Teacher Registration

Section 42 of the Education Ordinance stipulates that any person who teaches in a school has to be either a registered teacher or a permitted teacher. Hence, school and teacher concerned should submit application for teacher registration as soon as the appointment has been confirmed and prior to the teacher's assumption of duty. Private schools offering non-formal curriculum may have some exemptions subject to their compliance with conditions specified in the Education (Exemption) (Private Schools Offering Non-formal Curriculum) Order. (For details, please refer to Education Bureau Circular No. 7/2007)

1. Permitted Teacher (PT)

A person who holds only academic qualifications (i.e. has no teacher training and teacher qualification) may apply to be a PT by completing a Form 10. The first step he/she has to do is to get employed by a school, so that the school supervisor can file in the Form 10 to seek permission to employ him/her as a PT. Upon approval, a permit to teach will be issued. The permit will automatically be cancelled if the PT ceases to be employed in the school specified in the permit. As such, when the PT is employed by another school, the school concerned has to apply for another permit to teach by completing a Form 11 even though the teacher concerned has previously been registered as a PT.

The minimum academic qualification required of a PT teaching in a school providing primary, secondary or post-secondary education is an associate degree, a higher diploma or equivalent. Please note that the higher level a teacher is required to teach at, the higher qualifications he/she has to possess. In addition, the teacher has to produce documentary proof that he/she is capable of teaching the subject(s) he/she is required to teach. In fact, schools should seek advice from the Education Bureau before appointing non-subject-trained persons to teach subjects with safety concerns, e.g. science subjects at senior secondary levels.

In respect of the minimum academic qualification required of a PT teaching pupils undergoing nursery and kindergarten education or teaching in a school offering other educational courses, e.g. tutorial, commercial, language and computer courses, please click here for details.

If the PT ceases to be employed in the school specified in the permit, the school should update the record through the e-Services Portal. If the PT does not have an e-Services account, school should inform Education Bureau the details of the PT who has left the school (Sample Letter).

2. Registered Teacher (RT)

A person who holds teacher qualification (e.g. a local Teacher's Certificate or Post-graduate Diploma/Certificate in Education) and is a Hong Kong permanent resident (for non-Hong Kong permanent resident, any one of the following proof issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department is required: a. valid employment visa; b. landing slip bearing the conditions and limit of stay in Hong Kong; or c. HKSAR Document of Identity for Visa Purposes) may apply for registration as a teacher by filing a Form 8 to the Teacher Registration Team of this Bureau.

3. Application Procedures

3.1 Application Forms for Teacher Registration

Teacher registration application forms* (Form 8, Form 10 and Form 11) are available at:

a. Teacher Registration Team
Education Bureau
2/F, Trade and Industry Tower
3 Concorde Road, Kowloon;

How to get there

b. Regional Education Offices of the Education Bureau; or

c. Education Bureau's website; or

d. Education Bureau Common Log-On System (CLO) (for Form 10 and Form 11)

PT application form:

First Application -

Form 10 - Application for Permission to Employ an Unregistered Teacher
( Update in June 2016) [pdf] [online form]

Subsequent Application -

Form 11 - Application for Permission to Employ an Unregistered Teacher Who has Previously been Employed as a Permitted Teacher
( Update in June 2016) [pdf] [online form]

ii.

RT application form:

Form 8 - Application for Registration as a Teacher ( Update in June 2016) [pdf] [online form]

*With effect from 1 August 2016, ONLY 06/2016 version of Form 8, 10 and 11 are accepted.

For enquiry on the technical support of the online form, please call 3698 3640.

Change of Contact Information

Teachers are required to notify the EDB in writing or via the e-Platform within 1 month of any changes in contact information, including correspondence address and phone number.

When the EDB reviews the teachers’ registration status, we may take further action or make a decision in respect of the teachers’ registration status without considering their representation if we fail to serve the relevant letters (including inviting representations from the teachers, informing them of the follow-up actions or decisions, etc.) to the teachers according to the latest correspondence address provided.

Request for change of contact information should be made in writing to Teacher Registration Team at 2/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon.

According to section 53(1)b of the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap.542), an individual / a body registered as an elector will be disqualified from voting at an election of a functional constituency if the individual /body has ceased to be eligible to be registered as an elector for that functional constituency.

According to section 6(1) and section 16(1)(a) of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (Cap. 554), a person engages in corrupt conduct at an election if he votes at the election knowing that he is not entitled to do so. He is liable on conviction to a fine of up to HK$500,000 and to imprisonment for a maximum of 7 years.

3.2 Supporting Documents

A duly completed application form (including all necessary supporting documents such as CERTIFIED copy of Hong Kong Identity Card, photocopies of academic transcripts, certificates/diplomas and professional qualifications claimed as well as photograph(s) affixed on the application) should be sent to the Teacher Registration Team (address stated above).

On receiving the application, the Teacher Registration Team may require the applicant to submit the ORIGINAL and photocopies of documents in person for the purpose of verification. For applications submitted through schools, the procedures stipulated in Education Bureau Circular No. 11/2007 should be followed.

3.3 Non-local Qualification

If the applicant possesses non-local qualifications, copy of qualifications assessment report issued by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) or other relevant qualifications assessment document(s) is/are required.

For more information, please contact HKCAAVQ.
Website: http://www.hkcaavq.edu.hk
Address: 10 Siu Sai Wan Road, Chai Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 3658 0000
Fax: (852) 2845 9910
E-mail: info@hkcaavq.edu.hk

Please also refer to Education Bureau Circular No. 1/2005 concerning assessment of non-local qualifications.

4. Enquiring Teacher Registration Information

4.1 For Schools

Schools should, upon seeking the potential appointee's consent, apply to the Education Bureau for releasing his/her teacher registration status to the schools.
( in September 2022) [pdf] [online form] (Note: Applications submitted through the online form will receive a reply at the email address provided.)

4.2 For Public

In case of doubt about the teachers' registration status, the public / parents may seek their consent to apply to the Education Bureau for the release of teacher registration information to the applicants.
( in September 2022) [pdf] [online form]

5. Declaration Form for Employment of Teacher Re-joining the Teaching Profession

Starting from 2023/24 school year, for appointment teachers who have already left their prior service in a local primary/secondary school or kindergarten for one year or more, schools should require them to declare whether he/she has been convicted of any criminal offence in Hong Kong or elsewhere, and upon obtaining the consent of the teachers, submit the details to this Bureau for verification with relevant Bureaux/Departments. (For details, please refer to Education Bureau Circular No. 14/2023)

[Declaration Form]

6. Replacement of Certificate for Registration as a Teacher

If a person's Certificate for Registration as a Teacher (the Certificate) is lost, destroyed, damaged or defaced, he/she can apply for a replacement. For application details including the procedures, documents required and fees, please refer contact the Teacher Registration Team direct. A person may also apply for a replacement if he/she needs to change the personal particulars on his/her Certificate.

If a person has recovered the lost Certificate after submitting a replacement application or obtaining a replacement copy, he/she should return the recovered Certificate to the Teacher Registration Team immediately.

For further enquiry, please contact the Teacher Registration Team at:

Tel: 3467 8281 or 3467 8282
Fax: 2520 0065