The first regular CTE certificate issued to CTE teachers in Washington is the Initial CTE Teacher Certificate. An applicant must document the following:

Preparation and Experience (College/University Route)

• Have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college/university,
• Have completed a state-approved college/university teacher preparation program in one of four specific broad endorsement areas: Agriculture Education, Business and Marketing Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Technology Education.
• Demonstrate competence in one or more of the above five broad endorsement areas,
• Document one year (2,000 hours) of paid occupational experience in the specific broad CTE subject area for which certification is sought. If any of the 2,000 hours is more than 6 years old, 300 hours of the experience must be within the past 2 years...
  
  OR...

Preparation and Experience (Business & Industry Route)

• Have completed a Washington Professional Standards Board- approved program for the business and industry route, and
• Document 3 years (6,000 hours) of paid occupational experience in the specific CTE subcategory/specialty area for which certification is sought. One year (2,000 hours) must be within the past 6 years. If any of the 2,000 hours is more than 6 years old, 300 hours of the experience must be within the past 2 years.

For details on the documents needed and process to obtain this certificate, please see the application.