Privacy policy

The short version

TeachPassport keeps public lookups and initial certificate checks free. TeachPassport for Schools keeps a certification register for schools, $49 a month. We do not display ads, sell or rent personal information, place private license or employee details in analytics or use account email to build advertising audiences.

Information we collect

If you create an account, we collect your email and the professional information you choose to save, such as certificates, requirements, learning records, destinations, progress and support messages. If you later buy an annual plan, we also keep the billing status and identifiers needed to provide access, receipts, renewals, cancellation and support. Stripe processes card details; TeachPassport does not store the full card number.

Professional documents and sensitive information

When private document storage is available, you may save professional documents needed for certification work covered by the service, such as completion certificates, transcripts, test results or application receipts. A file is uploaded to private quarantine storage, checked by a contracted malware-scanning service with private processing enforced and moved to your private record only after a clean result. A file that fails the type or security check is removed. Cleared files use private storage, access controls and short-lived download links. We also keep an encrypted recovery copy under a neutral identifier. It can be reached only through a restricted offline recovery process and is not used as a live copy of your record.

Do not send Social Security numbers, state-portal passwords, fingerprint images, background reports or full identity documents unless a future feature expressly requests a specific item through a separately reviewed secure process. When an agency needs you to verify identity, sign an attestation or answer a background question, we take you to that agency or approved provider.

How your email is used

We use account email for sign-in, receipts, renewal notices, onboarding, support you request and certificate, requirement, course or plan progress that is part of the service. Announcements and broader educational-resource email require a separate choice. We do not enrich account email with outside data or use it to build advertising audiences.

Organization inquiries

After using the free school certificate-check ledger, a school or education-organization employee may choose one role category, organization-type category, administration-task category and work email so TeachPassport can reply about that inquiry. The form does not accept an organization name, employee name, roster, certificate record, lookup result, local ledger entry or free-text message. It does not create an account or subscribe the address to promotional email.

We send a one-time link to confirm control of the work address. The link token is stored only as a cryptographic hash. Address confirmation does not prove the person’s role, employer affiliation or authority. Unverified inquiries are deleted within seven days. A confirmed inquiry is kept for up to 12 months so we can respond and retain the record of that limited request. To request earlier deletion without creating an account, email hello@teachpassport.com from the confirmed address.

TeachPassport for Schools

TeachPassport for Schools is the separate certification register for schools described in its Data Processing Addendum. It stores employee name, role, site, jurisdiction, employment status, start date and optional certificate number, plus dated verification records: what an administrator saw on the official state lookup, the source, and an optional screenshot of the result. Administrators open official sources and enter those records themselves; TeachPassport does not conduct a hidden lookup.

The register does not accept employee Social Security numbers, dates of birth, fingerprint results, background reports, or any document other than the optional screenshot of an official lookup result. Its records reflect the organization’s administrative record-keeping, not an agency, assignment, employment, pay, legal-readiness or employability decision.

Analytics and surveys

We measure how people find and use public tools and which general features help. Before analytics leaves the browser, query strings are removed and private saved-move addresses are reduced to generic routes. We do not send emails, saved-move identifiers, state pairs, credential names, profile facts, support messages or survey free text to analytics.

Product surveys are voluntary and use categorical answers where possible. Anonymous survey answers are not attached to your account or saved license information.

Service providers

We use vendors for hosting, authentication, private file storage, private malware scanning, payment processing, email delivery and analytics. They receive only the information needed to perform those functions. The malware scanner is configured not to share uploaded files with its community or other customers. Some limited records from an earlier version may be retained when required for security, support or legal obligations.

Sale and advertising

TeachPassport does not display ads. We do not sell personal information, rent it, exchange it for services or use private license details for behavioral advertising. We do not change a course or provider ranking because it paid us. Combined product measurements are used to improve TeachPassport, not to identify an individual teacher.

Retention and deletion

Your account and teaching records are kept so you do not have to start over. You can delete saved certificates, professional-learning activities, proof files, or an entire certificate plan, including after paid access ends. Deleting a proof file makes its recovery copy unavailable immediately. Our recovery-storage provider permanently deletes that hidden copy after seven full days on its next daily cleanup. You can request account deletion while signed in. Account deletion removes access to the associated history, subject to limited records Stripe or TeachPassport must retain for security, fraud prevention, completed transactions, or legal obligations. The shorter organization-inquiry periods described above apply even when no account exists.

Security

We use access controls, encrypted transport, restricted service credentials and data minimization. No online service can promise absolute security. Notify us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.

Contact

Privacy questions and requests may be submitted through our private support inbox.