Louisiana Credential Guide
Louisiana ESL Add-on Requirements
Issued by Louisiana Department of Education.
Louisiana’s ESL add-on starts with a valid standard professional teaching certificate and 12 semester hours in four named course areas. Match your transcript to the state checklist before choosing a program.
Official sources reviewed . Requirements can change, so confirm your route with the issuing agency before enrolling.
Louisiana Application Sequence
Use the ESL Checklist for Your Current Certificate
Louisiana's published ESL add-on checklist requires a valid standard professional teaching certificate and 12 semester hours in specified course areas. The state's general add-on instructions explain how to submit the checklist and supporting evidence.
- Confirm that your Out-of-State, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, or Type A, B, or C certificate is valid. An expired certificate must be made valid before the ESL addition.
- Open the official ESL self-evaluation checklist. Match one three-hour course to each named subject and enter the course prefix and number from your transcript. Include course descriptions for study completed outside Louisiana.
- Use the Louisiana Educator Portal to submit the add-on application, identity documents, official transcripts, completed checklist and processing fee.
Before paying for a certificate program, ask the provider to map its courses to all four areas on the state checklist. A program's ESL title alone does not show that your transcript meets the add-on rule.
Louisiana Department of Education, checked September 29, 2026: ESL add-on checklist, add-on process and self-evaluation guidance.
Louisiana Requirements
Check Your Certificate Before Choosing ESL Courses
Verify that your existing certificate is valid. Louisiana will not add the ESL area to an expired certificate.
Eligible certificate
Louisiana's general add-on process requires a valid standard professional Out-of-State, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, or Type A, B, or C teaching certificate. Applicants must complete the state self-evaluation for the endorsement and certificate type they hold.
Louisiana Requirements
Map Your Transcript to the ESL Checklist
The state names the subjects as well as the total credit requirement. Ask a provider which course covers each area, and keep the official transcript and course descriptions for the self-evaluation.
Required coursework
The state's English as a Second Language add-on checklist requires 12 semester hours shown on official transcripts: one three-hour course each in Methods of Teaching ESL, Introduction to Language and Culture, Structure of the English Language, and Curriculum Design for the Multicultural Classroom.