLA is an optional alternate route, Oregon's all-educator civil-rights exam is not a leadership assessment, and Massachusetts is counted for PAL.
All 50 assessment classifications were resolved as of September 25, 2026. Reciprocity outcomes can depend on experience, certificate status, background checks, coursework deficiencies, and the receiving state's comparability review. Every applicant should confirm current requirements with the receiving state before applying.
Reciprocity is a review, not an automatic transfer.
Most states recognize prior preparation and a valid out-of-state administrator credential, but the receiving state decides what is comparable and which local requirements still apply.
What usually transfers
A current, good-standing, non-provisional administrator license, completion of an approved leadership program, graduate coursework, verified teaching or leadership experience, and prior exam results are the evidence most often reviewed.
What may not transfer
The exact credential title or grade span, a test that the new state does not judge equivalent, state-specific coursework, and local induction or mentoring requirements may not carry over. Fingerprinting and background review are commonly repeated.
Experience can change the route
Several states waive testing or induction for experienced administrators. Arizona uses 3 years of administrator experience for an exam waiver, Delaware uses 4 years as a principal, and Iowa waives mentoring after 2 successful years. Other states, including Tennessee and Virginia, still require their named assessment on the reciprocity route.
State-specific deficiencies are common
A receiving state may issue an interim or provisional credential while an applicant completes school law, constitutions, Indigenous studies, civil-rights, coursework, testing, or mentoring requirements. The state entries above identify known conditions and mark unverified details.
1Confirm that your current license is active and in good standing.
2Gather official transcripts, preparation-program verification, test scores, and experience records.
3Ask the receiving agency whether your credential and prior assessment are comparable.
4Identify local gaps, including background checks, coursework, testing, mentoring, or internship rules.
5Apply before accepting a role, and verify whether an interim credential permits employment.
Certified in another country? Texas reviews international credentials.
If your teaching credential was issued outside the United States, Texas does not use the out-of-state reciprocity route above. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) runs a separate Review of Credentials for educators certified in another country, and it can lead to a Texas certificate.
Who qualifies
You must meet all three conditions: you hold the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, you completed an educator preparation program that included a teaching practicum, and you hold a valid, active teaching certificate or credential issued by another country. Without all three, TEA cannot complete the review, and a Texas approved educator preparation program becomes the route instead.
The course-by-course evaluation
Order an original, detailed course-by-course evaluation of every college credit and educator credential you earned outside the United States, prepared by a foreign credential evaluation service that TEA recognizes. Name "Texas Education Agency" as the recipient on the evaluation request form. The evaluation service must send the signed evaluation directly to TEA by email. Evaluations sent by the applicant, or sent by postal mail, are not accepted.
Application, timing, and the final steps
Submit only the Review of Credentials application and its fee first. TEA reviews the evaluation, then tells you which certificate application to file next, a one-year or a standard certificate. Plan on 6 to 8 weeks for processing. Every applicant must also demonstrate English language proficiency, and fingerprinting for the background check requires a Social Security number before a Texas certificate can be issued.
Where we help
The credential review decides what Texas still requires from you. When the remaining step is Texas testing or the principal pathway, that is where Pierre The Woman Inc. comes in: principal exam preparation, including the Texas 268 and the PASL performance assessment, with the prep route planner at the top of this page. Start with TEA's official page, then come back here to build your prep route.
Official source: Texas Education Agency, Certification Based on Credentials from Another Country. Checked October 15, 2026. Always confirm current requirements with TEA before applying.