To become a math teacher in New Hampshire, you need a bachelor’s degree, passing scores on the state’s basic skills and math content tests, and one of three licensing pathways: an approved educator preparation program, a demonstrated competencies review, or a site-based licensing plan you complete while teaching. The Bureau of Credentialing issues your license.
New Hampshire licenses math teachers at two levels: Mathematics, Middle Level and Mathematics, Upper Level. If you’ve been searching for “certification,” that’s the old term. Since October 2020, New Hampshire calls its educator credential a license, so your first one is a Beginning Educator License (BEL). If you’ve read our overview of national math teacher requirements, New Hampshire’s version differs in two ways: its pathway names and its tests. Here’s how to become a math teacher in New Hampshire, in four steps.
- Choose Your Grade Level and Licensing Pathway
- Pass New Hampshire’s Basic Skills and Math Content Tests
- Apply for Your Beginning Educator License
- Renew Your License and Move Up to an Experienced Educator License
Step 1. Choose Your Grade Level and Licensing Pathway
Before you start your education to become a math teacher, decide which grades you want to teach. Your endorsement decides which content test you take and what your coursework has to cover.
New Hampshire’s two math teaching endorsements share the general mathematics requirements in Ed 507.25 of the Ed 500 credentialing rules, plus a section of their own (as of October 2026):
| Endorsement | What You Can Teach | Rule | Content Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics, Middle Level | Upper elementary math through Algebra I or Integrated I | Ed 507.25 and Ed 507.26 | NES Middle Grades Mathematics (203) |
| Mathematics, Upper Level | Pre-algebra through Advanced Placement math | Ed 507.25 and Ed 507.27 | NES Mathematics (Secondary) (806) |
New Hampshire also has a Specialist in Elementary Mathematics K-Pre-algebra endorsement (renamed in September 2025). It’s an instructional specialist role that supports other teachers, not a classroom math endorsement, and it doesn’t make you a student’s teacher of record for math.
Which Pathway Fits You
New Hampshire renamed its routes in 2020, and many older guides still use the “Alternative” numbers. The Bureau of Credentialing lists more pathways than the ones below. These are the ones a math teacher is most likely to use:
| Pathway | Code | Formerly | Who It Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved Educator Preparation Program, New Hampshire | AEPPNH | Alternative 1 | College students and degree holders in a state-approved program |
| Approved Educator Preparation Program, Out-of-State | AEPPOS | Alternative 2 | Recent completers of another state’s approved program |
| Demonstrated Competencies: Experience | DCEX | Alternative 2 | Teachers with 3 of the last 7 years under a full out-of-state license |
| Demonstrated Competencies: Portfolio/Oral Board | DCPOB | Alternative 3A | Teachers who built their skills outside a formal program |
| Demonstrated Competencies: National/Regional License | DCNR | Alternative 3B | National Board certified teachers |
| Site-Based Licensing Plan: Critical Shortage | SHORT | Alternative 4 | Degree holders hired in a state-designated shortage area |
| Site-Based Licensing Plan: College Coursework | CLGCRS | Alternative 5 | Degree holders with 15 college-level credits in math |
Approved program (AEPPNH). This is the traditional route. You complete a New Hampshire approved educator preparation program, and the program recommends you for licensure. That recommendation is valid for no more than three years, so don’t sit on it. The Bureau keeps a list of approved institutions. If you already hold a bachelor’s degree, ask each one whether it offers a post-baccalaureate option.
Site-Based Licensing Plan (SBLP). This is the career changer’s route. With a conferred bachelor’s degree and a passing basic skills result, you can apply for a Statement of Eligibility (SOE). An SOE makes you eligible to be hired, and it’s valid for three years. It isn’t permission to keep teaching. Once a district hires you, you and your employer set up the plan, and you need an approved Beginning of Plan and an Intern Authorization, valid for up to three school years, to continue. Both math endorsements appear on the Bureau’s critical shortage list. For SHORT, Middle Level asks for two college math courses including college algebra, and Upper Level asks for two including calculus, or a passing score on test 203 or 806. CLGCRS asks for 15 college-level credits in math. The Bureau’s SBLP overview covers the forms.
Demonstrated competencies (DCPOB). You submit a portfolio and sit for an oral board of three educators who hold the Experienced Educator License in math. You’ll need four months of continuous full-time experience first. After the Bureau sends portfolio instructions, you have 30 days to submit.
Moving from another state. Coming from next door? Our Maine math teacher guide and Vermont math teacher guide cover those states’ own steps. To move into New Hampshire, use AEPPOS if you finished an approved program within the last three years, or DCEX if you’ve taught 3 of the last 7 years under a full license. Reciprocity doesn’t mean your license is swapped automatically, and you can’t work in a New Hampshire school on an out-of-state license alone. See the out-of-state applicant page.
Step 2. Pass New Hampshire’s Basic Skills and Math Content Tests
Every pathway needs test results. Rule Ed 505.01 requires a basic skills result in reading, writing and math, plus a subject area content test. No pathway lets you qualify on testing alone, and an advanced degree doesn’t replace either requirement (Bureau of Credentialing, checked October 2026).
The Basic Academic Skills Assessment
The Bureau calls this requirement the Basic Academic Skills Assessment (BASA). Its testing page lists these ways to meet it:
- Pearson’s Essential Academic Skills subtests: Reading (005), Writing (006) and Mathematics (007), with a passing score of 220 on each. The same page also mentions this test in its list of 2025 testing changes, so confirm with the Bureau that it still counts before you pay to register.
- Scores at or above the 50th percentile on the SAT, GRE or ACT. If you’re enrolling in a New Hampshire program, file a Test Evaluation Request to have them reviewed.
- A comparable out-of-state test, which the Bureau evaluates when it reviews your application.
- A New Hampshire BEL or EEL, or an out-of-state initial license, that required a basic skills test.
The Math Content Test
For completed applications received on or after July 1, 2025, New Hampshire’s adopted content tests are from the Pearson National Evaluation Series. Middle Level candidates take Middle Grades Mathematics (203), with a passing score of 220. Upper Level candidates take Mathematics (Secondary) (806), with a passing score of 240. Both scores appear on the Bureau’s Statement of Eligibility page and Pearson’s New Hampshire page (checked October 2026).
Already passed Praxis Middle School Mathematics (5164) or Mathematics (5165)? You can submit those scores, and the Bureau reviews them for comparability. Acceptance isn’t automatic, so don’t count on old Praxis scores until the Bureau confirms them. ETS’s New Hampshire page still describes Praxis requirements, but the Bureau’s decision is the one that counts. If you do test with Praxis, ETS tells out-of-state testers to select the New Hampshire Department of Education (code 7660) as a score recipient.
Create your Pearson account with the same first name, last name, date of birth and Social Security number you use in the state’s Educator Information System. Scores are matched on those details. A single typo can leave your score unattached, and scores can take 6 to 8 weeks to show up in your account.
Step 3. Apply for Your Beginning Educator License
You apply online through the myNHDOE Educator Information System (EIS). The Bureau doesn’t accept transcripts, test score reports or experience letters by mail or email. You upload them into EIS yourself. The Bureau’s new applicant instructions walk through each pathway.
Depending on your pathway, you’ll need these documents:
- Official transcripts
- Your basic skills and math content test results
- Your program’s recommendation, or your Statement of Eligibility
- Employer-verified experience letters, if your pathway counts experience
First-time applicants also need to follow the Bureau’s criminal history record check clearance instructions. That’s separate from your employer’s check: school districts must still run their own criminal history record check under RSA 189:13-a.
Watch the deadlines. If the Bureau finds your application incomplete, it tells you what’s missing and sets a deadline. Miss it and the application closes, and you start over. Once your license is issued, see what the job pays on our New Hampshire math teacher salary page.
Step 4. Renew Your License and Move Up to an Experienced Educator License
Both the BEL and the Experienced Educator License (EEL) are issued for three years (Ed 504.01(b) and Ed 504.02(b)). Under Ed 504.02, you qualify for the EEL after at least three years of full-time experience, two consecutive years rated effective or above on your district’s evaluation, and one completed renewal cycle.
To renew, you’ll document professional development: 30 hours for each endorsement you hold, plus 45 hours aligned with the professional education requirements in Ed 505.03 (as of October 2026). How you submit depends on where you work:
- Recommended Renewal: if your employer has an approved Professional Development Master Plan (PDMP), it reviews your hours and recommends you in EIS, starting January 1 of the year your license expires. Employers can recommend the EEL upgrade at the same time.
- DOE Renewal: if you’re not working in a New Hampshire school, your employer has no PDMP, or your license has already expired, you submit directly to the Bureau.
The Department of Education also runs a free, self-paced Educator License Renewal course on its Canvas portal. No login is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I teach math in New Hampshire without an education degree?
Yes. With a bachelor’s degree and a passing basic skills result, you may qualify for a Statement of Eligibility through the Site-Based Licensing Plan pathway. The SOE makes you eligible to be hired. Once a district hires you, you and your employer set up the plan, and you teach under an Intern Authorization while you finish the remaining requirements.
Does New Hampshire still accept Praxis scores for math teachers?
Only through review. New Hampshire adopted Pearson NES content tests for completed applications received on or after July 1, 2025: 203 for Middle Level and 806 for Upper Level. If you passed Praxis 5164 or 5165, you can submit those scores, and the Bureau of Credentialing decides whether they’re comparable. Acceptance isn’t automatic.
Does a master’s degree exempt me from New Hampshire’s tests?
No. The Bureau of Credentialing states that advanced degrees don’t meet the basic skills or subject testing requirements. You still need passing scores, a qualifying SAT, GRE or ACT result, or a prior license that required basic skills testing.
What happened to Alternative 4 and Alternative 5?
They became options within the Site-Based Licensing Plan in 2020. Alternative 4 is now SHORT, the critical shortage option. Alternative 5 is now CLGCRS, the college coursework option, which currently asks for 15 college-level credits in the endorsement area.
Can I transfer my math teaching license from another state?
Usually, through AEPPOS if you finished an approved program within three years, or DCEX if you’ve taught 3 of the last 7 years under a full license. New Hampshire doesn’t swap licenses automatically. You still apply through EIS and meet New Hampshire’s requirements.
- Two endorsements: Middle Level covers math through Algebra I, and Upper Level covers pre-algebra through AP courses.
- License, not certificate: New Hampshire renamed its credential in 2020, so your first one is a three-year Beginning Educator License.
- New tests since July 2025: the adopted content tests are NES Middle Grades Mathematics (203) and NES Mathematics (Secondary) (806), and Praxis scores count only if the Bureau finds them comparable.
- Career changer route: a Statement of Eligibility makes you eligible for hire, and you then teach under an Intern Authorization while you complete a Site-Based Licensing Plan.
- Renewal hours: plan for 30 hours per endorsement plus 45 hours tied to Ed 505.03 each three-year cycle.
If you’re choosing between a preparation program and the site-based route, compare programs on how they schedule student teaching and whether they fit around a full-time job. The schools listed here vary in format and cost, so look at both before you request information.