Renew Your Virginia Teaching License With Accredited Online Courses
Earn the graduate-level, university-accredited credits that convert to the professional development points you need to renew your Virginia license. Affordable, self-paced, and 100% online. We also offer salary advancement options further down the page.
Are you looking to renew your license or advance your salary?
Renew my VA license
Turn accredited graduate credits into the 270 or 180 professional development points that renew your Virginia license, on your own schedule.
See what Virginia requiresAdvance my salary
Bank graduate-level credits that may help you move up your district's salary schedule and can apply toward a master's program.
Explore salary advancementVirginia Renewable License renewal requirements
Virginia issues a 10-year Renewable License, and you renew it by earning professional development points during the validity period, plus completing a set of required trainings. The point total depends on your license: a 10-year license needs 270 points, and a legacy 5-year renewable license needs 180 points. Virginia counts 1 semester credit as 30 points, so 9 graduate credits cover a 270-point renewal and 6 credits cover 180.
How many points do I need?
Virginia sets the point total by license type, not by grade band or role. Select yours to see what you need.
What you need
Nine graduate semester credits cover your full 270-point renewal for a 10-year license (9 credits at 30 points each).
Six graduate semester credits cover your full 180-point renewal for a 5-year renewable license (6 credits at 30 points each).
Our graduate credit bundle covers your renewal, 9 credits for 270 points or 6 for 180, in one place.
See the bundleWhat counts toward Virginia license renewal
- Graduate semester credits from an accredited university. Each credit is worth 30 points, so 9 credits reach 270 and 6 credits reach 180. There is no cap on the college-credit option. (What we recommend.)
- Professional conferences, curriculum development, and educational projects tied to your teaching area.
- Mentorship, publication of an article or book, and other approved professional development activities.
- A mix of the options above, as long as the combined points reach your total.
Statutory trainings (required, separate from your point total). Every renewal also includes training in emergency first aid, CPR, and AED use; dyslexia awareness; child abuse recognition and intervention; cultural competency; and the instruction of students with disabilities. Some carry points of their own, such as dyslexia awareness at 5 points and cultural competency at 15 points. Endorsement-specific trainings also apply, including a Virginia history and government module for civics, economics, government, and history endorsements, African American history for history and social science endorsements, and mental health training for school counselors. Your district usually provides these.
If a Virginia school division employs you, you record points on your renewal record and your division recommends renewal, with certain options approved in advance by your division. If no division employs you, you submit your renewal application, fee, renewal record, and official transcripts to the VDOE Office of Professional Licensure.
How Model Teaching courses count toward your Virginia renewal
Model Teaching partners with regionally accredited universities to award graduate-level semester credits, and Virginia counts each credit as 30 professional development points. Nine credits meet a full 270-point renewal for a 10-year license, and 6 credits meet the 180-point requirement for a 5-year renewable license. Each course sends an official transcript and letter grade, which your division or the VDOE Office of Professional Licensure needs to award the points in VALO. Pick courses that fit your teaching area, and if a renewal option needs advance approval, clear it with your division first. To confirm a course, download its syllabus from any credit course page and share it with your division for approval before you enroll.
Read more about Virginia teacher license renewal and recertification
Virginia moved to a 10-year Renewable License on July 1, 2018, and most teachers now hold one, such as a Collegiate Professional or Postgraduate Professional License. To renew a 10-year license, you earn 270 professional development points across the validity period. Teachers who still hold a legacy 5-year renewable license renew on 180 points and then receive a 10-year license going forward. Virginia counts 1 semester credit as 30 points, so the credit math is 9 credits for 270 points and 6 credits for 180.
You can draw those points from 8 options: college credit, professional conferences, curriculum development, publication of an article, publication of a book, mentorship, educational projects, and other approved professional development activities. College coursework has no cap, so you can meet your full total through accredited credits alone, which is why credit courses are a clean way to renew and bank salary credit at the same time. Coursework has to come from a regionally accredited two-year or four-year institution and appear on an official transcript.
Renewal also carries statutory trainings that sit outside the point count. Every teacher completes training in emergency first aid, CPR, and AED use; dyslexia awareness; child abuse recognition and intervention; cultural competency; and the instruction of students with disabilities. Some of these award points too, such as dyslexia awareness at 5 points and cultural competency at 15 points. Depending on your endorsement, you may also complete a Virginia history and government module, African American history instruction, or mental health training. Districts usually provide these trainings, so check with your division about how they are recorded.
How you file depends on where you work. If a Virginia school division employs you, you keep an individual renewal record, your division approves certain options in advance, and your division recommends you for renewal through the renewal point system. If no division employs you, you submit your renewal application, fee, renewal record, and official transcripts directly to the VDOE Office of Professional Licensure. Virginia now processes renewals through Virginia Licensure Online, known as VALO.
A quick note on terms. Virginia calls the credential a "license," and some teachers search "recertification" or "license renewal." Whichever term you use, the credential you renew is your Renewable License, and the requirement is 270 points for a 10-year license or 180 for a 5-year renewable license, plus the statutory trainings. You can review the official rules on the VDOE Licensing Forms and Information page.
Build your own Virginia renewal bundle
Pick your credits once, then choose any university-partnered courses until you have the points you need for renewal or salary advancement.
- 9 credits meet a full 270-point renewal for a 10-year Virginia license
- 6 credits meet the 180-point requirement for a 5-year renewable license
- Regionally accredited credits with an official transcript for your division
- Self-paced, 100% online, with a full year of access
Every course is delivered through a regionally accredited university partner. Your credits and official transcript come directly from that university.
Credits and official transcripts issued directly by our university partners
Move up your Virginia salary schedule with graduate credits
Virginia does not run a statewide salary-increment program. Pay advancement happens at the district level, through your division's negotiated salary schedule, where graduate credits and degrees move you into a higher pay lane. Because each division sets its own steps and lanes, check your contract or your division office for how many credits shift you to the next lane and whether they need pre-approval. The graduate credits you earn for license renewal can do double duty here, since the same accredited transcript that gives you renewal points may also count toward a district lane change.
Accredited transcripts that count
Every Model Teaching course sends an official transcript and letter grade from a regionally accredited university partner, which is what your division and VDOE need for renewal points and a lane change.
Fast rolling processing
We process credits on a rolling basis, so you can request transcripts when you finish and meet your district's salary-schedule deadlines.
Cost-effective bundling
Bundle your credits once and pay as you complete courses, which keeps your per-credit cost low whether you are renewing, moving up a lane, or working toward a master's.
Choose how you earn your credits
Bundles are pay-as-you-go: a one-time fee reserves your credits, then you pay 70 dollars per credit as you finish each course. Every option is 100% online, self-paced, and includes an official transcript.
Due now to access and take your courses.
Then $70 per credit as you go
$619 total for 6 credits.
- Worth 180 Virginia points, a complete renewal for a 5-year renewable license
- Choose any university-partnered courses
- Official transcript, self-paced over 1 year
Due now to access and take your courses.
Then $70 per credit as you go
$899 total for 9 credits.
- Worth 270 Virginia points, a complete renewal for a 10-year license
- Choose any university-partnered courses
- Official transcript and letter grade
- Often salary-advancement eligible credits
Due now to access and take your courses.
Then $70 per credit as you go
Renew plus bank extra graduate credits.
- Covers a full 270-point 10-year renewal with credits to spare for a lane change or a master's
- Choose any university-partnered courses
- Official transcripts, usable toward an M.Ed.
We offer a full range of bundles, sized to exactly how many credits you need.
View bundled optionsFrequently asked questions
Common questions about Virginia teacher license renewal, professional development points, and VDOE requirements.
Requirements How many professional development points do Virginia teachers need to renew?
A 10-year Renewable License needs 270 points, and a legacy 5-year renewable license needs 180 points. You earn them across the validity period, along with the required statutory trainings.
Credits How do college credits convert to Virginia points?
1 semester credit from an accredited university equals 30 professional development points. That means 9 credits reach 270 points and 6 credits reach 180 points.
Requirements What is the difference between the 270-point and 180-point requirement?
It depends on your license. A 10-year license needs 270 points. A 5-year renewable license needs 180 points, and renewing it moves you to a 10-year license going forward.
Requirements What statutory trainings does Virginia require for renewal?
Every renewal includes first aid, CPR, and AED training; dyslexia awareness; child abuse recognition and intervention; cultural competency; and the instruction of students with disabilities. Some endorsements add a Virginia history module, African American history, or mental health training. These sit alongside your point total, and your district usually provides them.
Process Where do I submit my renewal?
You file through Virginia Licensure Online (VALO). If a division employs you, it records your points and recommends renewal. If not, you submit your application, fee, renewal record, and official transcripts to the VDOE Office of Professional Licensure.
Salary Can the same credits count for salary advancement?
In many cases, yes. Virginia salary advancement runs through your district’s salary schedule, and the graduate credits you earn for renewal points may also move you into a higher pay lane. Check your division contract for the exact steps.
Costs What is the most affordable way to renew?
For a 10-year license, a 9-credit build-your-own bundle meets the full 270 points, and you pay a one-time bundle fee plus $70 per credit as you finish. Bundling lowers your per-credit cost compared with single courses.
Credits Does all of my renewal have to come from college courses?
No. College credit has no cap, so you can meet your full total through accredited credits, but you can also mix in conferences, mentorship, curriculum work, and other approved options.
Ready to renew your Virginia teaching license?
Earn accredited credits that convert to your renewal points and move you up the salary schedule, all at your own pace.
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.
