Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hours and address for OCDE's fingerprinting services?

Orange County Department of Education - Credentials Unit

3001 Redhill Ave.

Building 4, Suite 109

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714) 966-4306

We offer fingerprint/livescan services by appointment only between the hours of 8:30am - 4:00pm.

Should I process my application through a School District/County office instead of sending it directly to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)?

It can take up to three months (50 business days) for CTC to process an application during which you are unable work.

In the case of substitute teaching permit, CTC has allowed County Office of Education (authorized agencies) to recommend online for the Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teacher Permit. It can take CTC to review and grant the permit in 5-10 business days, compared to 50 business days.

Why do I need to be fingerprinted again if I have already been cleared by CTC for my Certificate of Clearance:

A Certificate of Clearance is meant to clear an educator to be a student teacher while in a Commission approved teacher or service program. It cannot be used for employment purposes.

I have already been fingerprinted for another agency/employer. Do I need to be fingerprinted again?

The Department of Justice (DOJ) does not share your information with other agencies. It is against the law for different agencies to share confidential fingerprint results with each other. An applicant's Request for Live Scan Request form acts as a release for a criminal history response to be sent to the specific requesting agency. This means you need to submit a new Request for Live Scan form each time a criminal history report is requested.

What is the Clearing House Consortium (CH) and why do I need to be printed for this?

The Orange County Department of Education fingerprint Clearing House clearance is used as a "consortium" for substitute or temporary employees. In the past, substitute or temporary employees who worked for more than one district had to be fingerprinted for each employer causing increased expense. The Clearing House allows substitute, part-time, or temporary employees to be fingerprinted once and then the districts can access an online database to verify the employee's clearance. This allows these employees to seek employment in any of the 27 school districts in Orange County without being printed again for each district. Note: It is up to the districts to accept the Clearing House prints for employment. This is an employer decision.

How do I update my name on CTC's website:

To update your name with the Commission it is necessary to complete and submit form 41-NC form along with all the requested documentation. The form can be found here: Request to Change Name or Personal Profile. You can submit this to our school district Human Resources office or send it directly to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing at the address below.

Commission on Teacher Credentialing
1900 Capitol Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95811-4213

Quick Links:

LOGGING IN TO CTC ONLINE (technical and troubleshooting help):

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/ctc-online---login-help

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AND PAYMENT FOR SUBSTITUTES:

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/ctc-online---written-instructions-for-application-and-payment

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION ON THE CTC WEBSITE:

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/ctc-online---your-educator-account

UPDATING YOUR EDUCATOR PROFILE ON THE CTC WEBSITE:

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/ctc-online---your-educator-account

GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT CREDENTIALING REQUIREMENTS:

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/req-credentials

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