Educator Services Licensure
Adult Basic Education

Types of Licenses

Provisional License:
A teacher license issued to a person who holds a bachelor's or a master's degree and has passed the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) and met other eligibility requirements established by the Board. The Provisional license is valid for five years from the date of issue.

Professional License:
A teacher's license issued to a person who has met the eligibility requirements for the license, passed a performance assessment, and met other requirements established by the Board. The Professional license is valid for five years and renewable for additional five-year terms. There are four routes through which prospective and experienced ABE teachers may pursue a professional Adult Basic Education Teacher's License.

For those applying for the ABE Teacher's license, the license-specific test is the Adult Basic Education Subject Matter Test , the first of its kind in the nation, which was introduced in 2004 for those pursuing the ABE license. Test objectives, test preparation materials, and test registration information are available on the Department's web-site at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mtel/.

Please note that all documents for the ABE Teachers' License (regulations, guidelines, application, frequently asked questions, etc.) are available on the Department's web-site. Please contact the Department at licenseabe@doe.mass.edu with any questions.