Applying for a special services certificate in Connecticut
To become certified, speech and language pathologists, school counselors, school psychologists, school marriage and family therapists, and school social workers from other countries submit the forms and documentation listed below.
Applications are processed in the order received, typically within 4–6 weeks of submission. To avoid delays, applicants are encouraged to submit all requested documents in a timely manner. Processing may take longer during peak months (April–October).
1. Application Form
Complete the online or paper-based ED 170 application. Include your nonrefundable $50 application review payment.
IMPORTANT: We don’t accept personal checks. If you apply by mail, please pay with a cashier’s check, certified bank check, or money order made payable to: Treasurer, State of Connecticut.
2. Current Certification
Submit a copy of your valideducator certificate (temporary, emergency, or interim certificates will not be accepted).
3. Official Statements
Submit a completed and signed ED 125 - Statement of Preparing Higher Education Program or ED 126 - A Statement of Professional Experience based on your experience.
- ED 125 is for recent graduates and people with less than 20 school months of successful service in the last 10 years under a valid certificate.
- ED 126 is for people who have 20 or more school months of successful service in another state in the last 10 years under a valid certificate. You may obtain a higher level of certification known as an eight-year provisional educator certificate.
4. Official Transcripts
Transcripts from U.S. colleges and universities. You can either:
- Mail us your official undergraduate and graduate transcripts
- Have the university(ies) mail your transcripts to us or send your e-transcripts to teacher.etranscript@ct.gov
Transcripts from colleges and universities outside the U.S. Please work with one of the following companies to have your coursework evaluated for our final review:
- Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
- Global Credential Evaluators, Inc.
- Josef Silny & Associates
- SpanTran: The Evaluation Company
IMPORTANT: We do NOT accept copies, scans, or email versions of forms requiring original signatures. We accept only original versions of forms with original signatures.