How to Become a Principal in Missouri

Missouri principal requirements, step by step

Initial Administrator Certificate (School Leader, Kindergarten–Grade 12). Each requirement is stated as Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — Educator Certification publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Earn a master’s in educational leadership from a DESE-approved program

   Complete a master’s degree in educational leadership from a DESE-approved program. Rule 5 CSR 20-400.610 treats the approved program and the degree as the academic core of the Initial Administrator Certificate for School Leader, Kindergarten–Grade 12.

   Source: law.cornell.edu

2. 2

   Obtain an institutional recommendation and passing exit-assessment scores

   Secure the preparing institution’s recommendation and a passing score on the required exit assessments. Confirm the current instruments with DESE and the approved program; this bundle does not invent exam names or cut scores beyond the rule’s “required exit assessments” language.

   Source: dese.mo.gov

3. 3

   Document three years of approved teaching experience

   Verify three years of approved teaching experience as stated in the rule text. The Initial Administrator Certificate (School Leader K–12) is valid for four years.

   Source: law.cornell.edu

4. 4

   Apply for the Initial Administrator Certificate

   Submit the administrator application through DESE’s educator-certification applications portal after the approved program, recommendation, exit assessments, and teaching experience are posted.

   Source: dese.mo.gov

5. 5

   Upgrade to Transition, then Career, using DESE’s published options

   Transition upgrade requires employment plus two years of mentoring and 120 professional-development hours, or eight graduate hours, or a combination, or three micro-credentials, plus an annual leader evaluation. Career upgrade requires four years of approved administrative experience, mentoring, and an education specialist or higher in specified fields or fifteen micro-credentials plus evaluations. Superintendent certification requires a minimum education specialist degree.

   Source: dese.mo.gov

Missouri stages administrator certification instead of issuing one perpetual principal stamp. The first document is the Initial Administrator Certificate for School Leader, Kindergarten–Grade 12, and 5 CSR 20-400.610 caps it at four years. That four-year window is an upgrade clock. Educators who treat Initial as a career license discover at year four that DESE expected a Transition application, not a simple renewal. The academic core is a master’s in educational leadership from a DESE-approved program, an institutional recommendation, passing scores on required exit assessments, and three years of approved teaching experience as the rule text states.

Exit assessments are required, but DESE’s become-certified-administrator page and the rule language used here do not publish a vendor name or cut score. Candidates should take the instruments their approved program and DESE name for the current year rather than importing a Praxis or Pearson code from a neighboring state. Three years of approved teaching experience is likewise a rule phrase. Substitute, visiting, or out-of-field years may or may not be “approved”; the verification DESE accepts is the one that matches 5 CSR 20-400.610, not a generic employment letter.

Transition is a menu, not a single course. DESE’s administrator-upgrade page requires employment, two years of mentoring, and then one of several learning options: 120 professional-development hours, eight graduate hours, a combination of those, or three micro-credentials, plus an annual leader evaluation. Skipping the evaluation while completing 120 hours leaves the upgrade incomplete. Career is a higher bar: four years of approved administrative experience, mentoring, and either an education specialist or higher in specified fields or fifteen micro-credentials plus evaluations.

Superintendent certification is not the next automatic rung after Career School Leader. DESE requires a minimum education specialist degree for superintendent. A Career School Leader certificate plus longevity does not replace that EdS floor. Applications and upgrades file through DESE’s educator-certification applications portal. Selecting “administrator” without specifying School Leader K–12, or applying for superintendent on the strength of the master’s-only Initial certificate, are the two coding errors that most often delay an otherwise complete Missouri file.

Required exams and fees

Missouri uses Required exit assessments (confirm with DESE / approved program). 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 Initial Administrator Certificate (School Leader, Kindergarten–Grade 12). Verify approval with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — Educator Certification.

Moving an administrator credential to Missouri

Confirm out-of-state administrator evaluation rules directly with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — Educator Certification. This site does not republish NASDTEC interstate-agreement text.

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — Educator Certification