A lead-free glass material for sealing organic EL elements is provided with which satisfactory sealing quality is obtained through laser sealing without requiring the addition of a metallic powder. The lead-free glass material for sealing organic EL elements has a glass composition which comprises, in terms of mol %, 30-60% V2O5, 5-20% ZnO, 5-20% BaO, 15-40% TeO2, 0-7% Nb2O5, 0-7% Al2O3, 0-5% SiO2, 0-5% MgO, 0-5% Sb2O3, 0-4% CuO, and 0-4% SnO and in which Nb2O5+Al2O3 is 0.5-10%, SiO2+MgO+Sb2O3 is 0-5%, and CuO+SnO is 0-4%. The glass material has low-temperature softening properties, melt stability, and a low coefficient of thermal expansion and is inhibited from thermally adversely affecting organic EL elements The glass material can attain high sealing properties and high sealing strength in high yield.