Tennessee Occupational License

The Occupational, sometimes referred to as CTE (Career Technology Education) license allows industry experts in several fields to become licensed to teach the skills necessary for their industry.  Occupational teachers are in high demand to provide skilled applicants for the workforce upon the students' high school graduation.  This page provides information for candidates interested in applying for an initial occupational license as well as information for advancing or renewing a current occupational license.

*Please note that there are some CTE courses that require an Academic license, the Occupational License is strictly for specific occupations/fields.  Please check out more information on the TNDOE Guidance Document (starting on page 7) to see the current available Occupational endorsements and the experience and industry certification requirements for each endorsement. 

Tennessee Occupational Licensure

Occupational CTE teachers are in high demand to provide skilled applicants for the workforce. If you are interested in pursuing becoming licensed to teach in an area you have experience in, check out the application guide below. 

Practitioner Occupational License
The practitioner occupational license is valid for three years and may be renewed. Tennessee offers a practitioner occupational license in many endorsement areas. At a minimum, educators interested in the occupational practitioner license must:

1. Be a high school graduate (some endorsements require degrees)
2. Be enrolled in or have completed a state approve educator preparation program (EPP).  For information on Hamilton County's new EPP, check out the Pathways to Teaching page.
3. Meet endorsement experience requirements.
4. Meet industry certification requirements.

Guide to apply

The following guide provides information on how to create an account with the TNDOE on the state website that houses licensure.  Please note that for the section that requires you to indicate the Educator Preparation Program you will enroll with, please select UTC, as that is the institution the district has partnered with.

TNCompass Licensure: Career and Technical Guide 

The following form is for documenting and providing evidence of your experience. The form will need to be completed and notarized by former employer(s) is one of the requirements for applying

Occupational Work Experience and Qualifications Form

  Renewing a Practitioner Occupational License

         To renew a practitioner occupational license, an educator must:

• Complete an approved occupational educator preparation program.
• Submit proof of current industry certification as required by the endorsement area.

Advancement Information

To advance from a practitioner occupational license to professional occupational license, educators must:

• Complete three (3) years of qualifying experience or a minimum of 25 months.
• Obtain thirty (30) PDPs or a recommendation from the director of schools.
• Complete an approved educator preparation program.
• Complete the TNDOE’s new teacher training.
• Observe three (3) experienced teachers within the same area of endorsement and one (1) experienced teacher in a different area of endorsement.
• Have an assigned mentor teacher during the first (3) years of teaching.
• Hold current/valid industry certification required by the endorsement area

Renewing a Professional Occupational License

There are two requirements to renew:

• EITHER obtain 60 Professional Development Points (PDPs) OR two years of qualifying experience.
• Submit proof of current industry certification as required by the endorsement area.

                                                                                                                                                                               
If you’re ready to renew a Professional Occupational License, follow the instructions linked below:  
Renewing Your Professional Occupational License
                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                               

If you passed the Praxis and the score is showing on the Preparation tab of your TNCompass Profile, you are now ready to submit an Occupational to Academic License transaction, 
please follow the instructions linked below:  
Occupational to Academic Transaction