Texas Teaching License Lookup: How to Check an Educator Certificate

Who issues a Texas teaching license?

Last verified: November 2026. This page explains the official process. We do not check any person’s license, and nothing here confirms that a specific educator is or is not certified.

In Texas the credential is formally called an educator certificate rather than a license. TEA runs the certification system, and SBEC is the state board that takes disciplinary action against educator certificates based on completed investigations ^[5]. SBEC rules are collected in Title 19, Part 7 of the Texas Administrative Code, which TEA publishes on its SBEC rules page ^[7].

Educators manage their own certification through the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS), which they reach by signing in to TEAL, TEA's secure login ^[2]. Employers and members of the public use the separate public lookup described next.

How do I look up a Texas teacher certificate step by step?

The lookup works from a name only. The steps below follow TEA's own page.

1. Open the Texas teaching license lookup (TEA's Certificate Lookup, also reached from TEA's lookup page).
2. Enter the educator's first and last name. TEA says both are needed and the name must match what is in the TEA database. The only field TEA describes is the name.
3. Open the record. TEA says current certificates and, when applicable, certificate history can be reached through the link at the top of the record.
4. Check the official record date at the bottom of the certificate. TEA says it should show the present date ^[1].
5. Use Google Chrome. TEA recommends it for viewing the certificate.

A few practical tips follow from the name-only search. If you get no result, try the educator's legal name instead of a nickname, and check for a former or hyphenated surname. If a common name returns more than one educator, do not guess: ask the person for details that appear on the record before relying on it.

TEA no longer mails paper certificates, as of January 2011, so a lookup result is the record to rely on, not a printed card ^[1].

What does the status on a Texas teaching certificate mean?

We can only explain labels that TEA itself defines, and TEA defines few of them on the pages we could read. The one we can document is inactive. TEA says a certificate becomes inactive when it is not renewed by its expiration date, and that an inactive certificate can still be renewed by completing the CPE requirements, submitting a renewal application and paying the required fees ^[3].

An inactive certificate is not a revoked or suspended one. Discipline is a separate process handled by SBEC, and its outcomes are published in separate records. If a record shows a label you do not understand, read the certificate record in full and ask TEA through its Educator Certification help desk instead of guessing. TEA's phone line is (512) 936-8400, option 2.

How do I verify a teacher for an employer or another state?

For routine checks, the public lookup is TEA's official record. For a formal verification request, TEA's lookup page links a verification help desk form ^[1]. Plan for delay if you need a formal request. TEA also warns that its background check reviews may lengthen issuance times for new certificates.

As an employer, keep a dated copy of what you viewed, record the official record date, and follow your district's own hiring rules. As a teacher, view your own certificates in ECOS and fix any name mismatch before a job application depends on the public search.

How do I apply for or renew a Texas teaching certificate?

At a high level, TEA lists these steps for becoming a classroom teacher: earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, complete an approved educator preparation program, pass the certification exams, submit the state application only after you have met all requirements, and complete fingerprinting for a national criminal background check ^[4]. Applications are made in ECOS. TEA's pages we read did not state fee amounts, so we do not list any. For the wider career picture, see how to become a teacher.

Standard certificates are valid for five years. A classroom teacher needs 150 CPE hours in each five-year cycle, and all educators must complete CPE on educating students with disabilities, including dyslexia training. To renew, log in to TEAL, open your educator certification account, choose Applications, then Renew a Standard Certificate, and pay online. All of your standard certificates must be renewed at the same time. TEA sends reminder emails six months before expiration, but you remain responsible for meeting the requirements, and a late fee applies after the expiration date ^[3].

Requirements change, so confirm current rules on TEA's certification hub ^[2] before you apply. For pay context, see our teacher salary guide, and for other states browse all license guides.

What should an employer or parent check besides the name?

A name match is only the start. Work through these four checks in order.

1. Is it the right person? Names repeat, so match the record to the name and details the educator gave you, and confirm that the official record date at the bottom shows today's date ^[1].
2. Is the certificate current? Compare the record with TEA's renewal rules. A standard certificate is valid for five years, and one that is not renewed by its expiration date becomes inactive ^[3]. If a record looks lapsed, ask the educator whether a renewal is in progress instead of assuming the worst. Renewal is the reason a once-valid certificate can look different a few years later.
3. Does the certificate fit the job? A certificate is tied to grade levels and subject areas. SBEC's Chapter 231, "Requirements for Public School Personnel Assignments," matches certificates to assignments by grade level (prekindergarten through grade 6, grades 6 to 8 and grades 9 to 12), by subject area such as math, science or social studies, and by role, with separate subchapters for special education and administrators ^[8]. TEA labels the posted rules as information only and not legal documentation, so confirm with TEA when an assignment is unclear. To see which areas a teacher holds, read the certificate record itself. TEA's certification hub also lists additional certification by examination as its own route for adding areas ^[2].
4. Is the person barred from school employment? Search the Do Not Hire Registry, covered in the next section.

None of these checks replaces a district's own hiring process, and none of them tells you whether someone is a good teacher. They only confirm what the state record shows.

It also helps to know what the lookup does not claim. The TEA pages we read describe it as an official certification record: a name goes in and certificates, and certificate history where applicable, come out. They do not say that it shows where a person works, how they perform in the classroom, or whether a complaint has been filed. Open investigations are generally confidential, as the next section explains. If you are a parent with a concern about a specific school or teacher, the lookup is a way to confirm certification, but your school district's own channels and TEA's complaint route are the places to raise the concern. If you are an educator planning a career in Texas, our teacher career guide and training hub cover the steps before certification, and the careers index shows related jobs.

Where do complaints and discipline records appear?

Anyone can raise a concern. TEA says parents, students, school employees and members of the public may submit a complaint about possible educator misconduct, and that it accepts anonymous complaints ^[6]. TEA's Educator Investigations Division reviews them, and formal action can follow.

What is public is limited. TEA says final disciplinary actions taken by SBEC are public, and ongoing investigations are generally confidential. TEA also operates a public Do Not Hire Registry that identifies people prohibited from employment in Texas public schools, and it publishes periodic summaries of completed SBEC actions (same source). A clean result in Certificate Lookup does not tell you that no investigation is open, so use each record for its own purpose.

The Do Not Hire Registry lists individuals found not eligible for employment in Texas by school entities such as school districts, open-enrollment charter schools and regional education service centers. Each entry has a status. Not Eligible For Hire means the person cannot be employed by a public school in any role. Under Investigation means the person may be listed while a formal investigation is ongoing, and TEA's page notes that this placement can happen before the investigation is complete ^[9]. Treat that second status as a flag to ask about, not as a finding. To search, enter a first name of at least two characters and a last name of at least three. Entries show a "Date on Registry," and the earliest possible date is January 2, 2020, and the page also offers a download of the current registry.

We explain how we choose and date sources in our editorial policy, and you can read more about who writes these guides on our about page.