Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Montana teacher license renewal for Class 1, 2, 3 and 6 licences needs 60 professional development units earned during the licence's five years, verified by 31 August of the year it expires. One semester college credit equals 15 units, so 4 semester credits cover the whole requirement. Credit must come from an institutionally accredited college. Ask OPI in writing first.
Under ARM 10.57.215, Montana Class 1, 2, 3 and 6 educator licences are renewed by verifying 60 professional development units earned during the five years of validity, through 31 August of the year the licence expires; one semester college credit equals 15 units and one quarter credit equals 10.
The rule asks for 60 units in 5 years (4 semester credits, or 6 quarter credits, or 60 hours of approved activities, or a mix). The legal source is ARM 10.57.215.
| Requirement | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Units needed | 60 in the five years the licence is valid (Classes 1, 2, 3, 6) | [1] |
| Deadline | 31 August of the year the licence expires | [1] |
| Semester credit | 15 units each | [1] |
| Quarter credit | 10 units each | [1] |
| Approved hour | 1 unit each, on an OPI certificate | [1] |
| Licence term | Five school fiscal years from 1 July | [2] |
Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI), Educator Licensure, under rules of the Board of Public Education decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI), Educator Licensure, under rules of the Board of Public Education.
Learning and motivation in P-12 classrooms; a clear fit with the curriculum test.
Self-paced online Educational Psychology course (Psychology 120). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Culture, identity and inclusion for teachers of diverse classes.
Self-paced online Psychology of Diversity course (Psychology 112). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Background for working with students who have mental health needs.
Self-paced online Abnormal Psychology course (Psychology 180). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
For teachers bringing AI tools and questions into the classroom.
Self-paced online Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course (Computer Science 373). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Reading and using education research and data.
Self-paced online Research Methods in Psychology course (Psychology 111). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; ask the partner college whether its transcript meets OPI's institutionally accredited college rule before you rely on it.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Teaching Channel graduate course | $489 for a 3-credit graduate course | One course is 45 units; reaching 60 by credit alone takes a fourth credit or 15 approved hours | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning subscription | $99 a month, $299 for four months or $799 a year | Two courses in one or two months, plus the cost of a college transcript that records the credit | 15 Nov 2026 |
District training from an OPI-approved provider is often free or paid by your school and counts hour for hour. College credit is worth paying for when you need many units at once, or want the course for a higher class or a degree.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask OPI Educator Licensure in writing whether a named UPI Study course, recorded on an institutionally accredited college's transcript, would count toward your 60 renewal units, and at what rate, before you enrol.
Montana teaching licences run for five school fiscal years, starting on the 1 July before they are issued, under MCA 20-4-108. The Board of Public Education's rule ARM 10.57.215 sets what you need to renew a Class 1, 2, 3 or 6 licence: 60 professional development units, earned during the five years the licence is valid, verified through 31 August of the year it expires.
The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) runs licensing. You keep your own records of the units; the rule says the licensee alone is responsible for keeping the proof used in the renewal application.
The rule gives three rates. Here is what they mean in practice:
| What you complete | Units | Share of 60 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour at an approved activity | 1 | 1/60 |
| 1 quarter college credit | 10 | 1/6 |
| 1 semester college credit | 15 | 1/4 |
| A 3-credit semester course | 45 | 3/4 |
| 4 semester credits | 60 | All |
| National Board Certification | 60 | All |
Every activity has to be planned and structured, add to your professional development by teaching a new idea or skill or building on one, and fit the P-12 public school curriculum. Within that test, the rule lists credits from an institutionally accredited college or university; activities from OPI-approved providers, shown on an OPI unit certificate; single activities OPI approves; another state's validated activities; teaching a related college course if you hold a graduate degree in an endorsed field; and National Board Certification.
The rule does not set different rates for undergraduate and graduate credit. It assigns units by the number of credits. What decides a course is the college that records it and whether it fits the curriculum test.
UPI Study courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended, and UPI Study is not a college. The credit reaches OPI via a college transcript: an institutionally accredited college that considers recommended credit reviews your course and, if it awards credit, lists it on its transcript. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit.
Choose a course with a plain link to P-12 teaching, such as Educational Psychology or Psychology of Diversity. Then ask OPI in writing whether that course, on that college's transcript, would count before you enrol.
60 professional development units for a Class 1, 2, 3 or 6 licence, earned during the five years the licence is valid and verified through 31 August of the year it expires, under ARM 10.57.215. Units come from college credit, approved activities and a few other routes. Keep your own records of every unit.
One semester credit is 15 units and one quarter credit is 10 units. A 3-credit semester course gives 45 units, and 4 semester credits cover the full 60. The credit must come from an institutionally accredited college or university, and the course must fit the P-12 curriculum test.
The rule does not separate undergraduate and graduate credit; it counts credits from an institutionally accredited college. UPI Study courses are undergraduate and ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended, so they count only once a college records them. Ask OPI in writing before you enrol.
Units must be verified through 31 August of the year your licence expires. Licences run for five school fiscal years starting 1 July. Plan any college course early, because the college has to review and record the credit before you can send a transcript.
Yes. ARM 10.57.215 counts completing National Board Certification, or achieving and renewing it, as 60 units, the full amount for a five-year renewal. Check with OPI how to document it for your licence class.
Via a college transcript. A college that considers ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit, such as partner colleges TESU and UoPeople, reviews your course and, if it awards credit, lists it on its transcript. Ask OPI in writing whether that transcript would count before you rely on it.
Ask OPI in writing first, then take a course that fits the P-12 curriculum at your own pace.