Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How do I change my name in TNCompass?

Answer: If you have not already established an account, please visit TNCompass to register. If you have established your account, please follow the steps below to request your name change:

1.  Log into TNCompass.
2. Select Transactions and start a new transaction by selecting Name Change. Read related information and start the transaction.
3. Read related information, continue, and complete the Name Change Form, and upload appropriate attachments. Verify accuracy of information.
4. Read Submission Confirmation and submit.
5. Under Submission Notes, select Personal Affirmation and complete Name Change Transaction - Personal Affirmation.
6. Confirm accuracy of submission and submit. Confirm Personal Affirmation and click submit.

​Acceptable forms of legal documentation include:

•  U.S.-issued driver's license,
• U.S.-issued passport,
• U.S.-issued social security card, or
• U.S.-issued official court documents (e.g., marriage license, divorce decree, other official court document).

*If an educator wants to change a middle name to a maiden name, the name must appear that way on one of the approved official documents.

Question: What do I do if the experience reported on my TNCompass account does not reflect my actual years of experience?

Answer: If we must verify experience for licensure advancement prior to the annual district update in TNCompass, or if data was incorrectly reported for previous years, educators may request that the district complete the Experience Verification Form. Once completed, the educator must upload the form to their educator profile in TNCompass licensure tab. A licensure analyst can then access this form to process the transaction.

However, the information provided on this form does not change the reported experience listed in TNCompass. This information will not populate the experience section in the TNCompass educator profile. We currently do not have a method to edit the experience section in TNCompass. However, the department recommends that districts consider any additional experience added via this form when calculating current salary, as per district policy.​

Question: How do I upload my transcripts to TNCompass?

Answer: Please request the issuing institution to send official transcripts through an online clearinghouse to Educator.Licensure@tn.gov or directly to our office (address below). We do not accept electronic transcripts from individuals via email. The issuing institution must submit hard-copy transcripts in a sealed envelope with no evidence of tampering. 

Although you cannot use unofficial transcripts to qualify for initial licensure or to add degrees to your educator profile, you can use unofficial transcripts when submitting PDPs for coursework completed during the valid period of your license. In this case, you can upload an unofficial copy of your transcript in the attachments section under the licensure tab of your TNCompass account.

Office of Educator Licensure and Preparation

Tennessee Department of Education

9th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower

710 James Robertson Parkway

Nashville, TN 37243

Question: Why is one of my degrees missing from the preparation tab of my educator profile on TNCompass?

Answer: The process of adding a degree to your TNCompass account involves two steps.

• First, ​please request the issuing institution to send official transcripts through an online clearinghouse to Educator.Licensure@tn.gov or directly to our office (address below). We do not accept electronic transcripts from individuals via email. The issuing institution must submit official electronic transcripts directly to the department or hard-copy transcripts in a sealed envelope with no evidence of tampering
• Second, the educator must submit a request on TNCompass to add the degree. To do so, log in to TNCompass, navigate to the transactions tab of your educator profile, select “start a new transaction,” and click “add degree.” When you’ve fully submitted this transition, you’ll status will show, “Pending OELP Review.”

Office of Educator Licensure and Preparation

Tennessee Department of Education

9th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower

710 James Robertson Parkway

Nashville, TN 37243

Question: What do I do if my TNCompass login credentials involve an email address that I can no longer access?

Answer: If you are unable to login to your TNCompass account due to losing access to the login email address associated with your account, please contact Support@TNCompass.org.

Question: I submitted a transaction on TNCompass and still have not received a response. Could I please receive a status update on my transaction and/or an estimated processing time?

Answer: You may check the status of your licensure transaction in www.TNCompass.org by logging in to your account and selecting the transactions tab. If your transaction status is "Pending OELP review," then it is submitted to our office and is in our processing queue. Please ensure that your email address in TNCompass is correct and up to date, since we will notify you by email if we need additional information and/or once we have approved your application.

Due to a high volume of transaction requests, we are currently unable to provide estimates for when specific transactions will be processed. However, for our general processing times, please visit https://www.tn.gov/education/educators/licensing and click “now processing.” If our office’s current processing date for your transaction type is more recent than the date you submitted the transaction, please feel free to contact our office for an update. (Note: The date submitted is different from the transaction creation date.)

If you have applied for an initial Tennessee license through either the in-state or out-of-state pathway, or have applied to reactivate an expired Tennessee license, and have been offered a position in a Tennessee public school, the district may request to expedite review of your application. Individual educators cannot request prioritization.

Please note: if you submitted a renewal or advancement transaction prior to your license’s expiration date, your license could remain active for up to one year while you are waiting on our office to review the transaction.

Question: Why were some of my PDP submissions denied?

Answer: On the Licensure tab of your educator profile, there is a button labeled “Show Unapproved PDPs.” If you click there, you will see a list of any PDPs that are either pending review or have been denied. If you click the blue information button next to each submission, you can view comments explaining why certain PDPs were rejected. In some cases, the reasons that PDPs were rejected can easily be corrected, in which case you can resubmit with the appropriate modifications. If you believe your PDPs were incorrectly denied by the department , please contact educator.licensure@tn.gov. For PDPs denied by your district, you must contact your district with questions about PDPs. You can learn more about this subject by visiting our PDP FAQ guidance page.

Question: When I go to the Licensure tab of my educator profile on TNCompass, it says that I cannot add additional PDPs. What do I do if I need to submit more documentation, and will my license renew automatically once all my PDPs are documented?

Answer: If you have already met the PDP requirements to renew your current license(s), TNCompass will automatically restrict access to the Add PDPs feature usually found on the Licensure tab of your educator profile. You will not need to provide additional PDP documentations to qualify for renewal or advancement and restricting access to this feature allows our office to prioritize submissions from educators who are still working on meeting the minimum requirements for maintaining their license.

If you have documentation that you still wish to upload to your account, you can do so under the Attachments section found on the Licensure tab of your educator profile.

Licenses do not renew automatically, even in cases where PDPs have already been approved. If you have already received the maximum amount of PDPs needed for renewal of your current license, you are welcome to submit a renewal transaction on TNCompass at your earliest convenience. The renewal option becomes available on September 1^st one year prior to your license’s expiration. Step-by-step instructions for submitting a renewal transaction on TNCompass can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/licensure/lic_renewal_app_checklist.pdf.

Question: I have submitted documentation for PDPs, but I see they are still pending. When can I expect the licensure team to process these PDPs, and when can I submit transactions that require PDP approval?

Answer: Recently, the department has been prioritizing the review of PDPs related to licenses expiring in the current year. Once we have reviewed these PDP submissions, we will resume processing submissions in the order that they were received. You can check our general processing times by visiting https://www.tn.gov/education/educators/licensing.html and clicking “now processing.”

If you are not currently employed by a Tennessee public school district, please note that you do not have to wait for PDPs to be reviewed prior to submitting a renewal or advancement transaction. Our office will evaluate any unreviewed PDPs prior to deciding on your renewal or advancement request.

Please read the information below. We are unable to accept walk-in appointments and do not operate a general inquiries hotline

TN Educators Staffed in a District: Please contact your district Licensure/HR office with your licensure needs. If your district is unable to assist, the licensure representative can email their assigned Regional Consultant. Note: we will be sending all staffed educators back to their districts for support.

Prospective TN Educators/Educators NOT Staffed in a District: After reviewing all licensure information on this website, please contact educator.licensure@tn.gov with the following information:

• Full name
• Role (Director of Schools, HR Rep, School Administrator, District Administrator, Teacher, EPP Staff, Out of State DOE, Out of State Candidate, Etc.)
• License Type and Endorsement (if applicable): 1st or 2nd Practitioner/Professional, Instructional Leader, School Service, Occupational, etc.
• Description of Inquiry (initial license, advancement, renewal, degree change, name change, etc.)
• Any teaching licensure/certifications from other states
• Additional helpful context (prior TN licensure transaction information, prior TN teaching information, etc.)
• Any information to help locate your account on TNCompass (license number, full name as it appears on your account, date of birth)

Address for Transcripts:

Office of Educator Licensure and Preparation

Tennessee Department of Education

9th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower

710 James Robertson Parkway

Nashville, TN 37243

Note: To expedite email response, if possible, please provide your name as it appears in your TNCompass account and your license number or the last four digits of your social security number.