Short answer
How do North Dakota teachers renew a license and move up the salary schedule?
A North Dakota five-year license renews with 6 semester hours of re-education credit earned within the dates of the license, documented on a college or state-approved transcript, plus at least 30 days of contracted teaching. Undergraduate and graduate-level credit both count. There is no state salary schedule; each district bargains its own lanes and credit rules.
Source: N.D. Admin. Code chapter 67.1-02-02, Educator's professional license. Checked .
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How do you renew a North Dakota teaching license?
The Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) licenses North Dakota teachers. Its rules sit in N.D. Admin. Code chapter 67.1-02-02, last amended July 1, 2025, and they move a teacher through three stages:
- Initial license. Valid for at least two consecutive years and expiring on the teacher's birthday.
- Two-year renewal. Issued to applicants with less than eighteen months of successful contracted teaching in North Dakota.
- Five-year renewal. The first one goes to teachers contracted for eighteen months within the past five years in the state on a valid North Dakota license. Each later five-year renewal takes "thirty teaching days of contracted service and completion of six semester hours of re-education credit."
Section 67.1-02-02-05 adds what the six hours must look like:
- Earned inside the license dates. The ESPB renewal page puts it plainly: the credits must be completed during the five years you hold the five-year license.
- On a transcript. Re-education credit must be "documented by college or state-approved alternative program transcripts."
- Either level. The rule accepts undergraduate or graduate-level coursework.
- On topic. It has to be in professional education or "applicable to the applicant's licensed major, minor, or endorsement areas." Teachers working toward an added degree or endorsement may use that coursework.
Conference and workshop credit can fit, but only as a credit-bearing course approved by ESPB or through a college's program review. The same section sets the hour standard for those courses: participants "must attend a minimum of fifteen hours of graduate level activity per credit hour" and complete a product or application of learning, so a three-credit course stands for at least 45 hours. Our article on clock hours, CEUs and semester credits explains how those units relate elsewhere, and the license renewal hub compares cycles across states.
Applications open six months before the license expires, and the renewal page warns that a late fee applies if the application, documents and fee are not filed before expiration. Falling short has set consequences. A teacher with the six hours but fewer than 30 contracted days reverts to the two-year cycle. A teacher without the six hours is either not renewed or placed on a two-year probationary license that requires eight semester hours, and a second probationary license may not be issued. The board may waive or extend the deadline in extraordinary circumstances. After thirty years of North Dakota licensure, section 67.1-02-02-01 lets a teacher apply for a life license with the five-year renewal fee.
Renewal credits and pay credits follow different tests. ESPB accepts undergraduate coursework for renewal. Bismarck's agreement counts an undergraduate course toward a lane only in exceptional cases, approved in writing before the course starts.
How do North Dakota teachers move to a higher salary lane?
North Dakota has no statewide salary schedule. Pay is a bargaining subject under N.D. Century Code chapter 15.1-16. Section 15.1-16-09 says a teachers' representative organization's scope "may include matters relating to the terms and conditions of employment and employer-employee relations, including salary and working hours." Section 15.1-16-13 requires the school board and that organization to negotiate in good faith when either asks, and to put any agreement into a written contract.
The one state pay rule is a floor. Section 15.1-27-39 requires every board to pay each full-time teacher on a nine-month contract at least a set minimum salary. It creates no lanes, steps or credit rules. Everything a teacher needs to plan a lane change, from which credits count to when a transcript is due, lives in the district's negotiated agreement.
The two largest districts build similar grids with different fine print:
- Columns. West Fargo runs six lanes: BA, BA+15, BA+30, MA, MA+15 and MA+30. Bismarck's agreement names a BA+45 column and MA lanes from MA+15 to MA+60.
- Step caps. Bismarck stops the BA lane at step 9, BA+15 at step 15 and BA+30 at step 20, so a teacher with long service in a low lane stops earning step increases until a lane change.
- Subject rules. West Fargo requires at least half of each lane's semester hours in the field the teacher is licensed in; Bismarck relies on advance approval of each course.
- Timing. Both districts change pay twice a year, tied to a fall and a winter filing window.
A worked example: a West Fargo teacher in the BA lane who completes 15 approved semester hours, eight or more in the licensed field, and files the transcript by October 15 moves to BA+15 effective the first contract day of that school year. The same credits would also cover a full five-year renewal if they fall inside the license dates, though ESPB and the district each make their own decision. For the general sequence, see how lane changes work; for reading the grid itself, how to read a salary schedule.
What do the largest North Dakota districts require?
Bismarck Public Schools
Read the full Bismarck guide →
The 2025-2027 agreement with the Bismarck Education Association adopts the attached salary schedules for 2025-26 and 2026-27. Its advancement section starts with one rule: courses "must be approved by the Superintendent of Schools or designee to qualify for advancement credit prior to enrolling in the course."
- MA+ lanes: only courses taken after the master's degree count toward MA+15, MA+30, MA+45 and MA+60.
- Proof: a college transcript, a college grade report, or a letter from the institution confirming completion with grades pending.
- Timing: contracts are adjusted on or before the second Tuesday of September and the second Tuesday of January, prorated for the rest of the year.
- Undergraduate courses: counted only in cases the superintendent's office finds exceptional, on a written request with a justification letter before the course.
- Career and technical educators without a degree: college credit for approved courses can move them from BA to BA+30, and to BA+45 with a filed plan of study toward a degree.
West Fargo Public Schools
Read the full West Fargo guide →
The 2025-2027 agreement with the West Fargo Education Association sets six lanes and counts credit in semester hours. It ties each lane to the teacher's licensed field and asks teachers to "confer with the superintendent or their designee before enrolling in courses."
- BA+15 and MA+15: at least eight of the 15 semester hours in the licensed field.
- BA+30 and MA+30: at least 15 of the 30 semester hours in that field.
- MA lane: a master's in the licensed field, or one approved in advance.
- Deadlines: coursework verification filed by October 15 takes effect the first contract day of the school year; by February 15, the first contract day in January.
- Records: a transcript filed with the district office, and teachers keep their own credit records up to date there.
Full district guides for North Dakota
Before you enroll
- Check your license dates. Count six semester hours and 30 contracted days inside the current five-year license.
- Get district approval first. Bismarck requires it before you enroll; West Fargo asks you to confer before enrolling. Our pre-approval forms guide covers what to send.
- Match the subject. ESPB wants professional education or your licensed areas; West Fargo wants at least half of each lane's hours in your licensed field.
- Make sure it lands on a transcript. ESPB counts only transcripted credit, and both districts work from college records.
- Beat the cutoff. October 15 or February 15 in West Fargo; the second Tuesday of September or January in Bismarck.
The provider directory groups semester-credit providers by need, and the comparison table shows their costs and formats side by side.
North Dakota questions teachers ask
How many credits renew a North Dakota teaching license?
Six semester hours of re-education credit for each five-year renewal after the first, earned within the license dates, plus at least 30 days of contracted teaching.
Do undergraduate courses count for North Dakota renewal?
Yes. The ESPB rule accepts undergraduate or graduate-level coursework, as long as it is in professional education or your licensed major, minor or endorsement areas. District salary lanes set their own conditions.
Do workshops and conferences count toward renewal?
Only as transcripted credit. A workshop or conference course has to be approved by ESPB or through a college's program review, with at least fifteen hours of activity per credit hour and a final product.
What happens if I don't finish six semester hours in time?
ESPB either does not renew the license or offers a two-year probationary license that requires eight semester hours. A second probationary license may not be issued.
Does North Dakota have a state teacher salary schedule?
No. State law sets a minimum salary for full-time nine-month teachers and makes salary a bargaining subject. Lanes, steps and credit rules come from each district's negotiated agreement.
Is there a life license in North Dakota?
Yes. ESPB issues a life license to teachers who have been licensed in North Dakota for thirty years, on application with the five-year renewal fee.
Sources
- N.D. Admin. Code chapter 67.1-02-02, Educator's professional license, North Dakota Legislative Branch. Checked
- Renewing license, North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board. Checked
- N.D. Century Code chapter 15.1-16, Teacher representation and negotiation, North Dakota Legislative Branch. Checked
- N.D. Century Code chapter 15.1-27, State aid (section 15.1-27-39), North Dakota Legislative Branch. Checked
- Agreement between the School Board, Bismarck Public School District No. 1, and the Bismarck Education Association, 2025-2027, hosted by North Dakota United. Checked
- Agreement between West Fargo Public School District No. 6 and the West Fargo Education Association, 2025-2027, hosted by North Dakota United. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error