South Dakota Department of Education Logo. Link to homepage.         A-Z Index      Contact Us





Educator Certification

The SD Educator Portal is an enhanced educator certification and information system released on March 3, 2023. All certification records from the prior system remain accessible through SD Educator Portal. With increased functionality, the new system allows educators to:

  • apply for certification
  • make requests for certificate changes and updates
  • upload documents to storage for future use
  • request a copy of a current certificate
  • submit fee payments
  • update contact information
  • monitor the status of their requests and applications
  • communicate with certification officers



Access the Educator Portal. Link.

This system is part of the mySD State of South Dakota's single sign-on initiative that allows a user to access services across state government
using a single username and password. If you don’t already have a mySD account, you are encouraged to provide a personal email address
during the registration process, rather than an email account associated with an employer, college, or university.



The Educator 411 is a public access point for South Dakota’s Educator Search and Endorsement Search.

  • The Educator Search is an online search tool which provides real-time information about SD’s certified educators. This includes teachers, administrators, education specialists, and those with an educator permit. Information on Educator 411 is considered an official record in South Dakota.
  • The Endorsement Search is an online search tool which provides information on the current requirement for adding endorsements to existing certificates. This tool also provides information based on the assignment/course code and the requirements to be considered authorized to act as a teacher, administrator, education specialist or with an educator permit.


Endorsements

To be certified to teach an assignment or act as an administrator or education specialist, certified educators must have the appropriate endorsement that meets state certification. An educator must request an endorsement be added to a certificate. This will not be automatically added after passing the state-designated test or completing the requirements of the endorsement.

According to ARSD 24:28:18:05, coursework required to add an endorsement must be completed within the 10 year period prior to the application.

How to Submit Official Transcripts

    University may:

    Applicant may:
    • Mail official/original transcripts (transcripts may be removed from the sealed envelope)
      800 Governors Drive Pierre, SD 57501
    Transcripts may NOT be submitted as a pdf or attached to an email



Questions can be directed to: certification@state.sd.us.