LICENSURE

Applying for a License
Please submit a transaction on www.TNCompass.org. First-time users will need to register for an account before logging in.

Prospective Educators
New to Education 

New to TN/Transferring a License to TN
Out-of-State Applicants 

Licensure Renewal, Advancement, Reactivation, and Adding Endorsements
Current TN Licensed Educators

Assessment Requirements
Praxis Assessment Requirements

For general processing timelines, click "Now processing" on the TDOE website.

Note: The TDOE licensure team will not respond to general processing inquiry emails.

Electronic transcripts are not accepted by TDOE from educators directly. The issuing institution must send official transcripts to Educator.Licensure@tn.gov through an online clearinghouse (preferred method). If you are unable to secure electronic transcripts, they may be mailed directly to educator licensure (Andrew Johnson Tower, 9th Floor, 710 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243) in a sealed envelope without evidence of tampering. 

Please wait for transcripts to be visible in the Licensure Tab of your educator profile in TNCompass prior to submitting any transaction. 

Note: The TDOE licensure team will not respond to emails with transcripts from educators. 

Adding  a Transaction in TNCompass
Degrees from regionally accredited institutions of postsecondary education may be added to an educator’s profile in TNCompass. 

In order to add the Master's +30 information to a TNCompass account, the educator must have earned 30 or more graduate-level credits completed after the conferral of an initial master’s degree. If an educator completed graduate level electives while working on an initial master’s degree and wishes to have them count towards a +30 designation, they must provide a letter from the postsecondary institution on official letterhead to TDOE. The letter must identify each completed graduate level course that was not considered part of the program of study for the conferred degree and the total number of hours that should count toward obtaining the +30 designation. This letter will not be accepted unless it is signed and dated by the university official.

Note: These credits must be listed on an official transcript and will not be accepted if listed on a professional development transcript.

To add a degree, an educator must ensure that TDOE has official transcripts on file. The transcript must be submitted by the institution to Educator.Licensure@tn.gov through an electronic clearinghouse (preferred), or mailed to 710 James Robertson Parkway, 9th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243. Please allow additional time for mailed transcripts to be imported into TNCompass. 

Once the transcripts have been received and added to the TNCompass profile, the educator can submit an Add Degree transaction in TNCompass. If submitting a transaction for a Master's +30 designation, the Degree Type in the request must say “Masters + 30.” If credits are spread across multiple transcripts, a submission note must be included to indicate the specific transcripts being used and the number of credits listed on each one.

Note: Please check the Preparation tab of the educator profile to verify that the degree has not already been added prior to submitting the transaction.

Notifying LSS Human Resources
After the "Add Degree Transaction" has been approved in TNCompass, enter a ticket in Incident IQ to notify the LSS HR Department of the change.

New Ticket / Human Resources / Payroll / Degree Advancement/Salary Change Request

Be sure to enter the required information in the Ticket, then click the link to complete the required Google Form. Don't forget to come back and submit the ticket when you are done!