How to Become a Principal in Maryland

Maryland principal requirements, step by step

Administrator license (supervisor of instruction, assistant principal, or principal). Each requirement is stated as Maryland State Department of Education publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Use the current single Administrator license, not historic Administrator I/II

   Maryland no longer issues separate Administrator I and Administrator II endorsements as the current structure. Those titles are historic. The current license is a single Administrator license that qualifies the holder as a supervisor of instruction, an assistant principal, or a principal. COMAR 13A.12.05.05 is the November 2025 replacement text.

   Source: marylandpublicschools.org

2. 2

   Meet the shared degree, experience, and special-education requirements

   Hold a master’s or higher, document 27 months of effective teaching or specialist performance, and complete three semester hours or State-approved continuing professional development in special education.

   Source: marylandpublicschools.org

3. 3

   Complete one of the four preparation pathways

   Add one pathway: an MSDE-approved program; or an approved out-of-state program with a supervised practicum; or 18 graduate semester hours in the specified categories including a 240-clock-hour clinical practicum; or a valid out-of-state or country administrative license plus five years of effective PK-12 administrative performance.

   Source: marylandpublicschools.org

4. 4

   Present an SLLA qualifying score when the pathway requires it

   Applicants who qualify through an out-of-state program or through the 18-hour coursework pathway must present a qualifying score on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment approved by the State Board. MSDE-approved-program and five-year out-of-state-license pathways follow the assessment rules stated on the MSDE page for those routes.

   Source: marylandpublicschools.org

5. 5

   Apply through TEACH / the MSDE certification hub

   Submit the Administrator license application through TEACH at certificationhub.msde.maryland.gov. Request the current Administrator license, not a historic Administrator I or II endorsement.

   Source: certificationhub.msde.maryland.gov

Maryland’s 2025 rewrite is the first fact every returning administrator should absorb. Administrator I and Administrator II endorsements are historic. The Maryland State Department of Education now issues a single Administrator license that qualifies a person as a supervisor of instruction, an assistant principal, or a principal. COMAR 13A.12.05.05 is the November 2025 replacement. Job postings and older university handbooks that still tell candidates to “get Admin I, then Admin II” are describing a structure MSDE has replaced. Applying in TEACH for a historic endorsement code will not produce the current license.

Every pathway shares three prerequisites: a master’s or higher, 27 months of effective teaching or specialist performance, and three semester hours or State-approved continuing professional development in special education. Twenty-seven months is not “about two years.” Specialists can use specialist performance rather than classroom teaching, but the performance must be effective under the standard MSDE uses. The special-education hours are easy to overlook on an out-of-state transcript that never isolated that content.

The fourth requirement is one of four doors. An MSDE-approved program is the in-state preparation door. An approved out-of-state program must include a supervised practicum. The coursework door is 18 graduate semester hours in specified categories and a 240-clock-hour clinical practicum—not 18 miscellaneous leadership electives and not a practicum shorter than 240 clock hours. The experienced-administrator door is a valid out-of-state or country administrative license plus five years of effective PK-12 administrative performance. Five years of teaching with an out-of-state teacher license does not open that door.

SLLA is pathway-dependent. Applicants who use the out-of-state program route or the 18-hour coursework route must present a qualifying score on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment the State Board has approved. This bundle does not invent that cut score because the MSDE page used here does not publish the number. File the application through TEACH at the certification hub. Choose the current Administrator license, attach the pathway evidence that matches one of the four doors, and do not reconstruct Administrator I/II as a two-step climb that no longer exists.

Required exams and fees

Maryland uses SLLA (required for specified pathways). Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Institutions with educational leadership programs

The table lists educational leadership CIP codes and award levels from IPEDS. This extract reported no completion counts, so none are shown. An award conferred does not mean the program is approved to recommend candidates for Administrator license (supervisor of instruction, assistant principal, or principal). Verify approval with Maryland State Department of Education.

Moving an administrator credential to Maryland

Maryland accepts an approved out-of-state program with a supervised practicum, or a valid out-of-state or country administrative license plus five years of effective PK-12 administrative performance. The out-of-state program pathway and the 18-hour coursework pathway require a State Board-approved SLLA qualifying score.

Official Maryland reciprocity guidance