Illinois · Educator Licensure
Illinois teacher license lookup through the ISBE ELIS public portal.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) licenses educators and publishes a License Status page. It says public users can view an educator’s licensure status; this page explains where and links to it.
Short answer: open the ELIS public portal linked from the ISBE License Status page. This page does not look anyone up.
What ISBE says the public can do
The ISBE License Status page says educators can check their own application status, while administrators at the regional, district and school level, as well as public users, can view the licensure status of any educator in the state by following its “Administrators and Other Users” steps.
That section links an ELIS public portal (apps.isbe.net, EducatorSearch inquiry), separate from the ELIS login used by educators and administrators. The Educator Licensure page uses the term Professional Educator License (PEL) for the main licence.
Open the official search
Public portal versus login
ISBE separates the public inquiry from the ELIS account. The account is for educators and school staff managing applications; the public inquiry is for checking status.
Not covered here
The steps text on the ISBE page loads dynamically, so this page does not reproduce the individual search fields.
What this page does not do
It does not check anyone’s status and does not publish a number-format rule, because none is documented on the pages read.
Official sources used
- www.isbe.net/Pages/license-status.aspx (read November 2, 2026)
- www.isbe.net/Pages/Educator-Licensure.aspx (read November 2, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedThe ELIS login is where the public checks a teacher.
What the source saysISBE separates the ELIS account used by educators and administrators from the public inquiry. Public users follow the 'Administrators and Other Users' steps to the public portal. [1]
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Often assumedAn Illinois teacher's main credential is called a teaching certificate.
What the source saysISBE's Educator Licensure page uses the term Professional Educator License (PEL) for the main licence, which is the name to look for in a record. [2]
- Illinois State Board of Education: license status
- Illinois State Board of Education: educator licensure
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I check an Illinois teaching license?
Use the ELIS public portal linked from the ISBE License Status page.
Can the public see an educator's licensure status?
ISBE says public users can view the licensure status of any educator in the state.
What is the PEL?
The Professional Educator License, which ISBE's Educator Licensure page refers to as the main licence.
Does this page verify a licence?
No. It describes the official portal and links to it.
Guide only — not a verification tool
This page describes official registers and links to them. It does not check anyone’s licence status, does not copy or proxy any register, and nothing you might type here is transmitted anywhere. Registers change and licensing rules differ by state and city; use the official source linked above and contact the regulator to confirm anything that matters. This is general information, not legal advice.