Renew your Minnesota teacher license with accredited online courses
PELSB requires 125 clock hours over 5 years for a Tier 4 license and 75 clock hours over 3 years for a Tier 3 license. Professional development counts hour for hour, and 1 graduate semester credit counts as 24 clock hours. Self-paced and 100% online.
Are you renewing your license or advancing your salary?
Renew my MN license
Earn the clock hours your tier requires, through professional development courses at 1 hour each or graduate credits at 24 hours each.
See what PELSB requiresAdvance my salary
Earn graduate credits that count as clock hours and may also move you up your district salary schedule.
Explore salary advancementMinnesota teacher license renewal requirements from PELSB
Minnesota educator licensing runs through the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB), not the Minnesota Department of Education. PELSB sets renewal in clock hours. A Tier 4 license runs 5 years and requires 125 clock hours. A Tier 3 license runs 3 years and requires 75 clock hours. Licenses expire on 30 June of the expiration year, and the earliest you can apply is 1 January of that year.
What each tier requires
The clock hour total follows your license tier and its term length.
The full professional license.
A 3-year professional license.
Shorter terms with limits on how many times they renew, and their own conditions. Check the PELSB renewal page for your tier.
Minnesota expects your clock hours to come from at least two different types of professional development, so graduate credits on their own do not complete a renewal. Most teachers pair coursework with professional development hours or district in-service. Your district relicensure committee confirms the mix.
How many clock hours do I need?
PELSB sets the clock hour total by license tier, not by grade level or assignment. Select the tier you hold.
What you need
125 clock hours across a 5-year term. A 6-credit bundle produces 144 clock hours. 150 professional development hours also cover it.
75 clock hours across a 3-year term. A 3-credit bundle produces 72 clock hours. A 100-hour PD bundle covers the total outright.
A 6-credit bundle produces 144 clock hours, or 150 PD hours covers the total for $179.
See the bundleA 3-credit bundle produces 72 clock hours, or 100 PD hours covers the total for $159.
See the bundleBoth totals include the 7 mandatory trainings, and Minnesota expects hours from more than one kind of activity, so plan on pairing coursework with professional development hours or district in-service.
No. PELSB sets the clock hour total by license tier, not by grade level or assignment. Elementary, secondary and student services teachers on a Tier 4 license all need 125 clock hours, and all need 75 on a Tier 3. Some roles are treated differently on individual requirements, so confirm yours with your committee. Administrators renew on a separate track through the Board of School Administrators (BOSA) and should check BOSA's requirements directly.
Source: Minnesota Rule 8710.7200 and PELSB, Renew my license.
What counts toward your Minnesota clock hours
Minnesota counts professional development by the hour and college coursework by the credit.
- Professional development hours. 1 hour equals 1 clock hour. Online professional development qualifies. It does not produce a transcript, so it does nothing for salary. (The lowest-cost route to your tier total.)
- Graduate-level semester credits. 1 semester credit equals 24 clock hours. A 6-credit bundle produces 144 clock hours and an official transcript. (Recommended when you also want salary movement.)
- Quarter credits. 1 quarter credit equals 16 clock hours.
- District and in-service professional development. Staff development and district courses count hour for hour, and they are the most common way teachers round out a renewal alongside coursework.
Districts also grant clock hours for things like curriculum work, mentoring and committee service. Your committee decides what qualifies and how much each activity is worth.
Minnesota does not require your courses to be pre-approved. You complete the professional development, then submit documentation to your district continuing education/relicensure committee, which approves the hours and records them. Committees set their own submission windows and their own forms, so check yours. Teachers who live and work outside Minnesota submit hours to PELSB directly instead.
A certificate showing the clock hours you completed, or an official transcript for college coursework. Download a syllabus from any Model Teaching course page and share it with your committee if you want to check a course before you enroll.
Source: Minnesota Rule 8710.7200.
How Model Teaching courses meet Minnesota clock hour requirements
Minnesota counts professional development hour for hour and does not require courses to be pre-approved, which makes our professional development courses a direct fit for your clock hour total. A 150-hour bundle covers a full Tier 4 renewal. A 100-hour bundle covers a Tier 3 renewal. Our university-partnered courses convert at 24 clock hours per semester credit, so 6 graduate credits produce 144 clock hours and an official transcript from a regionally accredited university partner, which is the documentation a district asks for on a salary lane change. Both produce what your relicensure committee needs to record the hours: a completion certificate or a transcript. Because Minnesota expects hours from more than one kind of activity, most teachers pair coursework with professional development hours or district in-service. Every course is self-paced and 100% online, with 1 year of access. Your committee makes the final call on your hours, so share a syllabus with them if you want to confirm a course first.
Read more about MN teacher license renewal and clock hours
Minnesota educator licensing runs through the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. PELSB is a separate agency from the Minnesota Department of Education, and it issues and renews educator licenses. Teachers searching for renewal information at the Department of Education are in the wrong place.
Minnesota issues educator licenses in tiers. A Tier 4 license runs 5 years and requires 125 clock hours to renew. A Tier 3 license runs 3 years and requires 75. Tier 1 and Tier 2 licenses run shorter terms and carry limits on how many times they renew. Licenses expire on 30 June of the expiration year, the earliest you can apply for renewal is 1 January of that year, and renewal costs 57 dollars for an existing Minnesota license holder.
The unit is the clock hour. One hour of professional development equals 1 clock hour. One semester credit of college coursework equals 24 clock hours, and one quarter credit equals 16. At that rate, 6 graduate semester credits produce 144 clock hours and 3 credits produce 72. Minnesota expects clock hours to come from at least two different kinds of professional development, so graduate credits alone do not complete a renewal. Most teachers pair coursework with professional development hours or district in-service.
Approval is local and it happens after the fact. Minnesota does not require courses to be pre-approved. You complete the professional development, then submit documentation to your district continuing education/relicensure committee, which approves the hours and records them. Online professional development qualifies. Committees set their own submission windows, forms and expectations, which is why the best first step is asking yours how they want hours submitted. Teachers who live and work outside Minnesota submit their hours to PELSB directly.
Every Tier 3 and Tier 4 renewal must also cover 7 mandatory content areas: positive behavior interventions, key warning signs of early-onset mental illness, suicide prevention, reading preparation, English learners, cultural competency, and American Indian history and culture. What each one requires, and which roles are exempt from which, is published by PELSB and can change, so check the current list before you plan a renewal cycle.
Minnesota teachers also search for MN teacher license renewal, teaching certificate renewal and recertification, and many search the Minnesota Department of Education for it. PELSB issues and renews the licenses, districts call the process relicensure, and the unit is the clock hour. Whichever phrase you use, the credential is a license and 1 semester credit is worth 24 clock hours. The official requirements are published in Minnesota Rule 8710.7200 and on the PELSB renewal page.
The trainings every Minnesota renewal must include
Minnesota does not let you fill a renewal with any 125 hours. PELSB names 7 content areas that a Tier 3 or Tier 4 renewal must cover. These hours count toward your tier total rather than sitting on top of it.
Source: PELSB, Trainings for License Renewal and Minn. Stat. 122A.187.
PELSB publishes what each component must cover, which roles are exempt from individual components, and how many hours each takes. Some of that is set by your district rather than the state.
Confirm the current requirements on the PELSB trainings page and with your relicensure committee before you plan a renewal cycle.
Build your own Minnesota clock hour bundle
Buy your hours or credits once, then choose any courses until you have the clock hours your tier requires.
150 clock hours at 1 per hour. One-time price, no per-course charges. Covers a full Tier 4 renewal.
- Professional development hours at 1 clock hour per hour, with no pre-approval needed
- Choose any courses from the full professional development menu
- A completion certificate for each course, for your relicensure committee
- No transcript, so this route does not serve a salary lane
Renewing a Tier 3 license? 100 hours covers the 75-hour total
6 credits at 24 clock hours each. $199 up front, then $70 per credit as you finish.
- 1 semester credit equals 24 clock hours, so 6 credits produce 144
- Official transcript and letter grade from a regionally accredited university partner
- The same credits may serve a district salary lane change
- Self-paced, 100% online, with 1 year of access
Renewing a Tier 3 license? 3 credits give you 72 clock hours
Graduate credits and official transcripts are issued directly by our university partners
Move up your Minnesota salary schedule with graduate credits
Minnesota does not run a statewide salary schedule. Each district bargains its own, and graduate credits and degrees are the usual way teachers move into a higher lane. The number of credits a lane takes, what it is worth, and whether coursework needs approval before you enroll are all set by your district, so check your salary schedule or collective bargaining agreement first. Graduate credits earned for a lane change also count toward your renewal total at 24 clock hours per credit, so the same coursework may serve both.
Accredited transcripts
Every university-partnered course produces an official transcript and letter grade from a regionally accredited university partner, which is the documentation a district asks for on a lane change.
Rolling credit processing
Credits are processed on a rolling basis. Request your transcript when you finish a course rather than waiting for a term to close.
Credits count twice
One graduate credit equals 24 Minnesota clock hours. Credits earned for a salary lane also apply toward your renewal total.
Choose how you earn your clock hours
Professional development bundles are priced by hours. Graduate credit bundles charge a one-time bundle fee plus 70 dollars per credit when you finish a course and request your transcript.
One-time price. No per-course charges.
150 clock hours at 1 per hour
Covers a full Tier 4 renewal.
- No pre-approval required
- Choose any courses from the full professional development menu
- No transcript, so this route does not serve a salary lane
Due now to access and take your courses.
Then $70 per credit as you go
$619 total for 6 credits.
- 144 clock hours
- Official transcript and letter grade, usable for a district salary lane
- Credits also apply toward a master’s degree
Due now to access and take your courses.
Then $70 per credit as you go
$359 total for 3 credits.
- 72 clock hours
- Official transcript and letter grade, usable for a district salary lane
- Self-paced, 100% online, 1 year of access
Smaller PD bundles are $129 for 50 hours and $159 for 100 hours. Because Minnesota expects hours from more than one kind of activity, most teachers pair a credit bundle with PD hours or district in-service.
View bundled optionsFrequently asked questions
Common questions about Minnesota teacher license renewal, PELSB clock hours, and the mandatory trainings.
Requirements How many clock hours do Minnesota teachers need to renew a license?
125 clock hours for a Tier 4 license over 5 years. 75 clock hours for a Tier 3 license over 3 years. Both totals include the 7 mandatory training components.
Requirements What are the mandatory trainings for Minnesota license renewal?
Positive behavior interventions, key warning signs of early-onset mental illness, suicide prevention, reading preparation, English learners, cultural competency, and American Indian history and culture. What each requires can change, so check the current list on the PELSB trainings page.
Credits How do semester credits convert to Minnesota clock hours?
1 semester credit equals 24 clock hours. 1 quarter credit equals 16 clock hours. 1 hour of professional development equals 1 clock hour. Six semester credits produce 144 clock hours.
Credits Can graduate credits alone satisfy a Minnesota renewal?
No. Minnesota expects clock hours to come from at least two different kinds of professional development. Most teachers pair coursework with professional development hours or district in-service. Your relicensure committee confirms the mix.
Process Do my courses need to be approved before I take them?
No. Minnesota does not require pre-approval. You complete the professional development, then submit documentation to your district relicensure committee, which approves and records the hours. Committees set their own submission windows and forms, so check with yours. Teachers who live and work outside Minnesota submit hours to PELSB directly.
Process Does Minnesota licensing go through the Department of Education?
No. Minnesota educator licensing runs through the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, a separate agency. PELSB issues and renews educator licenses.
Costs What does it cost to renew a MN teacher license?
$57 for an existing Minnesota license holder. Licenses expire on 30 June of the expiration year, and the earliest you can apply is 1 January of that year.
Salary Can renewal credits also raise my pay?
In many cases, yes. Minnesota has no statewide salary schedule, so each district bargains its own. Graduate credits are the usual route to a higher lane, and the same credits count toward your renewal total at 24 clock hours each. Check your district’s schedule.
Costs What is the most affordable way to earn Minnesota clock hours?
Professional development hours. 150 hours is $179 and covers a full Tier 4 renewal. Graduate credits cost more and are worth choosing when you also want a transcript for a salary lane or a master’s degree.
Ready to earn your Minnesota clock hours?
150 professional development hours cover a full Tier 4 renewal, and 6 graduate credits produce 144 clock hours plus a transcript for your salary lane, at your own pace and fully online.
Model Teaching strives to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on renewal and salary advancement requirements for every state. Requirements can change and vary by district, so we encourage you to do your own research and confirm exactly what you need with your state licensing agency and district before you enroll.
