COE/CASE/Services - Credential Services

APPLICATION FOR FORMAL CERTIFICATE OF CLEARANCE RECOMMENDATION

The Certificate of Clearance verifies that the credential candidate has completed the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (C.T.C.) professional conduct review evaluated by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Credential candidates who do not hold a valid California credential or have not previously applied for a Certificate of Clearance through C.T.C. must submit an Application for Certificate of Clearance Recommendation prior to official and unconditional admission to a credential program or enrolling in course work requiring field experience in public schools.

NOTE: Credential candidates must submit the Certificate of Clearance application no less than 60 working days prior to admission to student teaching, supervision or fieldwork.

Effective January 1, 2006, C.T.C. will no longer mail the applicant the Certificate of Clearance document, therefore, the Certificate of Clearance must be recorded as “issued” on the C.T.C. Application Status and Credentials Held look-up site in order to be officially and unconditionally admitted to a credential program or enrolling in course work requiring field experience in public schools. NOTE: The look-up site includes information such as the applicant’s name, document number, issuance date, recommending institution, if applicable, and the available fee credit, if applicable.

Per C.T.C. (Title 5 sections 80028(b) and 80487(b)), applicants with a Certificate of Clearance issuance date of January 1, 2007 and after must use their Certificate of Clearance credit towards the issuance of the their initial credential only. If an applicant does not use the Certificate of Clearance credit for the initial credential application, the credit will be deemed earned upon receipt and will not be refunded. Certificate of Clearance credit issued prior to January 1, 2007, must be used towards the next credential application.

This process allows the candidate to submit the Certificate of Clearance application electronically through the C.T.C. on-line Direct Application web site once the Request for Live Scan Service (41-LS) form and processing fees have been electronically submitted via an appropriate Live Scan operator.

Once the fingerprints have been electronically submitted, the applicant will need to visit the on-line Direct Application site to process the on-line Student Application and the $29.50 ($27.50 application fee + $2 service charge) application fee. NOTE: The on-line process will require a Visa or MasterCard debit/credit card to pay the C.T.C. on-line application filing fee and a permanent e-mail address (valid at least 3 months from the submission date of application) to receive e-mail correspondence directly from C.T.C.

Please be sure to read the instructions on the form(s) carefully and complete each applicable section. It is highly recommended that the applicant keep a copy of all electronically submitted form(s) for their personal records.

Once the applicant has completed the on-line Student Application process, C.T.C. will immediately e-mail the applicant a confirmation number and direct them to a website to track the payment. Within 1 – 3 working days thereafter, the status of the Certificate of Clearance will be available to view on the C.T.C. Application Status and Credentials Held look-up site. NOTE: If C.T.C. requires additional documentation, the Certificate of Clearance process will be delayed.

Please complete the applicable sections of the Request for Live Scan Service (41-LS) form prior to arriving at the Live Scan site offering electronic submission of fingerprint services.

Applicants may refer to the CSUSB Police Department website at http://adminfin.csusb.edu/police/livescan.htm for applicable fees and hours of operation or call (909) 537-3552 to schedule an appointment for Live Scan service. A current listing of other Live Scan sites offering electronic fingerprint services is available on the California Attorney General’s website at http://caag.state.ca.us/fingerprints/publications/contact.html or you may contact your local police or sheriff station for Live Scan service availability and hours of operation.

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