Lifetime License

Effective July 1, 2019, an individual may be issued a Lifetime License after 30 years of teaching as a licensed teacher in North Carolina that requires no renewal.  A Lifetime License is issued to an individual who meets the following requirements:

1. Completed 30 or more years of teaching as a licensed teacher when the teacher holds a current North Carolina teaching license, and;

a. Only those licenses that are appropriate for classroom instruction are eligible for a Lifetime License. Administrator and student-support licenses are not eligible for the Lifetime License. 

b. For the purposes of this policy, individuals whose major responsibility is to either teach students or directly supervise the teaching of students are deemed to be engaged in teaching.

c. Administrators and other student-support professionals may be eligible for a Lifetime License in an approved teaching area provided they have met the 30-year requirement and have maintained an active license in the teaching area during the 30-year requirement.  
 

2. Completed 30 or more years of creditable service with the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS). 

NOTE: Individuals who are employed with public school units that do not participate in TSERS are required to produce employment verification from those public school units. NCDPI nor TSERS will be able to provide employment verification from those entities.