Is Teacher Record Legit? Our Review of the “Free” TEFL Course and Job Board

Is Teacher Record legit? After going through its free TEFL course offer and its job listings, our answer is no. We do not recommend Teacher Record, its free course, or its job board. If you’re reading Teacher Record reviews before signing up, here is what we found, and why we advise you to stay away.

Is Teacher Record Legit? The Quick Verdict

• The free TEFL course: a major red flag. Proper training costs money to deliver. When you aren’t paying, you are the product.
• The “global” job board: every listing we found was in China, despite the “70+ countries” branding.
• Visa problems: listings that say a degree isn’t required, or that invite non-native speakers, conflict with Z visa rules.
• Discrimination: ads demanding “white” teachers, age caps, and lower pay by nationality.
• Pay: headline salaries that shrink once you read the full job ad.
• Our recommendation: avoid.

The “Free” TEFL Course: Why Free Is a Massive Red Flag

Teacher Record’s main selling point is a free TEFL course. At Trusted TEFL Reviews, we are blunt about this: we do not recommend any free TEFL course. Nothing in this industry is free. Qualified tutors, assessment and support cost money, and if the course doesn’t pay for itself, something else does.

In this case, that something appears to be you. Register and you hand your personal details to a company whose real business is recruitment. Your data is the payment, and the course is the bait that gets you onto the job board.

Look at how the company gets talked about online, too. Moderators of a major TEFL community reported around twenty near-identical promotional posts in eight days, mostly from brand-new accounts, and none of them said anything about the course except that it was free. When glowing “customer” reviews come from throwaway accounts, don’t trust them.

A free certificate from a recruitment platform also won’t carry the weight of a course from an independently accredited provider. Employers and visa authorities notice.

A “Global” Job Board That Only Recruits for China

The homepage invites you to “Explore Teaching Offers Worldwide” and calls the site “The Leading ESL Job Board” with “70+ countries.” The About page lists China, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

After reviewing every advert on the site, the only jobs we found were in China. Even the online roles were with Chinese companies. If you want to teach anywhere else, this platform is useless to you, and the marketing never says so.

Illegal Job Postings: A Direct Risk to You

Is Teacher Record legit when it advertises jobs that break visa rules?

Foreigners who work in China generally need a Z visa, along with a work permit and residence permit. Teachers are commonly required to hold a bachelor’s degree and a passport from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa, so always confirm the current rules with your nearest Chinese embassy.

Yet multiple listings say a degree is preferred but not required, or actively seek non-native English speakers. Anyone who takes those jobs risks arrest, fines, detention, deportation and a ban on returning to China. If that happens, don’t expect help from the platform that advertised the job.

Discriminatory Job Postings

Teacher Record claims its database holds “authentic, verified” openings. Across all eight pages of listings, we saw requirements like:

• “native foreign teacher, white”
• “Age: ≤45 years old”
• “If you are under 35 and are a female teacher who is interested in this job, please send your resume.”

The pay gaps are just as revealing. Two postings from the same company offered South African teachers a starting salary of 12,000 CNY, against 14,000 CNY for Americans, Britons and Canadians.

Online jobs aimed at Filipino teachers are worse: US$2 to $4 an hour, with 25-minute classes earning roughly US$1 to $2, and trial lessons paying as little as US$0.50. Native English speakers on other listings could earn US$18 to $26 an hour.

Any employer that advertises like this isn’t one you should want to work for, and a platform that publishes these ads shares the blame.

Salary Bait-and-Switch: Advertised Pay vs. Reality

Teacher Record says all roles come with “clear and transparent salary detail.” In our review, the board shows one salary range and the full ad says something else:

• One role was advertised at 20,000 to 26,000 CNY, but the body of the ad said 15,000 CNY gross.
• Another listed a range of 5,000 to 33,000 CNY, a spread so wide the bottom end appears to apply to teachers who wouldn’t qualify for a legal visa.

If a job ad can’t tell you what you’ll earn, don’t apply.

Who Is Behind the Teacher Record Job Board?

The small print on the Teacher Record website says it is operated by ShenZhen Federated Database Education Technology Co., Ltd., with certain services supported by Rancca Limited. A number of listings come through Rancca, alongside better-known names like Meten, First Leap and EF and smaller companies like Meiyu Education Group and Happy English.

Before trusting any of them, look up the actual employer, and ask why a recruiter’s name appears on a “direct from schools” job board.

Is Teacher Record Legit? Your Questions Answered

Is Teacher Record legit?

In our assessment, no. The site markets itself as a global job board, but every listing we found was in China, and several conflict with Chinese visa rules or contain discriminatory requirements. We advise against using it.

Is the Teacher Record TEFL course really free?

You don’t pay money, but you do hand over your personal data. We don’t recommend any free TEFL course, because the real cost is passed on elsewhere, in this case through the job board and recruitment services.

Is the Teacher Record TEFL certificate accredited?

We found no independent accreditation that would make it a credible qualification.

Does Teacher Record hire outside China?

Not from what we found. Despite the “70+ countries” claim, every job listing we reviewed was in China, including the online roles.

Is it safe to take a job through Teacher Record?

We would not. You risk working illegally without the correct Z visa, being paid less than the advertised salary, and working for employers who discriminate on race, age and nationality.

What should I do instead?

Choose an independently fully-accredited TEFL/TESOL course, verify any employer directly, and insist on written visa sponsorship before you travel.

Better Alternatives: How to Choose a TEFL Course and Employer

Check verified reviews. We check every review listed on Trusted TEFL Reviews. If it can’t be verified, it can’t be published. This is, perhaps, the reason why Teacher Record currently has zero reviews on our website. Always check the TEFL Course Directory for a program’s raking and reviews.

Distrust uniform praise. Identical glowing reviews from new accounts are a warning sign.

Pay for a fully accredited course. See our Accreditation Guide for which accreditation types are truly globally recognized.

Verify the employer. Get the school’s legal name, address and contract in writing.

Confirm the visa. No Z visa, no job.

Speak to current teachers at the school, not just the recruiter.

The safer alternative. Choose from one of the 5 Best online TEFL/TESOL certification course programs.

Final Verdict: Is Teacher Record Legit?

No. A “free” course designed to harvest your data, a job board that is China-only despite global branding, ads that conflict with visa rules, open discrimination, and shrinking salaries add up to a platform we cannot recommend. Skip the free course, skip the job board, and protect your career, your pay and your legal status.

This review reflects our assessment of the publicly available Teacher Record website at the time of writing.

Last updated: October 12, 2026 | Reviewed by the Trusted TEFL Reviews team