The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW
Educator Portal
MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION
1 | Page
New MD educators who have never held a MD Educator Certificate and are employed by
MCPS in a position requiring MD certification MUST complete an Initial Application for
certification – this is an MSDE requirement.
USE the GUIDE below – follow the step-by-step instructions to avoid unnecessary document
uploads and some questions that you may not need to complete.
1) Log into the TEACH system at https://certificationhub.msde.maryland.gov
2) To begin the initial application process so that MCPS can issue your first Maryland
certificate, select a category of certification, and then click NEXT.
3) Click the statement to review the requirements for certification. You will not be able to
choose a certification area until you read the statement. Once you read the statement,
click the box for the requested areas of certification. This certification area is the one
for which you were hired by MCPS.
4) Answer YES to the question asking if you meet the requirements; otherwise you will not
be able to go forward. MCPS will determine what type of certificate you are eligible for,
so don’t worry if you are not yet eligible for full Maryland certification. In other words,
you will answer YES even if you have requirements left to qualify for a regular (versus
conditional or resident teacher) Maryland certificate.
The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW
Educator Portal
MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION
2 | Page
5) Move through the sections of the application. As you complete each section, the red X
will change to a green checkmark. At the end of each section, click Save and Next.
6) As directed on the Instructions page, if you have any questions, please email the MCPS
Certification Unit at certification@mcpsmd.org. DO NOT contact MSDE with
questions. Since you are employed with MCPS, all questions are required to be
answered by MCPS.
The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW
Educator Portal
MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION
3 | Page
7) On the Personal Information page, you are required to upload proof of identification.
Select one of the options listed in Identification Type, and upload a copy of the
identification to the system. Once uploaded, choose “Click here to complete Upload,”
then choose “Save & Next”.
REMINDER: Choose an application that the system and MCPS can open and view (i.e.,
PDF, JPG, Word, etc.)
8) On the Education page, if not already entered, enter your college/university information
for only institutions where a degree was earned. Choose the option “I am sending an
official copy of my transcript by mail.” Otherwise, you will be paying to send
transcripts to MSDE and to MCPS (see reminder below).
REMINDER: Transcripts are to be sent directly from the college/university to the
MCPS staffing team that hired you. If you have not yet submitted your official
transcripts to MCPS during the hiring process, see our Submitting Official Transcripts
information page to send them to the MCPS Certification Unit. Please DO NOT send
transcripts to MSDE. MCPS will handle adding the official transcripts to your TEACH
records.
The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW
Educator Portal
MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION
4 | Page
9) On the Employment History – Maryland Public School Experience page, only list
Maryland teaching experience. MCPS will take care of marking “currently employed”
for your MCPS experience.
10) On the Employment History – Other Education Experience page, list all other teaching
experience outside of Maryland. This is optional if you want this in your MSDE records.
If you have submitted the MCPS Verification of Experience (VOE) form during the
hiring process, DO NOT list a supervisor email address; otherwise MCPS will be unable
to add the VOE to your record. Choose the box that states “Upload Verification of
Experience Form” and upload a blank document to this section or the VOE form if you
also received a copy. Otherwise, MCPS will upload the verification form received by
our staffing team.
The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW
Educator Portal
MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION
5 | Page
11) The Employment History – Career and Technical Education Work Experience page is
only for educators hired to teach a Professional Technical Education (PTE) subject and
who have occupational experience applicable to the PTE subject being taught.
Otherwise, choose “I do not have any information for this section”.
12) On the Testing page, enter all tests required for teacher certification. Choose the option
“I am uploading a copy of my score report,” and upload the copy of the score report to
this page.
REMINDER: Make sure your tests are also in your MCPS Careers profile.
13) On the Military Service Information page, only add if you would like this in your State
records; otherwise, choose “I do not have any information for this section” and “Save
and Next.”
The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW
Educator Portal
MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION
6 | Page
14) Complete the Disciplinary Action and Criminal History, Affirmation and Signature
pages, then click “Submit Application.”
15) Once submitted, you will be able to monitor the progress on the Educator Dashboard.
The MCPS Certification Unit will review your application. MCPS will send you an
email via TEACH once your Maryland Educator Certificate is issued.
NOTE: If there is anything additional needed, a “deficiency” will be issued and you will
receive notification via TEACH to supply what is needed. You will be able to “resolve the
deficiency” via your TEACH Educator Dashboard.
