Office of Teaching and Leading
Division of Educator Licensure
Form LA Revised March 2020
LICENSURE INSTRUCTIONS
Mississippi Department of Education
Office of Educator Licensure
P. O. Box 771
Jackson, MS 39205-0771
(601) 359-3483
Please read directions carefully:
1. All educators are encouraged to apply for licensure requests online through the
Educator Licensure Management System (ELMS). ELMS is accessible through the
Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) website at https://www.mdek12.org . Your ELMS
account will provide you with your Educator ID number and allow you to upload supporting
documents, that have been scanned as a PDF, for your application (photocopies are not accepted).
When applying online, remember that supporting documents from the Licensure Checklist must
still be mailed to the address above to complete licensure request.
If submitting a paper application, complete and return the Licensure Application (pp. 2-3) with
all other required documents as a single, complete packet to the address above, or scanned as a
PDF and uploaded to your ELMS account. A complete packed includes an Application, plus all
documents listed under your licensure category from the Licensure checklist. Applications that
arrive without supporting documents will be considered incomplete, and the educator will be mailed
a “requirements” letter, stating which documents are needed to process the licensure request.
The Licensure Application, Licensure Checklist and all referenced forms in the License Checklist can
be obtained by visiting https://www.mdek12.org/OEL/Forms unless otherwise specified.
2. All transcripts from all institutions must be submitted in a sealed envelope(s) bearing the seal or
signature of the registrar. It should be mailed to you and may be stamped “student issued.” Do not
open the sealed envelope. The Office of Educator Licensure also accepts electronic transcripts
through eScripSafe or Clearinghouse Transcript Exchange if the institution at which the degree was
earned or acceptable coursework was taken utilizes the services offered by one of the organizations
noted here. This is the fastest, most secure way to get your transcripts to the Office of Educator
Licensure.
3. All Praxis test takers who test in the state of MS test score results are automatically reported to
the MDE. To ensure successful retrieval of scores automatically reported to the MDE, please be sure
to include your full and correct social security number. If you test out of state, please designate the
MDE as a score recipient during the test registration process. If you do not request your scores be
sent electronically to MDE, you can submit an official paper copy of all pages of your score report to
the Office of Educator Licensure.
For additional information regarding educator licensure, please visit the Mississippi
Department of Education, Office of Educator Licensure webpage:
https://www.mdek12.org/OEL