Texas · Educator Certification
Texas teacher certification lookup on the TEA virtual certificate.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) publish an Official Record of Educator Certificates. This page explains what the search asks for, what the record is worth, and links to it.
Short answer: open the TEA Certificate Lookup and enter the educator’s last name and first name, spelled the way TEA has it. The result is the virtual certificate, which TEA calls the official record of certification in Texas. There is no number search on the public form, and TEA has not mailed paper certificates since January 2011. This page does not look anyone up.
What the TEA lookup asks for
TEA’s Certificate Lookup page says: “Enter the educator’s first and last name. The name must match what is in the TEA database.” The search form itself, headed SBEC Official Record of Educator Certificates, has three boxes: Last Name, First Name and Middle Name. Its instructions say you may enter a hyphen into compound last names, giving Gomez-Martin as the example.
Once a record opens, current certificates and, when applicable, certificate history are reached through a link at the top of the record. TEA recommends Google Chrome and says to make sure the official record date at the bottom of the certificate shows today’s date; if it does not, clear your cache and cookies and refresh.
Open the official lookup
Why the Texas lookup is a name search
Texas keeps one public register for educator certificates, and the search form published for it asks for a person, not a number. TEA’s Certificate Lookup page tells you to enter the first and last name exactly as the agency holds it, and the SBEC search form offers Last Name, First Name and Middle Name boxes only. A misspelled or married-versus-maiden name returns nothing, so when a search comes back empty, try the name on the educator’s preparation records before concluding there is no certificate.
What the virtual certificate is worth
The search site states that the information it presents “is the official record of the educator’s certification status and satisfies Section 21.053(a) of the Texas Education Code, which requires individuals to present their certificate prior to employment by a school district.” TEA’s own page repeats that the virtual certificate is considered the official record of educator certification in Texas. In practice that means a school district, charter or private employer checking a hire can rely on the on-screen record itself; there is no separate paper document to ask for.
Paper certificates, TEAL and ECOS
TEA stopped mailing paper certificates in January 2011. An educator who wants to see or print their own certificate logs in to TEAL (the secure gateway to TEA applications), opens the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS), updates the profile if needed and selects View Certificates. TEAL and ECOS are for the certificate holder; the public lookup described on this page needs no account.
Verification letters
TEA does not provide individually prepared letters of professional standing, and the SBEC search site repeats that it does not provide verification of a Texas educator’s certification status beyond the record. If another state or agency insists on a form, TEA says it will complete PDF fillable verification forms submitted through its help desk, but only when the form includes a valid email address for the requesting agency. Forms that ask for educator preparation program details are returned, and the program must be contacted directly. TEA warns that these requests can take several weeks, longer from April through October.
Worked example: checking a new hire
A charter school wants to confirm a candidate who signs her application “Maria Gomez-Martin”. The registrar opens the SBEC search, types Gomez-Martin in Last Name (the form allows the hyphen) and Maria in First Name, and opens the matching record. The record is the official certificate under TEC 21.053(a), so the registrar saves the page with the official record date visible at the bottom, confirms the date is today’s, and keeps that copy in the personnel file. No letter from TEA is needed, and none would be issued.
Format
No certificate-number format or check digit is published on the pages read, so none is stated here. The only field rule documented is that the name must match TEA’s database and that hyphens are accepted in compound last names.
What this page does not do
It does not check anyone’s status, does not copy the register, and does not explain certificate types, sanctions or expiry rules, because those are not described on the lookup pages read.
Figures and quotations read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- TEA: Certificate Lookup (Virtual Certificate Information) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- SBEC Official Record of Educator Certificates: Educator Search Criteria (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- TEA: Educator Certification (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedYou can search the Texas certificate lookup by certificate number or TEA ID.
What the source saysThe SBEC search form read on November 11, 2026 offers only Last Name, First Name and Middle Name boxes, and TEA’s page says the name must match what is in its database. [2]
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Often assumedAn employer needs a paper certificate or a TEA letter to prove a Texas teacher is certified.
What the source saysTEA stopped mailing paper certificates in January 2011 and calls the virtual certificate the official record; the SBEC site says it satisfies Section 21.053(a) of the Texas Education Code and that no individually prepared letters of standing are issued. [1]
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Often assumedTEAL is the public way to check a Texas educator’s certificate.
What the source saysTEAL is the secure login through which educators open ECOS to view their own certificates; the public lookup needs no account and lives on the SBEC virtual certificate site. [1]
- TEA: Certificate Lookup (Virtual Certificate Information)
- SBEC Official Record of Educator Certificates: Educator Search Criteria
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a Texas teacher certificate?
Open the SBEC Official Record of Educator Certificates (the TEA Certificate Lookup) and enter the educator's last name and first name. The name must match what is in the TEA database.
Can I search by certificate number or TEA ID?
The public search form read on November 11, 2026 asks only for last, first and middle name. No number field is published on it.
Is the online record official?
Yes. TEA says the virtual certificate is the official record of educator certification in Texas and that it satisfies Section 21.053(a) of the Texas Education Code.
Does TEA mail paper certificates?
No. TEA stopped mailing paper certificates in January 2011. Educators view their own certificates by logging in to TEAL, opening ECOS and selecting View Certificates.
Will TEA write a letter confirming someone's certification?
No. TEA does not provide individually prepared letters of professional standing. It completes fillable PDF verification forms sent through its help desk when the form carries a valid email address for the requesting agency, and that can take several weeks.
Does this page verify a certificate?
No. It explains the official lookup and links to it. Nothing typed here is sent anywhere.
Guide only — not a verification tool
This page describes an official register and links to it. It does not check anyone’s certification status, does not copy or proxy the register, and nothing you might type here is transmitted anywhere. Registers change and certification rules differ by state; use the official source linked above and contact the agency to confirm anything that matters. This is general information, not legal advice.