Guided license check
California teacher credential check
Search on CTC, then use this checklist to read the credential and resolve questions. Your checkmarks stay on this device; they are not official verification.
Choose Public Search and enter the educator’s first and last name on CTC. Return here to work through the record.
Access your own credential or read the lookup guideChange the state or profession
Check chosen
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Credential family: California educator credentials, certificates and permits issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). Check the authorization for the actual teaching assignment.
Instructions and meanings below come from this authority’s own published sources, reviewed field by field on the dates shown. They apply to this board and credential only. Official result pages can change or be dynamic; always read the live official result directly.
Check sequence
Six steps, in order
Tick a step only after completing the check it describes. Opening a link does not complete anything.
Search CTC by name
Evidence reviewedUse the public search to find an educator’s record.
On CTC, choose Public Search and enter the educator’s first and last name. Enter names only on CTC; this worksheet does not collect them.
Search teacher credentials on CTCOpens the authority’s website. Coming back here does not mark this step done.
Source instructions: Before you search
Use the Commission’s public educator search with the educator’s first and last name. A name search may return several people. The Commission provides a separate secured search for authorized agencies, employers and applicants; that service requires a Social Security number and date of birth. Use the public search when checking a credential as a member of the public.
Match the educator
Evidence reviewedA name search can return more than one person.
Compare the name on the record with the educator you intended to check. If the match is unclear, ask the educator or employing school to help resolve it before relying on that record.
Source instructions: Before you search
Use the Commission’s public educator search with the educator’s first and last name. A name search may return several people. The Commission provides a separate secured search for authorized agencies, employers and applicants; that service requires a Social Security number and date of birth. Use the public search when checking a credential as a member of the public.
Read the credential and authorization
Evidence reviewedA credential must be relevant to the course or position being checked.
Read the credential document and its authorization. Keep questions about the specific teaching assignment for the employing school’s credential analyst.
Source instructions: What the result shows
Use a credential record to assess the authorization for the actual course or position, not simply whether the person has any credential. The Commission directs educators to their employing school district or charter school for assignment questions. Public-school employers should work with the County Office of Education that monitors their assignments; charter-school employers should consult their chartering district or County Office of Education. California elementary and secondary public-school teachers must be certified by the Commission. If you believe an educator is assigned outside the credential’s authorization, submit the concern in writing to the employing district. Its credential analyst can address the assignment; if the issue remains unresolved at that level, the Commission’s FAQ directs escalation to the County Office of Education.
Review the result
Evidence reviewedKeep finding a record separate from deciding what it authorizes.
Choose the result that describes your check. If the record includes one of the disciplinary terms below, read its reviewed explanation and confirm its current effect with CTC.
I found the record I wanted to review
Finding a record identifies a document to review. Read its credential and authorization for the actual course or position. This selection makes no statement about current standing or disciplinary history.
Continue to the assignment step below. Ask the employing school’s credential analyst about anything unclear.
Open a label to read its reviewed meaning for California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Without JavaScript, open the one you selected.
Public reproval
A public warning that conduct is inappropriate for a credential holder. Similar misconduct can lead to a more serious adverse action.
Next: Read the action in the live CTC record and ask California Commission on Teacher Credentialing about its current effect. Ask the employing school’s credential analyst about the actual assignment; this worksheet does not decide eligibility.
Revocation
Terminates the ability to work in a position requiring certification, continuing until the Commission reinstates the person.
Next: Read the action in the live CTC record and ask California Commission on Teacher Credentialing about its current effect. Ask the employing school’s credential analyst about the actual assignment; this worksheet does not decide eligibility.
Suspension
Temporary inactivation for a specified period. The holder cannot work in a position requiring a credential during the suspension.
Next: Read the action in the live CTC record and ask California Commission on Teacher Credentialing about its current effect. Ask the employing school’s credential analyst about the actual assignment; this worksheet does not decide eligibility.
No matching record was found
Use the Commission’s public educator search with the educator’s first and last name. A name search may return several people. The Commission provides a separate secured search for authorized agencies, employers and applicants; that service requires a Social Security number and date of birth. Use the public search when checking a credential as a member of the public.
Next: Re-check the input format and search scope described above, then ask California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. A missing result is a question for the authority, not a finding about the person’s licensing.
My result uses a label that is not listed here
We have not reviewed that label for California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Do not borrow a meaning from another board or guess. Use the authority’s own glossary or ask California Commission on Teacher Credentialing what the label means before relying on the record.
I could not reach or use the official search
The official search may be temporarily unavailable or may have changed. Try again later or contact California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Leave this worksheet unresolved; an unavailable search says nothing about the person.
Resolve assignment questions
Evidence reviewedUse the employing school’s process for questions about the actual teaching assignment.
If the authorization is unclear for the course or position, ask the employing school. Leave this step unchecked while an assignment question remains unanswered.
Source instructions: What the result shows
Use a credential record to assess the authorization for the actual course or position, not simply whether the person has any credential. The Commission directs educators to their employing school district or charter school for assignment questions. Public-school employers should work with the County Office of Education that monitors their assignments; charter-school employers should consult their chartering district or County Office of Education. California elementary and secondary public-school teachers must be certified by the Commission. If you believe an educator is assigned outside the credential’s authorization, submit the concern in writing to the employing district. Its credential analyst can address the assignment; if the issue remains unresolved at that level, the Commission’s FAQ directs escalation to the County Office of Education.
Use the official record for verification
Evidence reviewedKnow which document is the official record.
Use CTC’s online credential view for official verification. Credential holders can access their own file through Educator Login; a printed Document Detail copy is unofficial.
Source instructions: Formal verification
The Commission’s online credential view is the official record of credentials, certificates and permits. After an application is processed and a credential is granted, the document appears in that online database; the Commission does not print or mail the credential. Colleges, universities and employers can use Search for an Educator from the Commission’s website to verify the document. Credential holders can access their own file through Educator Login. The application instructions direct holders who need a copy to Print a Document’s Detail, describing that copy as unofficial. Use the online record when official verification is required, and the printing instructions when you need an unofficial copy for your own records.
Worksheet
What you report having checked
Worksheet date . Self-reported by the person using this page. It records no name, license number, address or result page, and it is not a verification of anyone.
- Search CTC by name
- Not yet reported
- Match the educator
- Not yet reported
- Read the credential and authorization
- Not yet reported
- Review the result
- Not yet reported
- Resolve assignment questions
- Not yet reported
- Use the official record for verification
- Not yet reported
- Official result
- No result recorded
7 items still unresolved
Still to answer
Keep any uncertain name match, credential authorization or assignment question open until the educator, employing school or CTC resolves it.
Official links
Saving on this device needs JavaScript. You can still tick the boxes above and print this page with your browser’s print command.
Saved worksheets stay in this browser only. Changing the state or profession opens a different worksheet, and a change in this board’s reviewed sources clears saved progress for it.
Provenance
Official sources used in this worksheet
- https://educatortools.ctc.ca.gov/CredentialApplication/ViewInstructionsRetrieved 2026-09-05
- https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/lookup/Retrieved 2026-09-05
- https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/faq/Retrieved 2026-09-05
- https://www.ctc.ca.gov/licensure-enforcement/faqs/Retrieved 2026-09-05