Substitute Teacher Training Information

Substitute Teaching 

The State of Missouri has two routes for earning a substitute teacher certificate.  The first option is for the candidate to earn 36 semester hours at an accredited institution of higher education.  (The required number of hours dropped from 60 in June of 2022 as a result of Governor Parson’s signing of SB 681.) The second option is to complete a high school degree and a DESE-approved 20-hour training program.

  • Currently approved substitute training programs can be found here.
  • Individuals interested in pursuing a Substitute Teaching Certificate can find more information here.

Becoming an Approved Substitute Training Provider

Educator Preparation Programs

Application 

Approved Missouri Educator Preparation Providers (EPP) at 4-year institutions of higher education and education departments in Missouri 2-year institutions wishing to offer a substitute teacher training program should submit the application below to eqprep@dese.mo.gov.

Guidelines

Relevant guidelines for maintaining approval to continue offering such training are included in the application document above.

Certification

In order for training completers to gain certification, the provider and the applicant must submit the following to DESE.

  • The provider must submit a list of all individuals who successfully completed the training using this template: Substitute Completer Template for EPPs (required). The template requires identifying information including a DESE Educator ID.
  • The training completer must apply for Substitute Teacher Certification through the DESE application portal located here. As part of the process, applicants must send the following documents to DESE Certification (Certification@dese.mo.gov).
    • To document completion of high school, the applicants should submit pdfs of their high school diploma or high school transcripts.
    • To document successful completion of the substitute teacher training, applicants shou submit a certificate of completion from the substitute training (issued by the provider) or a copy of a transcript clearly indicating that the applicant earned a passing grade in the course that has been approved to integrate the training.

Questions regarding this process should be sent to eqprep@dese.mo.gov

Non-Educator Preparation Programs

Interested entities that have not previously been approved to prepare teachers in Missouri should contact DESE Educator Preparation at eqprep@dese.mo.gov regarding the process for submitting an application.