How to Become a Teacher in Utah

Utah certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Utah State Board of Education (USBE) — Educator Licensing publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Complete a Utah-approved university educator preparation program

   Finish coursework, field experience, and student teaching in a USBE-approved university program. USBE lists ten in-state educator preparation programs. Upon completion you receive a degree and an institutional recommendation that you have met state standards for a Professional Educator License.

   Source: schools.utah.gov

2. 2

   Pass required license-area assessments

   Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education candidates in a Utah-based program—including APPEL—must pass the Utah Foundations of Reading Assessment (UFORA) with a score of 240 or higher. School Leadership, School Counselor, and School Psychologist areas have required Praxis exams and published passing scores. USBE eliminated the Pedagogical Performance Assessment requirement effective June 10, 2024. Out-of-state program completers follow the testing rules of the state where the program is based, not Utah’s list.

   Source: schools.utah.gov

3. 3

   Complete a USBE background check and Educator Ethics Review in USIMS

   Create a USIMS account and start an Initial Licensing background check with fingerprinting. In-state applicants use Utah Educator LiveScan sites; out-of-state applicants mail FD-258 cards with their CACTUS identification number. Complete the timed Educator Ethics Review in USIMS within 12 months of being recommended. Official transcripts and test scores must come from the issuing source under USBE’s document-submission update.

   Source: schools.utah.gov

4. 4

   Confirm the university recommendation and print the Professional license

   The university posts the recommendation to your CACTUS profile. Confirm the license in USIMS, ideally within 30 days; delays can expire the recommendation and require additional university or USBE work. Print the official digital license from USIMS. USBE does not publish an educator license application fee on its licensing pages.

   Source: schools.utah.gov

5. 5

   Renew the five-year Professional Educator License

   Professional licenses are valid five school years and expire June 30 of the expiration year. There are no fees to renew any Utah educator license. Educators employed in a Utah educational agency for all of the past five years do not complete a renewal form—daily professional learning counts as the 100 hours. Others document 100 clock hours on the PEL Renewal Form with a licensed administrator’s signature and renew in USIMS between January 1 and June 29.

   Source: schools.utah.gov

Utah is not a Praxis-first classroom system. For Utah-based early childhood, elementary, and special education programs, the required exam is the Utah Foundations of Reading Assessment with a published cut of 240. Praxis appears on the required list for school leadership (5412 at 146 or 6990 at 151), school counselor (5422 at 153), and school psychologist (5403 at 148). Many secondary license areas have no required state exam at all; content competency can be shown through coursework, micro-credentials, or optional assessments. University programs may still impose graduation tests that USBE itself does not require—candidates should confirm both layers.

Licensing is split across two systems. USIMS/CACTUS holds the background check, ethics review, and printable license. SM Apply is the intake for License Equivalency Review, Associate Educator License, APPEL professional applications, and AEL extensions. Traditional in-state completers often never open SM Apply if the university recommendation posts cleanly to CACTUS. Out-of-state and alternative applicants live in SM Apply first. USBE’s September 2026 processing board listed Associate and endorsement applications through August 22, 2026, and LER upgrades through August 31, 2026.

Renewal is deliberately light for continuously employed Utah educators. If you worked in a Utah educational agency, school, district, or charter for the entire past five years, daily professional learning and collaboration satisfy the 100 hours and no signed form is required. That is a sharp contrast with states that collect transcripts every cycle. Educators with gaps must document 100 clock hours with no category caps under R277-302 and obtain a school-leadership-licensed administrator’s signature. Renewals are allowed only January 1–June 29; expired licenses can be renewed anytime without a late penalty. USBE audits and may revoke a renewal if documentation is missing.

Out-of-state university completers cannot skip their preparing state’s license. USBE’s pathways page states the Board will not issue a Utah license from an out-of-state program completion alone: obtain that state’s license, then file LER. Compact member-state Professional licenses move faster; associate and alternative credentials do not travel on the compact. Utah testing rules do not apply to out-of-state program completers—if the preparing state required a test Utah does not, the candidate still must pass the preparing state’s test.

Required exams and fees

Utah uses Utah Foundations of Reading Assessment (UFORA) for early childhood, elementary, and special education; Praxis for school leadership, counselor, and psychologist; optional content exams for some endorsements. Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Full Utah exam requirements →

Moving a license to Utah

Holders of a standard renewable educator license from another U.S. state or country use the License Equivalency Review (LER) in SM Apply. Utah participates in the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact: a standard Professional license from a member state is granted an equivalent Utah license; temporary, alternative, probationary, provisional, substitute, LEA-Specific, and associate licenses do not qualify. Completers of an out-of-state university program must first obtain the license in the program’s state, then apply by LER—USBE will not license directly from an out-of-state diploma. International credentials require a NACES or AICE course-by-course evaluation.

Official Utah reciprocity guidance