The Retired Educator certificate is a renewable certificate that allows retired Georgia educators to maintain certification for the purposes of substitute teaching or other educational activities for which GaPSC educator certification is not required but may be desirable.

Retired Educator certificate holders are placed in the highest priority group on substitute teaching lists for Georgia local units of administration (LUAs). This is advantageous to retired educators who wish to substitute, and/or maintain certification while not being held to the same professional learning requirements for renewal of those educators in the classroom.

You must have previously held a GaPSC renewable, professional educator certificate, be verifiably retired by the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia or comparable Georgia private school system, and not hold any other valid Georgia educator certificate.

As part of your application package, please submit a Retirement Verification Letter on official letterhead from the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia. TRS may be contacted through the following link: http://www.trsga.com/contact-us.

Your Retired Educator certificate will list the Professional fields you previously held, yet each will be denoted with an “R” to signify retired status.

The Retired Educator certificate is valid for 30 years.

You must meet renewal requirements as outlined in rule 505-2-.36 RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS. Your Retired Educator certificate will be invalidated upon renewal of your Professional certification.

Effective July 1, 2022, House Bill 385 will allow certain Teachers Retirement System beneficiaries to return to work full-time in a Georgia public school system in an area of highest need while continuing to receive their retirement benefits. For guidance on returning to full-time employment under the provisions of this bill please see the HB385 Frequently Asked Questions.