How to Become a Principal in Illinois

Illinois principal requirements, step by step

Principal endorsement on a Professional Educator License (PEL), Pre-K–Age 22. Each requirement is stated as Illinois State Board of Education publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Hold a master’s degree or equivalent

   Earn a master’s degree or the equivalent recognized for the principal endorsement. Illinois places the principal authorization as an endorsement on a Professional Educator License, not as a free-standing first license.

   Source: isbe.net

2. 2

   Complete approved principal preparation or the 21B-35(b-5) route

   Finish a principal preparation program approved under 23 Illinois Administrative Code 30, or qualify through the statutory alternative described in 105 ILCS 5/21B-35(b-5).

   Source: ilga.gov

3. 3

   Document teaching or school support personnel experience

   Complete at least four years of teaching or four years as school support personnel. The four-year requirement is reducible to three years when each of those years carries a proficient rating, or to two years when both years carry excellent ratings.

   Source: ilga.gov

4. 4

   Pass Principal as Instructional Leader 195 and 196

   Pass both Illinois Licensure Testing System examinations titled Principal as Instructional Leader 195 and 196. Both tests are required; a single subtest does not complete the endorsement.

   Source: isbe.net

5. 5

   Complete Administrator Academy 2001 if prepared in an Illinois program

   Candidates in Illinois programs complete Illinois Performance Evaluation – Initial Teacher Evaluation Training (Administrator Academy 2001) as part of the principal-endorsement pathway.

   Source: isbe.net

6. 6

   Apply for the principal endorsement on the PEL through ELIS

   Request the Pre-K–Age 22 principal endorsement on the Professional Educator License through the Educator Licensure Information System. The endorsement range is Pre-K through age 22, not a narrower elementary-only or secondary-only principal stamp.

   Source: isbe.net

Illinois does not print a stand-alone principal license. The Illinois State Board of Education adds a principal endorsement, spanning Pre-K through age 22, onto a Professional Educator License. That architecture matters for people who let a PEL lapse while finishing a leadership program: there is no residual administrator document hanging in ELIS once the PEL is inactive. Statute 105 ILCS 5/21B-25 and the administrative-endorsements page on ISBE’s site are the paired sources—one for the legal hook, one for the endorsement checklist counselors actually use.

Experience is where Illinois is unusually specific. The baseline is four years of teaching or four years as school support personnel. Rule text then shortens that clock for strong evaluations: three years if every one of those years is rated proficient, or two years if both years are rated excellent. A candidate with two excellent years can sit for the endorsement earlier than a colleague with three mixed years. Evaluation ratings must be the kind the rule recognizes; informal praise or a district “exceeds” label that is not the state’s excellent rating does not trigger the two-year reduction.

Preparation is either a program approved under 23 Illinois Administrative Code 30 or the narrower statutory path in 21B-35(b-5). Candidates who collect random graduate leadership courses from multiple campuses often discover that ISBE will not stitch those hours into an approved program. Illinois-prepared candidates also complete Illinois Performance Evaluation – Initial Teacher Evaluation Training, logged as Administrator Academy 2001. Out-of-state applicants who never entered an Illinois program should not assume Academy 2001 appears on their ELIS to-do list in the same way, but they still face the 195 and 196 examinations.

Those examinations are a pair. Principal as Instructional Leader 195 and 196 are both required. Passing one and postponing the other leaves the endorsement unfinished even when the master’s, experience reduction, and program recommendation are already in ELIS. Apply through ELIS for the Pre-K–Age 22 principal endorsement rather than for a generic “administrator” label. Illinois also issues other administrative endorsements; selecting the wrong endorsement type is a preventable delay on an otherwise complete principal file.

Required exams and fees

Illinois uses ILTS Principal as Instructional Leader 195 & 196. Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Institutions with educational leadership programs

The table lists educational leadership CIP codes and award levels from IPEDS. This extract reported no completion counts, so none are shown. An award conferred does not mean the program is approved to recommend candidates for Principal endorsement on a Professional Educator License (PEL), Pre-K–Age 22. Verify approval with Illinois State Board of Education.

Moving an administrator credential to Illinois

Confirm out-of-state administrator evaluation rules directly with Illinois State Board of Education. This site does not republish NASDTEC interstate-agreement text.

Illinois State Board of Education