The Maine Department of Education has released the long-awaited educator portal for the new online credentialing system, Maine Educator Information System (MEIS). Educators can now log-in to the new online certification system and renew their certifications completely online.
The phased rollout of the new online certification system began with the launch of the district portal which has been open to district administrators since the beginning of May to allow district staff time to become familiar with functions and complete recommendations for educators in their district, prior to the release of the educator portal.
The Department has processed over 10,000 applications internally using the new online certification system since mid-November of 2017 with a record decrease in processing times.
While the Department is currently still accepting paper applications for initial applications, all renewals must be processed through the online system. After the bulk of renewal applications have been submitted, educators will also be able to submit initial applications through the online system.
Instructions for Educators and Administrators Who Need to Renew:
- Download Instructions on How to Create an Account.
- Once your account is created, you may log-in and complete the steps necessary to renew your credential. Please download the step by step instructions on How to Submit a Renewal Application.
- If you are prepared with any PDF documents that are required, the entire renewal process should take less than 15 minutes.
- If you are currently working in a Maine public school district and have not been recommended by your certification committee, please confer with your certification chair and/or superintendent.
- If you run into any difficulty, after reviewing the step by step instructions, call or email the Department’s certification office.
Once the educator portal has been fully released, the Department will release the public portal, which will allow members of the public to search for educators by name and see their current certification credentials.
The Department would like to thank the education field for their patience and time throughout the process of launching the online certification system. Rolling out a new system is a tremendously challenging, frustrating, rewarding, and exhilarating process. We are confident that the transition from an outdated paper filing system to a completely online certification system will serve and benefit the thousands of educators in Maine by making the credentialing process a much more efficient and cost effective experience for educators seeking and managing certification in our State.
Further communications and updates are available on the Maine Department of Education Certification Webpage, Maine DOE’s official Facebook and Twitter pages, and the Maine DOE Newsroom.