Top 8 free substitute teacher training courses (2026)
Checked October 2026For TeachersGrades Kindergarten to 12th gradeKind Free websitesNo affiliate links, no paid placement. How we chose
One entry, Sub Ready, is our own free tool. It is marked Ours and ranked against the same criteria as the others.
Quick answer
The Colorado Department of Education's Substitute Boot Camp is our number one: a free online course of about two hours, made for current and future subs. This list is for people starting out as substitutes who want training that costs nothing. Every course was opened on its own site on 31 Oct 2026. Free training rarely counts toward a state's required hours, so check your state's rule first.
Top 8 free substitute teacher training courses (2026): comparison
Best for subs heading into special education rooms
Free
1
1. Substitute Boot Camp
Colorado Department of Education
Best for a first course before day one
Free
A free virtual course from Colorado's education department for current and future substitutes, run in the Moodle online course system. The page says it takes about two hours and can be done in pieces. You register through a form and get your Moodle access by email within five business days.
Free, as the page says
Watch for It is Colorado's course: it does not by itself meet another state's training rule, and access can take up to five business days.
A free online course of 48 lessons on preparing for, starting and finishing a sub assignment, your role in the school community, types of placements and managing instruction. SubSchool's page says this course is free to everyone; the site is powered by the National Center for Grow Your Own. Colorado's education department also points subs to it.
Free to everyone, as SubSchool's page says
Watch for SubSchool's other courses come only through a district's subscription; individual memberships are not offered.
Peabody's own free course for substitute teachers: eight short lessons, each about ten to fifteen minutes, from the night before to getting asked back, with three-choice checks and a completion sheet to print. No sign-in, and nothing you answer is sent anywhere.
Free, no sign-in
Watch for It is not a license or an approved training: a state or district that requires approved hours will not count it.
4. Short-term substitute training (ROE #1, Illinois)
Regional Office of Education #1
Best for an Illinois short-term substitute license
Free
Free three-hour virtual trainings that the page says are required for Illinois short-term substitute certification, with sessions from 15 December 2026 to 25 May 2027. All candidates seeking that license can take part; the license needs an associate degree or 60 semester hours of college coursework.
Free, as the page says
Watch for Live sessions at set times, for the districts the office lists, each with its own registration deadline; districts not listed train in-district.
Best for classroom management with a free certificate
Free
A free online module on the key ideas and foundational practices of classroom behavior management, about two hours. The module alone needs no log-in; with a free account you can take a pretest and posttest and earn a free certificate. The IRIS Center is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs.
Free; the certificate is free with a free account
Watch for It is written for teachers running their own room, so a sub uses the key practices rather than the whole plan.
6. Classroom Behavior Management, Part 2 (Elementary)
IRIS Center, Vanderbilt University
Best for a long-term sub planning for weeks
Free
The second free IRIS module, on developing a behavior management plan for an elementary classroom, about two hours. Like Part 1 it can be taken with no log-in, or with a free account for a pretest, posttest and a free certificate.
Free; the certificate is free with a free account
Watch for It is about building a plan for one class over time, which matters most to a long-term sub, less to a day-to-day one.
Best for a short general course with a certificate option
Free
A free beginner course of 1.5 to 3 hours on what classroom management is, its five common elements, routines, expectations and positive reinforcement, handling disruptions and making a personal classroom management plan. The page marks it CPD-accredited.
Free course; the page offers a certificate but shows no price for it
Watch for The page carries ads and offers a paid upgrade to remove them, and the course is for teachers generally, not written for subs.
Best for subs heading into special education rooms
Free
A free intermediate course of four to five hours on recognizing learning difficulties in class and strategies that help, covering dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, auditory and visual processing disorders and ADHD, with activities for supporting students.
Free, as the page says
Watch for It is a general course with ads on the page; what a particular student needs still comes from the school and the student's own plan.
Frontline substitute teacher training (paid): About 20 hours online for $99 (as of 2026-10-31); the page says Missouri and North Dakota accept it in place of college credit hours.
Kelly Education substitute teacher courses (paid): A 20-hour Missouri course for $99.99 and a Wisconsin course for $39.99 (as of 2026-10-31); Missouri's education department names Kelly among its online options.
How we chose
We weighed these, most important first. The order is our judgement against them, not a score or a vote, and a different teacher could reasonably order it differently. Our own tool sits where those criteria put it; we built it after studying the others, so read its entry with that in mind.
Made for substitutes. Courses written for subs rank above general teaching courses, because a sub's day is its own job.
Free, as its own page says. Every course here says on its own page that it is free; paid courses are named under Also worth knowing.
Open to you today. Courses anyone can start, or that run on dates you can register for, rank above ones tied to one employer.
Short enough to finish. A course you can finish in an evening or two ranks above a longer one on the same ground.
We took no money, free products or affiliate commissions for any place on this list, and no link here carries a tracking code. Every fact was read on the maker’s own page on October 31, 2026; prices carry that date because they change. See how we choose and the ad-free promise.
Questions
Is there free substitute teacher training?
Yes. Colorado's Substitute Boot Camp, SubSchool's Welcome to Substitute Teaching and Peabody's Sub Ready are free and made for subs; the IRIS Center's behavior modules and two Alison courses are free general teaching courses that help on a sub day.
Does free training count toward my state's requirement?
Usually not, unless your state names it. Missouri, for example, accepts 20 clock hours of department-approved training. Check your state's substitute page on our requirements by state list, or ask the district, before you rely on any course.
Do these courses give a certificate?
The IRIS modules give a free certificate with a free account, Sub Ready prints a completion sheet, and Alison offers a certificate whose price its page does not show. None of them is a teaching license or a state substitute permit.