How to Become a Principal in Washington

Washington principal requirements, step by step

Residency Principal Certificate. Each requirement is stated as Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) / Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Hold a master’s degree or higher

   Earn a master’s or higher degree. WAC 181-79A-211 pairs the degree with an approved principal-preparation program; the degree alone does not create a Residency Principal Certificate.

   Source: app.leg.wa.gov

2. 2

   Complete an approved principal-preparation program

   Finish a Washington-approved principal-preparation program. Program completion and the degree requirement are separate elements of WAC 181-79A-211.

   Source: ospi.k12.wa.us

3. 3

   Document three years of school-based instructional experience with students

   Verify three years of documented school-based experience in an instructional role with students. Building or central-office administrative experience does not count toward this three-year requirement.

   Source: app.leg.wa.gov

4. 4

   Hold or have held a valid teacher or ESA certificate

   Hold or have held a valid teacher certificate or educational staff associate certificate. Emergency certificate types issued under WAC 181-79A-231 do not satisfy this requirement.

   Source: app.leg.wa.gov

5. 5

   Apply for the Residency Principal Certificate through E-Certification

   Submit the first-time principal application in E-Certification at eds.wa.gov after the approved program posts its recommendation.

   Source: ospi.k12.wa.us

6. 6

   Advance to Professional with three school years and 150 continuing education hours

   The Professional Principal Certificate requires three school years of full-time service as a principal or assistant principal plus 150 continuing education credit hours. Out-of-state applicants may use an approved program or three years of full-time out-of-state administrative experience plus an out-of-state administrative certificate.

   Source: ospi.k12.wa.us

Washington’s experience rule is the one that most often shocks career-changers already sitting in an assistant-principal chair. WAC 181-79A-211 requires three years of documented school-based experience in an instructional role with students. The same regulation states that building or central-office administrative experience does not count. Time as an intern principal, dean, or district coordinator cannot be substituted for those instructional years. Teachers who moved into administration after two years in the classroom will still owe a third instructional year before the Residency Principal Certificate can issue, regardless of how long they have already been evaluating other teachers.

The certificate underneath those years must be a valid teacher or educational staff associate certificate, or a previously held valid certificate of those types. Emergency certificates issued under WAC 181-79A-231 are carved out. Candidates who taught on an emergency certificate and later earned a Residency teacher certificate should count only the years that sat under a qualifying certificate type. A master’s degree and an approved principal-preparation program remain mandatory; OSPI’s first-time principal page and the WAC text treat them as independent requirements.

OSPI does not name a required principal examination on the first-time certification page used for this bundle. Do not import a cut score or vendor test from another state. Confirm with the approved program and OSPI whether any assessment is attached to the current cohort. Application is an E-Certification transaction at eds.wa.gov, not a paper filing to the school district’s personnel office.

The Professional Principal Certificate is a service-and-hours advancement, not an automatic upgrade. It requires three school years of full-time work as a principal or assistant principal—not three more years of teaching—plus 150 continuing education credit hours. Out-of-state applicants have a defined door: an approved program, or three years of full-time out-of-state administrative experience plus an out-of-state administrative certificate. That out-of-state administrative experience is for the OOS route; it does not rewrite the in-state rule that administrative years cannot replace the three instructional years for a first Washington residency certificate.

Required exams and fees

Washington uses Confirm with OSPI / 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 Residency Principal Certificate. Verify approval with Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) / Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB).

Moving an administrator credential to Washington

Out-of-state candidates may qualify with an approved program or with three years of full-time out-of-state administrative experience plus an out-of-state administrative certificate, as described on OSPI’s principal or program administrator first-time certification page.

Official Washington reciprocity guidance