PWCS License Renewal – License Holder Responsibility

Go to then select “License Renewal Button”
Purpose: “Ensures school personnel continually update their professional knowledge and skills”

1.Become familiar with the Virginia Licensure Renewal Manual, licensure guidelines and options for renewal.

2.Become familiar with the PWCS Regulation for Certificated Employees/Licensing – Regulation 513.01-1

License Renewal Requirements must be completed between January 1 and April 1 of the year the license expires.

3.Create a plan outline for professional growth to earnlicense renewal points. Begin earning license renewal points as soon as a renewable license is issued.An activity should not be a routine employment responsibility.
*Five-year* renewable license holders must present 180 professional development points for renewaland will be issued a ten-year renewable license.
*Ten-year* renewable license holders will be required to complete up to 360 professional development points to renew the license.

4. License holders must track and maintain supporting documentation for all license renewal points earned.

  • The PWCS Professional Learning Catalog transcript may be attached to the License Renewal Form as documentation when the license holder has enrolled and completed activities using the eSchool Solutions Electronic Registrar. The Professional Learning transcript can be attached in lieu of listing each activity by reflecting the total points earned on the renewal form under Option 8 and writing “see attached transcript”. Reminder: Activities less than five (5) hours can only be included in the license renewal process if the activities can be grouped together on one entry line to meet the five hour minimum for Option 8, Professional Development.Do not count points less than five hours (points) unless you are able to group them together as a series or with similar subject content on one entry line.
  • Verification for all other activities must be maintained by the license holder.
  • Points earned for activities completed while employed at another school division must be formally documented and include the date of completion and point/hour value.

5.All points must be earned within the last five years of a 5-year renewable license window or within ten years of a 10-year renewable license window. (Example: If your previous renewal was issued in January you may begin earning points for your next renewal in January, if your previous renewal was issued in April, you may begin earning points for your next renewal in April.)First time license renewals may not count course work taken for an initial provisional license deficiency towards their first renewal even if completed within the five year window.

6. Activities completed for Option 8, Professional Development must be at least five (5) points earned at one point per clock hour. Activities less than 5 points offered as a series or on-going professional development in one subject area can be grouped together on one lineto meet the 5 hour minimum. For example, a 2 hour on-going ESOL professional development training can be reflected on one line, under Option 8 as ESOL Training 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 as 8 points.NO SINGLE ENTRY LINE FOR AN ACTIVITY SHOULD BE LISTED FOR LESS THAN FIVE (5) POINTS.

7.License holders who do not hold a master’s degree are no longer required to complete college credit for license renewal. High quality professional development offering new information, knowledge and skills must be maintained using any of the eight options for license renewal.

8. EMERGENCY FIRST AID, CPR AND AED TRAINING WITH HANDS ON PRACTICE FOR CPR OR CERTIFICATION MUST BE COMPLETED(earns at minimum 7 renewal points or points indicated on certificate if more points earned) - include a certificate of completion clearly indicating completion of all three componentsWITH HANDS ON PRACTICE FOR CPR. The training is no longer a one-time only training requirement. National evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines are normally updated every five years. Training completed since 2015 that included hands-on-practice for CPR will be accepted for renewal of a license until the release of updated guidelines in 2020. Documentation must include your full name, date training was completed,signature and title of the organization or group that provided current national evidence-based certification. More information on training opportunities are found at

If you have already completed training in all three components WITH A HANDS ON PRACTICE FOR CPRon or after January 1, 2015 you may include the certificate of completion in your Licensure Renewal Packet for review.

9. Virginia History or State and Local Government Module–(earns 5 renewal points)Any individual licensed and endorsed to teach (i) middle school civics or economics or (ii) high school government or history who is seeking renewal of such license is required to demonstrate knowledge of Virginia history or state and local government by completing amodule or professional development course specifically related to Virginia history or state and local government. The requirement is not based on what you are currently teaching but rather what you are endorsed to teach.More information onwhich license holders are requiredto complete this module can befound on the Certification website however all license holders are encouraged to take advantage of the no-cost professional development activityand include a certificate of completion with your license renewal packet. The Virginia State and Local Civic Education Module is found at

10. Dyslexia Awareness Training (earns 5 renewal points)– all license holders must complete the 45-minute training module and include a certificate of completion with your license renewal packet.

11. The Child Abuse and NeglectRecognition Traininghas been updated with new information. (earns 5 renewal points) Please complete the new training module and include a currentcertificate of completion withyour license renewal packet. The training module works best with Internet Explorer. If you experience any issues with the link, the following work-around can be performed:

  • Go to:
  • On leftside of page,select Child ProtectiveServices, Required Training/Courses
  • Choose CWSE 5691 - Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect (For Educators)

12. Provide all license renewal documentation to advisor/principal in a timely manner for review, approval and signature.

  • Advisor/principal must verify all supporting documentation, initial and date by each option used.
  • Advisor/principal must sign and date the Individualized Renewal Form.

13. Send a complete license renewal packet directly to thePWCS, Office of Certificationbetween January 1 and April 1 of the year the license expires. Do not send your packet to the VDOE.
**Attention to Detail Required**

A complete license renewal packet includes the following:

  • Application for License Renewal - (must include license holder’soriginalsignature with a current date;
    The form should be signed and dated with the date you turn in your paperwork.Electronic signatures not accepted by the VDOE.
  • Application for License Renewal must have advisor/principal signatureand advisor/principal initials and date by each option used.
  • Your address with PWCS must match the address reflected on the VDOELicense Renewal Application. If youraddress with PWCS is not up-to-date,you willalso need to complete the PWCS Address Change Formandinclude it with yourlicensure packet.
  • $25 fee payable to Treasurer of Virginia (Use only blue or black ink and date the check correctly).
  • Emergency First Aid, CPR, AED Training with hands on practice for CPR Certificate of Completion (A hands-on practiceis now required for license renewal.
  • Dyslexia Awareness Training Certificate of Completion
  • The Child Abuse and NeglectRecognition Training Certificate of Completion
  • Virginia History or State and Local Government (Civics) Module Certificate of Completion(if applicable)
  • Official Transcripts if option 1, College Credit was used. (License holdersmust order transcripts to be sent to home address and include in license renewal packet).Graduate or undergraduate transcripts must include grade and credits earned. (1 credit = 30 points) License holders will need to obtain official transcripts from the college offering the college credit for any courses taken through PWCS cohorts or the eSolutions-Electronic Registrar. IMPORTANT: Use caution when ordering transcripts. Official transcripts with a stamp or seal is required. Some institutions contract with other companies (third party) to issue official transcripts. The transcripts may be accepted if received in sealed envelopes. Placement records sent from colleges, electronic transcripts, grade reports, PDFs, photocopies, and student printouts of transcripts will not be accepted. In some cases, you may have to contact the registrar's office directly to make a special request for acceptable transcripts. Marked up or highlighted transcripts are also not accepted.
  • Attn: License holders with a School Counselor endorsement reflected on the license–even if you are not currently serving as a school counselor, include a certificate of completion with your license renewal packet: New Training Requirement in the recognition of mental health disorder and behavioral distress, including depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide, and substance abuse.The required training options can be found at:

Note: STU 700 Youth Mental Health First Aid offered through the PWCSeSchool Solutions, Electronic Registrar will meet this requirement.

14. Remove all other supporting documents or certificates (other than those required and listed above) from the license renewal packet. Other supporting documents should be maintained by the license holder.
Certificates will not be returned to the license holder.

15. Send your complete license renewal packet directly to the PWCS, Office of Certification. Do not send your license renewal request to the VDOE.

16. Select the yellow “Alpha Roster” button to verify the receipt and processing status of the license renewal packet.

17. Non-compliance of licensure requirements and deadlines will be reflected on evaluation processes and may result in a breach of contract and termination.

License holders may contact a Licensure Specialist for additional information on the License Renewal Process as follows:

  • Jennifer Missner(last names beginning with letters A-L)
  • Brock Relyea(last names beginning with letters M-Z)