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California State University, Long Beach
Department of Professional Studies
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Full-Time Designated Subjects Vocational Education Teaching Credential

The preliminary, clear, or professional clear full-time vocational education teaching credential can authorize you to teach the subjects named on the credential in grades K-12, and in classes organized primarily for adults, in technical, trade, or vocational courses that are part of a program of technical, trade, or vocational education. In addition, you may serve as a substitute in any vocational class for up to 30 days for any one teacher during the school year.

Vocational education teaching credentials are issued to individuals who meet the requirements listed below and who apply through, and are recommended by, either a Commission-accredited Local Education Agency (LEA) or by an Employing School District (ESD). The Designated Subjects Credential Office housed with the Department of Occupational Studies at California State University is an accredited Local Education Agency. In addition, some of the courses you take for your Designated Subjects Credential may also be applied toward coursework for a Bachelor of Science Degree or a Master of Arts Degree in Occupational Studies.

Requirements for the Full-Time Vocational Education Credential
For the PDF Information Leaflet about the requirements for this credential, click here. Otherwise, the information below details how you can obtain a preliminary part-time adult credential and a professional-clear part-time adult credential.*

Preliminary Credential
If you wish to obtain the five-year* preliminary credential, you must satisfy all of the following requirements:

  • Verify five years of experience and/or education (as specified on page 2) related to each subject to be named on the credential. (One year shall equal a minimum of 1,500 clock hours and the experience may be either full-time or part-time, or paid or unpaid. You may substitute 48 semester units of postsecondary vocational training, related to the subject to be named on the credential and verified by official transcript, for a maximum of two of the five years of work experience. This substitution may be made on a pro rata basis up to the two-year minimum.)
  • At least one year of the required work experience must be within the three years immediately preceding the issuance of the preliminary credential (teaching is not generally accepted as work experience). However, for the purpose of meeting the requirement, any of the following, or a combination of the following, may be cumulated to total 1,500 clock hours:

    work experience
    college-level related course work
    non-college related course work
    occupational internship
    vocational teaching experience

One of the following requirements must be satisfied:

  • possess a high school diploma
  • possess a diploma based on passage of the GED test
  • possess the foreign equivalent of a high school diploma

One of the following requirements must be satisfied:

  • complete a two-semester-unit (or three-quarter unit) course in the provisions and principles of the US Constitution.
  • pass an examination in the subject given by a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Obtain verification, signed by a Commission-accredited LEA, or by an ESD authorized to do so in accordance with guidelines established by the Commission, that the applicant has been fully apprised of the requirements for both the preliminary and professional clear credentials, including Level I and Level II requirements of the program of personalized preparation.
  • A preliminary full-time vocational credential valid for one year may be issued to applicants who have completed all requirements except #3, U.S. Constitution. The credential may be extended to its full five-year term upon application once that requirement has been met.


Professional Clear Credential

  • For the professional clear credential (initially issued July 1, 1996), all of the following requirements must be satisfied:
  • Possess a valid preliminary full-time vocational education teaching credential
  • Obtain verification by the ESD of the successful teaching of a minimum of one course in each of four terms within the five-year period of validity of the preliminary vocational education teaching credential (Two of these terms must be with one ESD. The teaching must have been to learners at the grade level and in the subject(s) authorized by the preliminary vocational education teaching credential and must have occurred while holding the valid preliminary full-time vocational education teaching credential.)
  • Obtain verification by an LEA that the applicant has completed all Level I and Level II requirements of a Commission-accredited program of personalized preparation, including the use of computers in an instructional setting
  • Complete a unit requirement in health education, including, but not limited to, nutrition; the physiological and sociological effects of alcohol, narcotic, and drug abuse; and the use of tobacco (This requirement must also include training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] that covers infant, child, and adult CPR skills.)

Once your application materials have been reviewed, you will be given a five-year Preliminary credential from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). You will need to complete coursework or other requirements to "clear" your credential. You may enroll in courses through the Department of Occupational Studies and other programs at Cal State University to meet these requirements. Read the Requirements to Clear Your Designated Subjects Credential for Adult Education for more information.

For more information, contact the Designated Subjects Credential Office in the Department of Occupational Studies at California State University, Long Beach at (562) 985-5631.


*Period of Validity: An initial preliminary full-time vocational education teaching credential issued on the basis of the applicant's satisfaction of requirements 1-4, specified above, authorizes service for no more than two years from the date of issuance of the credential unless the holder's employer (ESD) receives form CL-787, Verification of Completion of Level I Requirements from the LEA through which the holder completed those requirements. Once the holder's employer receives this verification, the credential's validity period will automatically be extended for the remainder of the five-year period from the date of issuance of the credential. There is no need to apply for this extension. The LEA's verification of completion of Level I requirements is the only documentation required in this process. If the credential holder's ESD is not known to the LEA, form CL-787 will be sent directly to the credential holder for forwarding to the employer. The LEA shall also submit this form directly to the Commission to assist in documenting that the holder completed Level I requirements.