An out-of-state educator may submit valid credentials from more than one state at the time of application; however, only one of the credentials will be used as the basis for issuing a South Carolina educator certificate by reciprocity. The SCDE Office of Educator Services will use the credential that will qualify the applicant for a South Carolina certificate at the Professional level. If the educator will not qualify for a Professional certificate, the SCDE will use the credential that will qualify the applicant for the most fields. If an educator has more than one certificate that qualifies issuance of a Professional certificate, the SCDE will use the credential that qualifies for most certification fields.

In some instances, an applicant may request to use a certificate that qualifies for the Initial certificate instead of the Professional certificate in order to obtain more fields or a specific certification field. In such a circumstance, the SCDE will notify the applicant of these options and must receive the applicant’s decision in writing before issuing the South Carolina certificate.