Announcement:
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has launched the Public Website Educator
Certification Search Page. The search will return the status of credentials held by Pennsylvania
educators, administrators, support personnel, as well as certificates for Public Librarians, and
certificates of preliminary education (CPE) for Funeral Directors and Nursing school
candidates. If you have hired a PA certified educator after December 2011, you should check the
public website below to ensure that you have the most recent credential data for any newly hired
Pennsylvania certified educators. The link to the website is listed below, as well as a few tips to
assist you in using the search tool. If you experience difficulties with the use of this site, please
report the issues immediately to Theresa Barnaby at tbarnaby@pa.gov or (717) 772-4737, list the
subject of the email as “Public Website”.
TIMS PUBLIC WEBSITE
The site can be accessed from the
 Pennsylvania Department of Education home page (www.education.state.pa.us), by
 selecting the “Teachers” button in the middle of the page, then
 selecting the “Certification Status Search” from the Quick Links section of the page
 OR use the following link: http://www.teachercertification.pa.gov/Screens/wfSearchEducators.aspx
SEARCH BY NAME
1. Enter full name if known.
2. Enter partial name if spelling is uncertain.
3. Use the percent sign (%) in strategically placed locations when there are multiple variations. For example,
D%Angelo will list D Angelo, D’Angelo, DeAngelo, as well as Deangelos.
SEARCH BY EDUCATIONAL ENTITY
Enter the first few characters of the school building (Garfield Elementary) or agency (school district, intermediate unit,
charter school, CTC/Vocational school). If the desired entity appears in the drop down list, select from the list.
SEARCH BY PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL ID (PPID)
Enter the seven-digit PPID.
SEARCH RESULTS
1. Click on the View Complete Profile link next to the desired educator.
2. Employment information is only provided for public entities only for the single year listed on the search screen.
Educators with No Employment Record on file may be working in a private institution, out of state, or
elsewhere.
3. The Complete profile displays certification information and discipline status. Definitions are available to clarify
discipline, continuing education and credential status terminology by clicking on the question mark symbol in
the blue circle.
4. When searching by PPID, the name does not appear; the PPID does not display when searching by name or
entity for security reasons.