Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Virginia provisional license coursework has to be finished inside the licence's validity: the Provisional License is nonrenewable and lasts up to 3 years (8VAC20-23-50), and coursework must come from an institution accredited by an agency the U.S. Department of Education recognises. The Virginia Department of Education's licensure office decides. UPI Study courses help only via a college transcript, so ask VDOE in writing first.
Under 8VAC20-23-50 the Virginia Provisional License is a nonrenewable licence valid for up to 3 years (1 year at first for the Career Switcher route), and the holder must complete all requirements for a renewable licence, including every licensure assessment, within that period.
The rule asks for Up to 3 years to finish all endorsement and professional-studies requirements; semester hours depend on the endorsement. The legal source is 8VAC20-23-50.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Length of the provisional licence | Nonrenewable, valid up to 3 years; Career Switcher starts with 1 year | [1] |
| What must be done in that time | All requirements for a renewable licence, including all licensure assessments | [1] |
| Where coursework must come from | An institution accredited by an agency recognised by the U.S. Department of Education | [2] |
| Alternate route | Employed by a Virginia educational agency, endorsement requirements met, professional studies completed | [3] |
| Career Switcher | Bachelor's, 3 years of work experience, test scores, 180 clock hours (Level I), 5 seminars of 20 hours (Level II) | [3] |
Virginia Board of Education and Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Office of Licensure; the employing school division 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 Virginia Board of Education and Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Office of Licensure; the employing school division.
Lower-level mathematics content for a mathematics endorsement gap, if VDOE lists one.
Self-paced online College Algebra course (Math 111). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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A 4-credit mathematics content course often missing for secondary mathematics endorsements.
Self-paced online Calculus 1 course (Math 165). NCCRS recommends 4 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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A 4-credit mathematics content course; check whether your endorsement lists it.
Self-paced online Discrete Mathematics course (Maths 230). NCCRS recommends 4 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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Statistics content that mathematics endorsements commonly include.
Self-paced online Principles of Statistics course (Statistics 101). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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Biology content for a science endorsement gap.
Self-paced online Intro to Biology 1 course (Biology 100). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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A psychology course some teachers use toward professional-studies gaps, if VDOE agrees in writing.
Self-paced online Educational Psychology course (Psychology 120). 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; Newlane is a partner college too. Ask the college's own transfer office which credits it would place on its transcript before you study.
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 |
| Northern Virginia Community College (in-state) | $232.05 per credit hour, 2026-27, tuition and fees | $1,392.30 for 6 credits; $2,088.45 for 9 credits | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month | Similar monthly cost; check which content courses it offers for your endorsement | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month plus a course fee (for example $79) | About $178 per course, one course at a time | 15 Nov 2026 |
Prices are those shown on each provider's page on 15 Nov 2026. College credit from any provider still has to reach VDOE on an accredited college's transcript, so add that college's own fees to the total.
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 VDOE licensure in writing whether a named course, shown on an accredited college's transcript, meets the deficiency listed on your provisional licence before you enrol.
A provisional licence lets a Virginia school division hire you while you still have allowable deficiencies. The Board of Education's rule, 8VAC20-23-50, makes it nonrenewable and caps it at three years. Inside that window you must finish every requirement for a renewable licence, including passing every licensure assessment. If the clock runs out first, the licence does not roll over.
The gaps are usually of two kinds. Content gaps are semester hours missing in the subject you teach, such as mathematics or biology. Professional-studies gaps are the education courses your endorsement level needs. VDOE names both on the evaluation that comes with your licence, so that document, not a general checklist, is your to-do list.
Virginia's definitions section, 8VAC20-23-10, says an accredited institution is one accredited by an accrediting agency recognised by the U.S. Department of Education. That is the test VDOE applies to the transcripts you send. A course provider's certificate is not a college transcript.
This is why UPI Study works only via a college transcript here. Our courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended. An accredited college can review that recommendation and, if it chooses, post the credit on its own transcript. VDOE then reads the college's transcript. Each step is a separate decision, so ask both the college and VDOE in writing before you start.
Under 8VAC20-23-90, the Career Switcher route is for people with a bachelor's degree, the endorsement requirements or their equivalent, at least three years of full-time work experience and Virginia qualifying test scores. Level I is at least 180 clock hours of instruction including field experience. Level II is at least five seminars totalling 20 instructional hours plus a year of full-time teaching. The Provisional (Career Switcher) License starts with one school year.
The general alternate route is for teachers employed by a Virginia educational agency who hold a bachelor's from an accredited institution, meet the endorsement requirements and complete the professional studies for their level. If your content hours fall short, that shortfall is the kind of gap a college course can fill.
Title I paraprofessionals are a different track. VDOE guidance lists a high school diploma plus one of: two years of study at an institution of higher education, an associate degree or higher, or a formal assessment. The Board approved the ParaPro Assessment in 2003. School divisions hire paraprofessionals and substitutes and set their own local requirements, so ask your division which test and which credit total it uses today.
Up to three years, and it cannot be renewed. The Career Switcher version starts with one school year and can move to a second year on the division's recommendation. Under 8VAC20-23-50 you must finish every requirement for a renewable licence, including all licensure tests, before it ends.
Possibly, if the credit reaches VDOE on the transcript of an institution accredited by an agency the U.S. Department of Education recognises. Online study is fine for many colleges, but VDOE reads the transcript. Ask VDOE in writing whether a named course meets your listed deficiency before you enrol.
Not on its own. UPI Study is not accredited and does not issue college transcripts. Our courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended, so an accredited college may choose to post the credit on its transcript. VDOE then decides whether that coursework meets your deficiency. Get both answers in writing first.
An alternate route under 8VAC20-23-90 for career changers with a bachelor's degree, three years of work experience, the endorsement requirements and qualifying test scores. Level I is 180 clock hours of instruction including field work; Level II is five seminars of 20 hours and a year of teaching.
The ParaPro Assessment is a test of reading, writing and mathematics for paraprofessionals. Virginia's Board of Education approved it in 2003 as a way for Title I paraprofessionals to qualify without two years of college. Your school division can tell you which test and score it uses now.
The provisional licence is nonrenewable, so you cannot extend it by renewal. Talk to your school division and VDOE well before the end date about your remaining deficiencies. Plan your courses so the college transcript reaches VDOE in time, allowing weeks for posting and review.
Every course in one plan. Ask VDOE in writing first, then study the agreed courses at your own pace.