The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) grants teacher/school licenses in the State of Illinois. All students who complete an approved program at Illinois State University, pass appropriate licensure exams, and meet ISBE requirements will be entitled by ISU within their ISBE-ELIS account. When entitled you will be notified by the Registrars office (undergraduates) or Teacher Education Center (Graduate licensure programs). You should not apply for licensure until after you have been notified by ISU that your licensure entitlement is complete. (This will be after the conclusion of your final semester). As a reminder, all exams must also be linked directly to your ISBE-ELIS account. You should confirm this by logging into your account. If you have questions about your ISBE-ELIS account you can review resources here: ISBE – ELIS account.
Licensure Information by Category
Undergraduate/Initial Teaching Licensure
To obtain your initial teaching licensure, you must complete an approved teacher education program and be entitled by ISU. The following gives details on this process:
- Your degree/program must be confirmed by the Registrar's Office, which commonly occurs 1-2 weeks after grades are officially posted.
- Once your degree is confirmed, all ISBE licensure requirements will be reviewed for completion. If all items are complete, you will be entitled for licensure within your ISBE ELIS account. You will then receive an email from the Registrar's Office verifying you are able to apply within ELIS for licensure. This email commonly occurs 2-4 weeks after grades are officially posted.
- Note: If you do not meet licensure requirements at the time of graduation you will need to follow the directions emailed to you by the ISU's Registrar's Office. This will include contactng the Registrar's Office at teacher@IllinoisState.edu once all additional licensure requirements (testing or clinical hours) are met. To ensure you are licensable, it's advised to meet all requirements within one year of graduation. Failure to do so may result in ISBE licensure changes and additional courses being required.
- Please see the ISBE training video for assistance with applying for your license.
- As you apply, be sure to register your license in your application with the Regional Office of Education (ROE) of the county in which you are planning to teach. If you do not have a teaching position, you must register with your local ROE.
- Order an official transcript from Illinois State after your degree is posted to be sent to Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Transcripts from any other institution from which you have received credit should also be ordered. When ordering an ISU Transcript, please follow the directions on the clearinghouse transcript page for how to send properly to ISBE.
Graduate/Advanced Licensure
These degree/certificate programs would be at the post baccalaureate level and in academic programs that lead to ISBE licensure. The licensure steps below are in addition to any processes that may be required by the Graduate School and individual departments.
- Create an Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS) account through ISBE. If you already have an account, proceed to #2.
- You can find assistance about creating an ELIS account.
- File an "Intent for Licensure".
- Your intent form is used to create a licensure file and an evaluation form that will be sent to your department to determine your licensure progress.
- This can be done the first semester of your program, but must be completed at least one month before your estimated graduation date.
- Licensure delays may occur if not done before the time listed.
- Pass all required ISBE content tests.
- Official test scores should be sent to ISU and linked to your ELIS account for verification.
- Test sign up can be found on the ILTS website
- Resources for graduate content tests can be found on the ISU Guide To ISBE Content Testing
- If you just filed your intent, skip to #5. If you filed your intent over a year ago, email TeacherEdCenter@IllinoisState.edu when you are entering your last semester before graduation.
- This will lead to us to re-examine your file to confirm you have met all requirements. Once you have completed your program and ILTS testing, the review will expedite ISU entitlement of your licensure into the ELIS system.
- Order an official transcript from Illinois State Unversity, after your degree is posted, to be sent to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). It is advised to also send transcripts to ISBE that are from any other institution from which you have recived credit that pertains to your ISBE licensure program. When ordering an ISU Transcript, please follow the directions on the clearinghouse transcript page for how to send properly to ISBE.
- Complete all program or degree requirements.
- If applying for the Principal, Superintendent, or Chief School Business Official endorsements, you may be requested to provide an official letter on school stationary from your district superintendent or human resources office that indicates the following:
Your name
Specific dates of assignment indicating part or full-time
Specific kind(s) of assignment: teacher and/or administrative
District administrator's signature- Please send to the letter to:
Licensure Officer - Cecilia J. Lauby Teacher Education Center
DeGarmo Hall
Campus Box 5440
Normal, IL 61790-5440- ISU staff will work to prove this information in your ISBE ELIS account. If employed at a private school/district or out of state, a letter will be required.
- Once contacted by our office that entitlement is completed, go to your ELIS account, and apply for licensure. This can only be done once entitlement is granted by ISU. Do not apply for licensure through ISBE until contacted that your entitlement from ISU has been completed (after program completion). Early application will only delay your final licensure.
If you have any questions, please e-mail TeacherEdCenter@IllinoisState.edu.
Subsequent Endorsements
If you are already a licensed teacher, please review the Registrar Process for adding subsequent endorsements via the menu at the top right of this webpage.
For ISU teacher education majors, you can work towards an additional subsequent teaching endorsement while enrolled in your major. To learn about subsequent endorsement course and testing requirements, please review the subsequent endorsement guide and then discuss with your education advisor. If you have questions, you can e-mail TeacherEdCenter@IllinoisState.edu.
ISU Subsequent Endorsement Guide
Remember, during your student teaching semester, you will apply for graduation/completion with the Registrar’s Office. During the application process you will be asked to identify all endorsements areas you have worked towards to have on your Professional Educator License (PEL). This would include your primary program and any subsequent endorsements in which you have met the requirements. The Registrar’s Office will then evaluate all areas you identified and add any to your PEL in which you are qualified.
Substitute Licensure
Substitute Licensure is determined by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in conjunction with Regional Offices of Education. There are currently multiple types of substitute licenses issued by ISBE. Review the ISBE website and the following Regional Office of Education website for application process and information.
- ISBE- Substitute Licenses (isbe.net)
- ROE 17’s website at Regional Office Of Education #17 - Mclean & Dewitt County (roe17.org).
Note- Some substitute licenses require students to be in an education major and have their ELIS account linked to ISU via licensure pre-completion. ISU runs pre-completion reports and uploads once a semester and requires students to have a minimum of 60 credit hours and completion of the PBA workshop for consideration.
Substituting while student teaching
Any student interested in being a substitute while student teaching must meet the following:
- Have an ISBE issued substitute license.
- The placement school district must have a signed substitute amendment to their student teaching contract.
- Only a few Illinois school districts have this amendment in place with ISU. You can review the approved clinical listing to see the short term substitute column to find sites here
- You can also e-mail teacheredcenter@Ilstu.edu to confirm if this is in place for your district or to request an amendment be requested.
- Have the completed Student teaching substitute approval form approved by your academic Department, University Supervisor and school administrator.
- Substitute approval form
- Limitation on substituting while student teaching is determined by academic departments directly