Licensure

How to apply for Wisconsin Initial Licenses and Renewal Licenses
In this Section

Educators apply for Wisconsin Initial Licenses and Renewal Licenses in teaching, pupil services, administrator, and other license categories using the Educator Licensing Online (ELO) system. ELO allows educators to provide the information, supporting materials, and payment needed for DPI to process their license applications. The system streamlines the application process and allows the applicant to manage their own licensing information, including printing a copy of their license certificate and renewing their licenses when applicable.

Educator Licensing Online (ELO) 

  • If you completed your Wisconsin preparation program before 9/1/2004, please follow the directions at https://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/elo/in-state/1031-tips

  • If you completed your program between 9/1/2004 and 12/31/2013. Please email klandermanh@uwstout.edu with current legal name, previous name, date of birth and graduation month to request your information be submitted to DPI.

Please Review all Directions Carefully before Beginning Your License Application.

Before you begin your license application, the Certification Officer is required to submit your license information to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). If you are a current student this will be completed once you finish all requirements in your program. Please follow the following steps when applying for any type of license in ELO:

  1. Determine whether you need to get fingerprinted
  2. Preview the Conduct and Competency questions you will be answering in ELO - https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/tepdl/pdf/Preview_CC_09-18-2017.pdf
    IF there is some type of misconduct that needs to be reported, prepare and attach a written explanation of what happened. You must also provide complete electronic (scanned) copies of documents associated with the matter that can corroborate/illuminate your explanation of the incident. These may include the criminal complaint, judgment of conviction, police reports, disciplinary letters/findings, correspondence, etc., as applicable. (Note: Court history information printed from the CCAP web site is NOT sufficient.)
  3. Have your credit card ready
  4. Log in to ELO System to apply

License Types/Levels

Provisional (Tier II Initial) License requests

First-time teachers, adding a new field of teaching, administrator, school psychologists and school counselors.

  • First-time request for a teacher license or for adding a new subject/level to existing teaching license (T001-1020)

  • First-time request for an administrator license or for adding a new administrator position to existing administrator license (A001-1020)

Other Licensing Related Links

  • ELO Public Search for Wisconsin Licensed Educators 

  • Electronic Fingerprint Submission for Wisconsin Licensing through Fieldprint 

  • If you completed your first license prior to Sept. 1, 2004, but are just now applying for that Wisconsin license for the first time, you will need a paper PI 1612 form completed and signed by UW-Stout that you will then upload into the Department of Public Instruction's Educator Licensing Online (ELO) when applying. This PI 1612 form is available for download from DPI's ELO web page (https://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/elo/supplementary-forms).

  • New requirement for applicants who complete their online license application after January 30, 2014. If you are seeking a license in a field that now requires the Foundation of Reading Test for Wisconsin, you will need to include your score report along with the PI 1612 form mentioned above.