Kansas teaching license: KSDE lookup, renewal, expired licenses and licenses from other states

1. How to look up a Kansas teaching license (KSDE Educator License Lookup)

Kansas educator licenses are issued under the Kansas State Board of Education’s regulations, and KSDE’s Teacher Licensure team handles applications and renewals. KSDE’s licensed personnel guide says: “Teaching in Kansas requires a Kansas license issued through the Kansas State Board of Education.” Anyone can check a Kansas educator’s license on KSDE’s public lookup.

• Where: KSDE’s Educator License Lookup page, which links to the search tool. The tool searches by first and last name, or by a year and a district.
• How to search: “Enter only your first and last name to find your license.”
• Which result is current: “The license listed at the top of your search results is your current license.” KSDE adds: “If you renewed your license recently, you may need to scroll down to see the updated license.”
• What it shows: KSDE’s page says your current license shows its expiration date and any requirements to renew or upgrade. “You can view and download a PDF copy of your license only if it is active.” KSDE recommends printing or saving a digital copy for your records.
• Expired licenses: “KSDE does not keep copies of expired licenses.” “If you need proof of an expired license, please email the Teacher Licensure team for assistance.”

2. Kansas license types and how long they last

The 2021 text of the regulation (K.A.R. 91-1-201, the newest official text that could be read for this guide) lists the license types the State Board issues, among them initial, professional, accomplished teaching, substitute, emergency substitute and transitional licenses. The ones most teachers deal with:

• Older certificates: the regulation says a valid certificate issued before July 1, 2003, is renewed under the renewal requirements in effect when it was issued.
• Lasting for life, or made for retirees: no license that lasts for life appears in the regulation’s list or on KSDE’s pages read for this guide. A February 2026 State Board item lists a “Legacy License” for retired educators among “Previously Approved Licensure Changes”, but no official source read for this guide shows the regulation adopted, and KSDE’s license application page lists no application for it.

Special education endorsements (High Incidence, Low Incidence and the others) and how one is added are in our special education endorsement guide.

3. How to renew a Kansas professional teaching license: requirements and points

KSDE’s license information and application page says that to renew a Professional (5 year) License you submit a renewal application, a licensure fee and proof that you met one of the options below during your current license term. You apply online in the Kansas Licensure Applications System (KLAS): “You will need to register for/login to KLAS.”

• How points count: KSDE’s professional development page says one point stands for one hour of in-service education, and one semester hour of college credit equals 20 professional development points.
• Plan approval: “All professional development plans must be approved by your local Professional Development Council.”
• Who may file a plan: the regulation says “Each person who is employed by or who works or resides within any Kansas unified school district shall be eligible to file a professional development plan with that district’s local professional development council”. All five district plans the State Board approved in February 2026 have a section for licensed people who live or work in the district but are not employed by it. Districts outside that Board item were not checked for this guide, and each district’s own plan governs, including whether non-employees may join its in-service activities.
• Accredited experience: in the 2021 regulation text, it means teaching under contract in a school accredited by the State Board (or a comparable agency in another state) while holding an endorsement valid for the assignment. The same definition counts at least 90 consecutive days of substitute teaching in the same position and endorsement area, and adds: “Other substitute teaching experiences shall not constitute accredited experience.”
• When: the regulation says: “Any license may be renewed up to six months before its expiration date.”
• Records: “Keep documentation of your points, coursework, or experience for verification.”
• The fee: KSDE’s renewal list includes a licensure fee, and the KSDE pages read for this guide don’t show its amount. “Application processing fees are non-refundable.”

4. Renewing while in an educational retirement system: half the points

KSDE’s license information and application page has a separate option for retirement system participants: “If you are in a Kansas or other state educational retirement system:” “Complete half the professional development points required in Option B.” The page does not label any option “Option B”. The regulation behind it (K.A.R. 91-1-205, 2021 text) ties the half to its professional development points option and applies it “if the person is participating in an educational retirement system in Kansas or another state, has completed half of the professional development points”. Neither KSDE’s page nor the regulation prints the numbers, or says whether a retired teacher drawing a pension counts as being in a retirement system.

KSDE’s renewal questions and answers (“Teacher Licensure updated as of 9/12/24”), as reprinted in the five district professional development plans the State Board approved in February 2026, answer a retired educator’s question this way: “If an educator is taking part in an educational retirement system in any state, s/he can renew by completing half of the professional development points specified in the regulations.” “For someone holding a bachelor’s degree, 80 points must be earned, 40 of which must be college credit (2 semester credit hours).” “A retired educator holding a graduate degree must earn 60 points.” The same answers add that “any points awarded for activities OR for semester credit hours must have been earned during the five-year current professional license period.” Because these numbers come from district plans and not from KSDE’s own web page, confirm your renewal with KSDE before you count on them.

Renewing a license and retiring are separate questions. Working after you retire is a question for KPERS, and our KPERS working after retirement guide explains its rules in KPERS’s own words.

5. The science of reading and the Seal of Literacy, from July 1, 2028

KSDE’s science of reading page: “Beginning July 1, 2028, Kansas veteran educators serving in the positions listed below will be required to demonstrate knowledge of the science of reading” to renew a professional license. Its list of positions includes “Elementary Special Education teacher.” KSDE says that for licensure, elementary means grades PreK-6, and that the knowledge can be shown by completing state-approved training or passing a state-approved literacy exam. Educators who complete it get a Seal of Literacy on their license.

• If a required educator doesn’t qualify: KSDE says “her/his professional license will not be renewed.” A standard substitute license is issued instead, and after completing the training or passing an exam, the educator re-applies to reinstate the professional license.
• Who must do it: KSDE says only specified educator groups are required, and its answer for educators who teach in middle school and secondary buildings is no, though it adds that districts may require the training. KSDE identifies the required educators from the staff assignments districts report on the Licensed Personnel Report.
• The 2026 law on retired and substitute teachers: House Bill 2485 amended K.S.A. 74-32,293 to say: “No retired or substitute teacher shall be required to complete approved training in the science of reading and structured literacy or other training to achieve a seal of literacy.” KSDE’s summary of the 2026 bills says these provisions took effect when published in the Kansas Register on April 30, 2026. KSDE’s science of reading page does not mention this line, and neither source says how it applies to a professional license renewal after July 1, 2028, or who counts as retired here. Ask KSDE about your own renewal.
• Teachers moving to Kansas: KSDE’s page says the training is not required for a first Kansas license, but proof of it is required to renew. That answer does not repeat the list of positions, and KSDE says only specified educator groups must do it, so ask KSDE whether it applies to your position.
• Seeing the seal: KSDE’s lookup page says the seal appears when you use the print license button.

6. When your Kansas teaching license has expired

The regulation: “Any person who fails to renew the professional license may apply for a subsequent professional license by meeting the following requirements:” an application for a license with the licensure fee, and proof that you either met the professional license renewal requirements (section 3) or have at least three years of recent out-of-state accredited experience under an initial or professional license. KSDE’s licensure pages read for this guide don’t use the word “inactive” for a license.

• Fingerprints: among the cases that need fingerprints, KSDE’s fingerprint page lists: “Renewal of an expired Kansas certificate or license.” It also lists a first Kansas license and anyone submitting fingerprints for the first time, and says: “Effective July 1, 2024, the fingerprint background check processing fee has increased to $57.” A fingerprinting agency may charge its own fee on top.
• The transitional license: for when “Your license has been expired for at least six months”. KSDE: “A nonrenewable license valid for the school year in which you apply.” “Allows you to accept a teaching position while completing renewal requirements for your expired initial or professional license.” KSDE’s page says it is recommended that you “do not apply for this license unless you are employed or have been offered employment in a Kansas school district”, and asks anyone who has taught out of state at least half time under contract for three of the last six years to contact its office before applying.
• Proof of an old license: “KSDE does not keep copies of expired licenses.” “If you need proof of an expired license, please email the Teacher Licensure team for assistance.”

For SpecialEdResource’s tutoring job: if your license has expired or is inactive, you can still apply, as long as you’ll renew it before you start. We check licenses before the first interview.

7. Coming to Kansas with another state’s teaching license

KSDE’s 2026-2027 Licensed Personnel Guide says: “You cannot teach in Kansas based on an out-of-state license or certificate.” Instead, you apply online for a Kansas license based on your out-of-state license. KSDE’s out-of-state application asks for:

• Your license: “A copy of your current, standard out-of-state teaching license.” “The Kansas license you are applying for must match the endorsement(s) listed on your out-of-state license.”
• Its standing: “Your out-of-state teaching license must be in good standing and not under any disciplinary action to qualify for Kansas licensure.”
• Recent experience: KSDE’s page says: “You must provide proof of at least one year of teaching experience within the past two years before the date of your application.” The 2021 regulation text (K.A.R. 91-1-204) asks instead for “verification of at least one year of recent accredited experience or at least eight semester hours of recent credit”, and in that text recent means within the six years before the application. The two are worded differently, and the current regulation text could not be read for this guide, so ask KSDE which applies to you.
• The rest: official transcripts for each degree, Praxis or a comparable content test, verification of your approved teacher preparation program (the form goes by email to your program), military documents if you or your spouse is serving or has honorably served, and fingerprints with a clear background check.
• While you finish: KSDE’s guide says a temporary one-year nonrenewable license or a transitional license may be possible while you complete unmet Kansas requirements.

The Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact

Kansas enacted the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact in 2023 (K.S.A. 72-8269). KSDE’s guide says: “Kansas licensure is based on completion of approved teacher education programs unless a state is member of the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact” or “experience requirements are met as prescribed in K.S.A 48-3406.” KSDE’s 2023 summary of the compact law says: “The receiving state has the sole discretion of determining which license, if any, the teacher is eligible to hold.” The statute covers only the first grant of a license, and the license you hold must be unencumbered (not restricted, probationary, provisional, substitute or temporary). Whether the compact is operating, and which states are members, could not be confirmed from an official source for this guide.

K.S.A. 48-3406 covers people licensed in another state who move, or intend to move, to Kansas, with added terms for military servicemembers and their spouses. It says that “applicants who are military spouses of active military service members shall be exempt from all fees” for getting and renewing a Kansas credential. KSDE’s pages read for this guide don’t describe how KSDE applies the law’s experience route to teachers, so ask KSDE.

In June 2026 the State Board approved a “conceptual change” to the licensure regulations for out-of-state and foreign applicants and interstate compacts. No official source read for this guide shows a new regulation adopted, and KSDE’s application page describes the current requirements, so check it before you apply.

For SpecialEdResource’s tutoring job: licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome. The hiring site also asks that you “live in one of the states where we can currently employ tutors”, and Kansas is one of them, so Kansas residents can apply. Your license can be from any US state; the state you live in is the one that has to be on the hiring list. You can apply on SpecialEdResource’s hiring site.

8. How to reach KSDE Teacher Licensure

• Online: KSDE’s License Information and Application page for applications, renewal options and the out-of-state application, and its Teacher Licensure page for every licensure topic. Applications are made in the Kansas Licensure Applications System (KLAS): “You will need to register for/login to KLAS.”
• Phone: (785) 296-2288, KSDE’s licensure line. The page shows no hours.
• Email: the Teacher Licensure team at TLALicense@ksde.gov, which is also where to ask for proof of an expired license.
• Working after you retire: that is a question for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), not KSDE; see our KPERS working after retirement guide.