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Submitting an In-Service Program Approval Application
to MPCTC, Law Enforcement or Corrections Agencies

Program Approval Requirements

Initial Program Approval and Renewals - Programs submitted for approval by out of state agencies or training providers who have not previously been granted course approvals must provide the date and location for the new training class at the time they are submitting the application. Course approvals for out of state training must include information showing past attendance by Maryland officers.

Instructors - Instructors teaching more than 3 hours in an approved program must be certified by MPCTC. Instructor certification can be obtained in several ways:

Method 1. The instructor can apply to MPCTC for a provisional instructor certification which is issued for a 1 year period. This application must be done on a MPCTC form available on our web site mdle.net (Application for Instructor Certification). During that year the person must successfully complete an MPCTC approved Basic Instructor Program and be evaluated on 2 occasions by an MPCTC certified instructor. Following that an MPCTC application for full Instructor certification must be forwarded to the Certification Unit for processing. If the instructor is teaching for an agency or private training provider all paperwork must come to us through that agency or training provider..

Method 2. The agency or training provider can request an instructor Exemption (COMAR 12.04.06.04). To obtain an Exemption the agency or training provider must submit a letter of request to the Deputy Director of MPCTC citing the instructor's qualifications. The qualifications should include the person's education, instructor certifications, experience in teaching, depth in the subject area in which they will be teaching and publications on the topic that they have written. Other important information to include would be: if the person is an adjunct professor at a college and what they teach for the college, if the person is a member of the Bar or medical profession, if the person is certified or licensed as an instructor by another organization to teach, certify or license others in a specific subject. Additional information on this method of certification can be found by reviewing the COMAR section listed above. COMAR can be found on mdle.net under the tab "Statutes" and then under "PTC General Regulations."

Certification for all fully certified instructors is valid for 4 years or until the instructor leaves the sponsoring agency. If an instructor leaves one agency and is hired by another agency they must reapply for certification. If they are applying for the same type of certification they would apply as a full instructor with approval from the new agency. Instructors for Maryland agencies are all scheduled to expire in the same month but not in the same year. Instructors are responsible for tracking their term of certification and are not routinely notified when their certification is expiring.

  1. Download the Application for In-Service Program Approval.
  2. Agency Number - Client agencies 3 digit MPCTC assigned number.

  3. Approved/Disapproved - designated PCTC staff complete this section.
  4. Return Approval to - This section should contain the following (this box is set up to adjust for a specific number of characters. As you continue to type, the text will shrink to fit all of your information).
    1. Name of contact person
    2. Complete mailing address
    3. Phone number
  5. Year - This is the year you are submitting the application. An approved course is generally valid for three years.
  6. Course Title - This is the title you give to your program. You may want to use something that distinguishes it such as ABC Consulting First Responder Course. It is easier to look up should you misplace the approval number.
  7. Course Dates - An approval is valid for up to three years. If you do not know the dates you will be offering the program, you may simply write a date(s) you anticipate conducting training or a date range Jan 1, 10- Jan 1, 13. Information such as Varies, TBA, TBD, Continuous or otherwise is not acceptable.
  8. Total Hours - This is the total number of instructional hours being offered in this course including testing and evaluation time. Time taken for meals is not considered training.
  9. Course Description - Provide a concise description of the course and include learning objectives that will be covered. State the type of test that will be used to assess learning i.e. Written Test, Practical Exercise, Case Study etc. Note: Add an additional page to the application if necessary.
  10. Instructor Name - Please list each instructor that will be delivering training during the course presentation.
  11. Certification Number - Please list the six-digit PCTC Certification Number if known. You may call our offices at 410-875-3604 to obtain an instructor's certification number. We may need a social security number if the name is a common name.
  12. Subject - Briefly list the subject each instructor will be presenting.
  13. Hours - List the hour(s) that the instructor will actually be instructing during the course. For example, if the course is three hours and only has one instructor, the Total Hours will be three and the Hours will be three. If two instructors are delivering a five-hour course, the Total Hours will be five (5) and the Hours may be two (2) for Instructor A and three (3) for Instructor B. If the course is 5 hours long and multiple instructors will teach the entire course put 5 hours for each instructor.
  14. Signature/Title - By signing this line, the signer is certifying that all of the information provided on the application is true and correct.
  15. Date - The date signed.
  16. Typed Name - Self-explanatory.
  17. Phone Number - Please provide the best number for us to contact the person completing the request with questions.
  18. Failure to complete this section completely may delay the processing of your request.

The completed should be sent to: MPCTC.programapprovals@maryland.gov, Attention: Certification Unit.

While courses are generally approved or disapproved within a two week period, we do have a 20 business day turn around.

If you are applying as a new agency, non-client or if you are using instructors who have not been certified by MPCTC, you will need to refer to the Instructor Certification instructions.