United States
Hong KongMilitary fee waivers
Rule 6A-4.0021 provides military testing fee waivers for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations, and states that fees for retake examinations may not be waived. So a waiver covers a sitting but not the repair of a failed one, which changes how you should plan.
Two sentences in the rule, and the second one is the one that should change your behavior.
What the rule provides
- Provided by
- Rule 6A-4.0021, F.A.C.
- What it covers
- Military testing fee waivers for the certification examinations
- What it does not cover
- Fees for retake examinations, which the rule says may not be waived
- Standard fee without a waiver
- USD 32.50 per subtest, USD 130.00 for all four
- Where to apply
- The FTCE and FELE testing site
Eligibility criteria, required documentation and the application route are administered on the testing side and change over time. We hold the rule; we do not hold the vendor's current forms, and its site blocks automated access. So check the FTCE and FELE registration site for how to claim, and read the current rule text at flrules.org for who qualifies.
The retake exclusion is the whole story
A fee waiver usually lowers the stakes of a first attempt. This one does the opposite, because the safety net underneath it has a hole in exactly the place you would fall.
| Attempt | Fee position |
|---|---|
| First sitting, with a waiver | Covered |
| Retake of a failed subtest | Not waivable. A fresh single-subtest registration at USD 32.50 |
| A subtest you passed | Cannot be retaken at all, waiver or not |
Add the thirty-day wait and the picture is clear enough. A failed subtest costs a service member a month and a fee that the waiver will not touch, where the first attempt cost neither.
So prepare harder, not less
That is our opinion and it runs against the grain of how people usually treat a free sitting. When the first attempt is free, the temptation is to use it as a look at the paper. Here, that is the one attempt whose value you cannot get back.
In 2025, first-attempt pass rates were 64 percent for the essay, 68 for English Language Skills, 78 for Reading and 71 for Mathematics. Because all four have to be passed, roughly a quarter of candidates clear the whole test at the first attempt on our own compound of those figures, which is derived rather than published. A waiver does not move any of those numbers.
Two things worth doing before you claim it
First, check your existing test scores. Rule 6A-4.0021(12) lets qualifying GRE, SAT, ACT or CLT administrations satisfy the requirement subtest by subtest. If an old score covers two of the four, the waiver has less work to do and your exposure to unwaivable retakes drops with it. See the alternative score routes.
Second, decide how many subtests to put in one appointment. Sitting all four together is 245 minutes plus a scheduled 15-minute break, and Mathematics, the longest subtest at 100 minutes, sits at the end of it. Splitting them costs nothing extra in fees and puts fewer subtests at risk in any one afternoon - which matters more than usual when the retakes are the part you pay for.
Nothing on this site forms part of a certification route, and we have no role in any waiver decision. Eligibility sits with the Department and its testing vendor. This page describes what the rule states and points you at the people who administer it.
Common questions
Are there military fee waivers for the FTCE?
Yes. Rule 6A-4.0021 provides military testing fee waivers for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations. Eligibility criteria and the application route are administered on the testing side, so check the current requirements on the FTCE and FELE registration site.
Does a waiver cover retakes?
No. The rule states that fees for retake examinations may not be waived. A retake is a fresh single-subtest registration at USD 32.50, and that is payable regardless of any waiver applied to the original sitting.
How much would you otherwise pay?
USD 32.50 for a single subtest, USD 65.00 for two, USD 97.50 for three and USD 130.00 for all four, under the fee schedule in Rule 6A-4.0021(4)(b). Four single registrations total the same as the full battery.
Should a waiver change how you prepare?
Yes, and toward preparing more rather than less. The first attempt is the covered one and the retake is not, so using a free sitting as a look at the paper spends the only attempt a waiver protects.
Where do you apply for the waiver?
Through the FTCE and FELE testing site, which publishes the current documentation requirements. The rule at flrules.org sets out the provision itself. We hold the rule text but not the vendor's forms, which change and are not open to automated access.