Short answer
How do New York teachers keep a certificate current and move up the salary schedule?
A New York Professional certificate stays valid through registration. In each five-year registration period, a teacher practicing in a district, BOCES or nonpublic school completes 100 clock hours of CTLE from approved sponsors, at least 15 percent of them on language acquisition for English language learners. College courses count at 15 clock hours per semester hour when the college is an approved CTLE sponsor. Pay follows each district's negotiated schedule.
Source: New York State Education Department, Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Checked .
TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by New York's state education agency or any New York school district. This guide summarizes published state rules and district documents as read on ; the agency and your district decide what counts for you. It is general information, not legal or employment advice. Disclaimer Report an error
How do you keep a New York teaching certificate current?
The Office of Teaching Initiatives at the New York State Education Department (NYSED) handles certificates and registration. Its registration information page says that holders of a Permanent or Professional classroom teaching certificate "must register with the Department every five years," and must hold "Registered - Active" status to practice in an applicable school. Applicable schools are public school districts, BOCES and, since October 17, 2017, nonpublic schools. Practicing means being employed 90 days or more in a school year by one of them. Charter schools are not on the list.
Registration and CTLE are not the same thing. Every Permanent and Professional holder registers, but only some owe hours. NYSED's CTLE page applies the hour requirement to Professional classroom and leadership certificates, Level III Teaching Assistant certificates and the new Professional Teaching Assistant certificate. Educators who hold only Permanent certificates, or who are in "Registered - Inactive" status, are named as examples of people who do not complete CTLE.
For a teacher who owes hours, the rules are these:
- 100 clock hours per registration period. One requirement per educator, no matter how many certificates are held.
- Approved sponsors only. The clock hours page says learning "not designated as CTLE by an approved CTLE sponsor does not count."
- College credit converts. A semester hour equals 15 CTLE clock hours and a quarter hour equals 10, but only if the college is an approved CTLE sponsor and awards CTLE hours for the course.
- No carryover. Hours from before registration or from a prior period do not move into the current one.
- Part-time practice. A teacher inactive for part of the period completes 20 clock hours for each year spent practicing in an applicable school, not prorated below a full year.
On those numbers, a single three-semester-hour course from an approved sponsor supplies 45 of the 100 hours. Two such courses plus a few district workshops would cover the period. Acceptable CTLE must address the content area of a certificate held, pedagogy, or language acquisition. NYSED also lets districts credit mentoring (up to 30 hours for mentoring a new teacher, 25 for a teacher candidate), and National Board certification satisfies the requirement for the period in which it is earned, provided the language acquisition share is also met.
The language acquisition share depends on the certificate. NYSED's language acquisition page sets it at a minimum of 15 percent of required CTLE hours for most Professional teachers and leaders, and 50 percent for holders of a Professional ESOL certificate or a Bilingual Education extension. An exemption may apply in some settings, but it "does not reduce the 100-clock-hour CTLE requirement."
At the end of the period, teachers re-register in their TEACH account and attest to the hours; they do not mail certificates of completion. The re-registration page opens the window six months before the expiration date, which falls on the last day of the month before the teacher's birth month. Records have to be kept for at least three years after the period ends. A teacher who falls short can request conditional registration, which adds one year to finish and "cannot be renewed or extended absent good cause." For how clock hours relate to credits elsewhere, see clock hours, CEUs and semester credits, and the license renewal hub compares cycles across states.
A transcript does not make a course CTLE. A college course earns CTLE hours only when the college is on NYSED's approved sponsor list and issues CTLE hours for it. A district's salary schedule applies its own test to the same transcript.
How do New York teachers move to a higher salary lane?
New York has no statewide teacher salary schedule. Pay is bargained district by district under the Taylor Law. Civil Service Law section 201 defines terms and conditions of employment to include "salaries, wages, hours," and section 204 requires a public employer to "negotiate collectively" with the recognized employee organization over them. Each district's contract therefore sets its own columns, its own credit rules and its own filing steps.
The two largest districts show the common shape. Columns or differentials sit on top of the bachelor's and master's degrees and are earned with credits beyond the degree, while steps follow years of service. Where they differ is in the details that decide whether a course pays:
- The unit. New York City counts credits in blocks of 30 or 36; Buffalo pays credit "in units of 10 hours."
- The approval. Some contracts accept any credit beyond the degree. Others require a degree program or a superintendent's sign-off on the course's relevance.
- The timing. Effective dates are tied to semesters, and late paperwork usually moves the raise, not the credit.
A worked example: a Buffalo teacher in the BS+20 column who finishes a ten-hour block of approved coursework in December, and notifies the Board within 30 days on its form, moves to BS+30 at the start of the spring semester. If the same teacher waited past the 30 days, the contract's wording no longer guarantees pay from that date. Those 10 semester hours could also count as 150 CTLE clock hours, but only if the college is an approved CTLE sponsor and issues them. That decision belongs to the district and to NYSED, not to the course provider. For the general sequence, see how lane changes work; for what tends to qualify, see units that count.
What do the largest New York districts require?
New York City Department of Education
The United Federation of Teachers' salary differentials page lays out the city's ladder. The base rate, C1, is for teachers with only a bachelor's degree, and each differential above it is earned with credits beyond it. Differentials are not automatic; teachers apply through the DOE Office of Salary Services' online application.
- C2: 30 credits beyond the bachelor's requirement; undergraduate coursework beyond the degree, graduate coursework or both count.
- C2+ID: the first differential plus 60 credits beyond the bachelor's.
- C2+PD: 36 credits in an approved subject area, usually reached with a master's.
- C6+PD: a master's plus 30 more credits taken after the bachelor's date and not used for the master's, or chancellor-approved professional development, or National Board certification. Teachers hired on or after September 1, 2017 also need a minimum number of A+ credits.
- Timing: differentials are paid as of Feb. 1, July 1 and Sept. 1 for fall, spring and summer work; apply within six months of earning the credits to be paid from that date.
Buffalo Public Schools
The collective bargaining agreement with the Buffalo Teachers Federation, which the union's contract page lists as running from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2026, has twelve columns: BS, BS+10 through BS+60, MS, MS+10 through MS+30, and DR. Each schedule pays for credit beyond the degree "in units of 10 hours."
- What counts: courses certified as part of a program leading to an advanced degree, or approved by the Superintendent as related to the teacher's field or "a reasonable contribution" to their teaching.
- Outside in-service courses: count only if "approved in advance by the Board of Education."
- Timing: a move takes effect at the start of the semester after the course ends, if the teacher notifies the Board within 30 days on its form.
- Payment: the Board may hold payment until it receives a certificate of satisfactory completion.
Full district guides for New York
Before you enroll
- Check your registration dates. TEACH shows when the five-year period ends; hours from an earlier period do not carry over.
- Decide what the course is for. CTLE hours, a district column, or both. Each has its own test; our renewal versus salary credit guide sets them side by side.
- Look the sponsor up. For CTLE, the college has to be on NYSED's approved list and issue CTLE hours for the course.
- Get district approval where the contract asks for it. Buffalo wants a degree program or Superintendent approval; outside in-service needs the Board's approval in advance.
- File on time. Within 30 days of the course ending in Buffalo; within six months in New York City to be paid from the date earned.
The provider directory groups semester-credit providers by need, and the comparison table shows their costs and formats side by side.
New York questions teachers ask
How many CTLE hours do New York teachers need?
100 clock hours in each five-year registration period for Professional certificate holders who practice in an applicable school throughout it. Teachers inactive for part of the period owe 20 hours for each year they practiced.
Do college credits count as CTLE hours in New York?
Yes, at 15 clock hours per semester hour and 10 per quarter hour, but only when the college is an approved CTLE sponsor and awards CTLE hours for the course.
What is the CTLE language acquisition requirement?
At least 15 percent of required hours for most Professional teachers and leaders, and 50 percent for Professional ESOL certificate holders and teachers with a Bilingual Education extension, on the needs of English language learners.
Do Permanent certificate holders need CTLE hours?
No. NYSED says educators holding only Permanent certificates are not subject to CTLE, though they still register every five years.
What if I don't finish my CTLE hours in time?
You can request conditional registration in TEACH, which gives one more year to complete the hours. It cannot be renewed or extended without good cause.
Do undergraduate credits count toward NYC salary differentials?
For the C2 and C2+PD differentials, yes: the UFT says undergraduate coursework beyond the degree, graduate coursework or both count. Teachers hired on or after September 1, 2017 need a minimum number of A+ credits for C6+PD.
Sources
- Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE), New York State Education Department. Checked
- Clock Hours, New York State Education Department. Checked
- Language Acquisition, New York State Education Department. Checked
- CTLE Registration Information, New York State Education Department. Checked
- Re-Registration, New York State Education Department. Checked
- Civil Service Law section 201, Definitions, New York State Senate. Checked
- Civil Service Law section 204, Recognition and certification of employee organizations, New York State Senate. Checked
- Salary differentials, United Federation of Teachers. Checked
- BTF-BPS Collective Bargaining Agreement, Buffalo Teachers Federation. Checked
- Agreement between the Board of Education of the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Teachers Federation, 2022-2026, Buffalo Teachers Federation. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error