United States
Hong KongDo FTCE scores expire?
No. A passing subtest score does not expire. You keep it and retake only what you failed, and Rule 6A-4.0021 does not let you resit a subtest you have passed. Four passes collected over four separate years count exactly the same as four collected in one morning.
This is one of the few genuinely relaxing facts about Florida certification. Bank a pass and it stays banked.
What that means in practice
- Passing subtest score
- Does not expire
- Retaking a pass
- Not permitted
- Retaking a failure
- Permitted after 30 days, no attempt limit
- Order of sittings
- Your choice, at USD 32.50 each
Because there is no expiry and no cap on attempts, the sequence is entirely yours. Sit Mathematics this month and Reading next spring if that suits your life. The only clock in the system is the thirty days between two attempts at the same subtest, and the one-year window you have to book an appointment after you register.
The flip side of a permanent pass
You cannot improve it. Rule 6A-4.0021 states that an examinee may not retake an examination they have passed, so a scrape past the scaled 200 is the score you keep. There is nothing to polish and no reason to try.
Which is fine, because nothing in the certification route reads the number. A pass is a pass, and no district is comparing your Reading scaled score against anyone else's.
Where the expiry question really comes from
Two things nearby do have dates on them, and they get confused with this one.
- Alternative test scores. The rule accepts GRE administrations on or after 1 July 2015, and SAT, ACT and CLT administrations on or after 1 March 2016. An older score does not qualify however high it is
- Certificates. A Florida Temporary Certificate is time-limited and lets you teach while you finish outstanding requirements. That is a certificate rule, not a score rule
So an SAT score from before that cutoff is dead, and an FTCE subtest pass from the same year is not. If you are digging through old paperwork hoping to skip a subtest, the alternative score route and its cutoff dates is the page to read.
What we cannot tell you
Whether an old pass still satisfies the current requirement in your particular case. Rules change, the competencies were reissued in a Twenty-Eighth Edition effective 1 September 2025, and the Bureau of Educator Certification decides what your file needs. We are not a Florida-approved teacher preparation program and this page is not a ruling on your route. Ask them before you plan around a pass from years ago.
Common questions
Do FTCE scores expire?
No. A passing subtest score does not expire. You keep each pass and retake only the subtests you failed, so there is no window inside which you have to finish all four.
How long are FTCE General Knowledge scores good for?
Indefinitely, as passes. Nothing in the rule puts a validity period on a passing subtest score, and there is no requirement to sit the four subtests within any particular span of time.
Can I retake a subtest to get a better score?
No. Rule 6A-4.0021 states that an examinee may not retake an examination they have passed. The scaled score you cleared with is the one on your record, and nothing in the certification route compares it to anyone else's.
Do SAT or ACT scores used instead of the FTCE expire?
They have a cutoff rather than an expiry. The rule accepts GRE administrations on or after 1 July 2015 and SAT, ACT and CLT administrations on or after 1 March 2016, so older results do not qualify at all.
Is there a deadline to sit the remaining subtests?
Not from the scores themselves. You do have one year from registering to book an appointment, and your district or preparation program may set deadlines of its own, but a pass you already hold is not at risk.