State TET Exams Guide: How State Teacher Eligibility Tests Work

What a State TET is

A Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is a qualifying examination that certifies whether a candidate meets the eligibility standard to be considered for a teaching post in schools. It flows from the national framework for teacher eligibility that followed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

Alongside the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), individual states conduct their own State TETs — for example UPTET (Uttar Pradesh), REET (Rajasthan), HTET (Haryana) and many others. A State TET is designed for teaching posts within that state's school systems and follows the state's own syllabus and administration on top of the common national structure.

This guide explains the common mechanics of a State TET. State-specific rules — the exact syllabus, conducting authority, fees and schedule — differ by state and must be confirmed with that state's TET authority.

Who conducts a State TET

Each state's TET is conducted by that state's designated authority (commonly a State Council of Educational Research and Training, an examination board, or a teacher-recruitment/selection body). The notification, syllabus, admit card and result for a State TET come from that state's authority.

Because conducting bodies and rules vary widely, this guide does not name a single authority for all states — you should identify and follow the specific authority for the state you are targeting.

The two-paper structure

State TETs generally follow a two-paper structure aligned to the level you want to teach:

• Paper I — for candidates who intend to teach at the primary level (roughly classes I–V).
• Paper II — for candidates who intend to teach at the upper-primary level (roughly classes VI–VIII).
• Candidates aiming at both levels typically appear for both papers.
• Papers usually assess areas such as child development and pedagogy, language(s), and subject content (for example mathematics, environmental studies, or science/social studies), with the exact composition set by the state.

Qualifying standard and certificate validity

TETs are qualifying tests: a candidate who scores at or above the qualifying threshold is treated as having passed and is issued a TET certificate. Under the national norms, a common qualifying benchmark is 60% (with relaxations for reserved categories as decided by the appropriate government). States apply this within their own rules.

Certificate validity is set by each authority and is not uniform: the Central TET (CTET) certificate has been made valid for lifetime, but the validity of a State TET certificate varies from state to state (some states apply a fixed period, others lifetime). Passing a TET makes you eligible to be considered for teaching posts — it is not itself an appointment; recruitment is a separate process.

• Qualifying is threshold-based (a common benchmark is 60%, with category relaxations as decided officially).
• Certificate validity varies by authority — confirm your state's current validity rule.
• A TET pass is an eligibility certificate, not a job offer — recruitment is separate.
• Exact qualifying marks, relaxations and validity wording are set officially — verify with the state authority.

State TET vs CTET

CTET is the central-level eligibility test, commonly relevant for central-government school systems and often accepted more broadly, while a State TET is tailored to a particular state's schools and syllabus. Many candidates take one or both depending on where they want to teach.

Which test a given recruitment accepts is decided by the recruiting body for that post. If you are targeting a specific state's schools, check whether that state requires its own State TET, accepts CTET, or both — this is set out in the relevant recruitment and TET notifications.

This is an explainer of how State TETs work in general; it does not substitute for the rules of any one state.

What to verify with the state authority

Because every state runs its TET differently, confirm the specifics with the relevant state authority before you plan or apply.

• Authority: which body conducts your state's TET and where its notification is published.
• Eligibility & syllabus: the state's exact qualifications, paper composition and syllabus.
• Qualifying & validity: the current qualifying marks, category relaxations and certificate-validity rule.
• Logistics: application dates, fees and the schedule. This guide quotes no state-specific numbers — verify officially.