LET Elementary Career Value: DepEd Salary, Ranks, and Paths

LET Elementary Career Value: DepEd Salary, Ranks, and Paths

A serious LET Elementary review takes months. The honest question every BEEd graduate asks: what does the license actually unlock?

This post covers the career side for elementary teachers: the DepEd salary ladder, what comes on top of basic pay, private schools, and teaching abroad.

The headline value

RA 7836, the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act, requires a PRC license to practice teaching as a profession in the Philippines, with only limited exceptions. In practice, the license is what you need for:

• a permanent (plantilla) teaching item in a DepEd public elementary school, starting at Teacher I
• most private elementary school teaching posts
• moving up the DepEd career ladder to Master Teacher and School Principal

Without it, your options are mostly non-permanent: tutoring, or temporary and contractual arrangements.

DepEd salary grades for elementary teachers

DepEd elementary and secondary teachers are on the same salary scale. Government pay in 2026 follows the third tranche of EO 64 (s. 2024). Monthly basic pay at Step 1:

Teacher IV–VII and Master Teacher V are newer titles created under the Expanded Career Progression (EO 174, s. 2022). Under DepEd-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2025, the old Head Teacher titles are being retitled into this ladder.

The fourth and final EO 64 tranche takes effect on January 1, 2027. Teacher I then rises to ₱33,387, Teacher II to ₱35,650, Teacher III to ₱37,828 and Master Teacher I to ₱56,332.

On top of basic pay, DepEd public school teachers receive:

• PERA of ₱2,000 a month
• a mid-year bonus and a year-end bonus (one month's basic pay each; the year-end bonus is the government's "13th-month pay")
• a ₱5,000 cash gift
• a ₱10,000 yearly teaching allowance (the "chalk allowance") from SY 2025–26, under RA 11997
• GSIS membership (retirement and insurance)

For step increments, deductions and take-home estimates, see the DepEd teacher salary 2026 guide. The free government salary grade calculator shows the full step table.

Moving up the ladder

Promotion from Teacher I upward follows DepEd's qualification standards and the Expanded Career Progression system: education, training, experience and performance ratings all count. The details change with DepEd issuances, so check your division's current guidelines rather than any fixed timetable.

The jump from Teacher III (SG 13, ₱36,125) to Master Teacher I (SG 18, ₱53,818) is ₱17,693 a month at Step 1 in 2026.

Applying to DepEd

LET-licensed elementary teachers apply for Teacher I items through their Schools Division Office, which ranks applicants and fills vacancies in its schools. Watch your division's hiring announcements, and have your PRC license, transcript and supporting documents ready.

Private elementary schools

Private school pay and benefits vary widely: by school, city and whether the school is sectarian, international or community-based. Private schools generally don't use the government salary grades or GSIS. Ask for the actual offer, including 13th-month pay and leave, in writing before you compare it with DepEd.

Teaching abroad

A PRC license is often the starting point for teaching overseas. Each country and employer sets its own credential checks, English requirements, visas and pay. Start with the teaching abroad pathways guide and confirm every requirement with the official recruiter or ministry.

When LET Elementary might not be worth it right now

A few honest scenarios:

1. You're not planning to teach. If you finished BEEd but are heading into another field, your review time may be better spent elsewhere.
2. You're about to change levels. If you really want to teach high school and qualify for LET Secondary, compare both routes first. The LET Elementary vs Secondary guide walks through it.

For everyone else who teaches or plans to, including substitutes, contractual teachers and private-school teachers without a license yet, LET Elementary is the credential that opens a DepEd teaching career.

Practice with Super Tutor

Super Tutor's LET Elementary reviewer covers Gen Ed and Prof Ed in 11 study formats, with practice quizzes at three difficulty levels, an AI tutor that explains any question step by step, a study planner, and full LET Elementary mock exams (4,400+ questions). Start free with a 5-day trial, no card needed.

What to read next

The LET Elementary pillar guide covers the full review. For part-by-part plans: Gen Ed and Prof Ed. The pass rate analysis covers PRC's recent results.