Renew an Educator License

Overview

All Educator Licenses expire on June 30th after 5 school years for professional and 3 school years for associate. Renewal of current licenses may be completed between January 1 and June 29th of the expiring year. Early renewals are not permitted. Expired licenses may be renewed at any time. Please refer to the Professional, Associate, or LEA-Specific tab for the steps to renew. There is no penalty for renewing a license from an expired status.

Once a professional license has been issued in Utah, the license is never removed, but may be renewed by completing the renewal requirements. Renewal hours are equal to the number of clock hours spent on the activity, as determined by the licensed administrator signing the renewal form. School administrators should review the information in the Administrator Helps tab. For licenses that have been suspended or revoked, please contact the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC).

All Educator License renewals are subject to monitoring by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). As such, you are required to keep your original signed renewal form with any supporting documentation for 12 months as evidence to support your online renewal transaction. Failure to maintain documentation and follow licensing procedures may result in a repeal of your license renewal and referral to the USBE Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC). 

  • NOTE: There are no license renewal fees for any Utah educator license.

If you experience any renewal difficulties, please contact the Licensing Team at licensing@schools.utah.gov.

Professional Educator License (PEL)

We are pleased to announce an important update regarding the license renewal process; the Board has changed administrative rules to reduce the burden for active educators. Educators holding a Professional Educator License with experience in a Utah educational agency, school, school district or charter for the past five (5) years are no longer required to complete the license renewal form or obtain an administrator’s signature.  Educators complete more than 100 hours of professional learning and collaboration within the context of their jobs. Use this quick tool to determine if the form is required for you. For additional information, you may refer to the Step-by-Step Guide to Educator License Renewals (Google Docs).

Steps to Renew

If you have not worked for all of the previous five (5) years, you must complete the Professional Educator License (PEL) Renewal Form to renew your license. The form may be completed either digitally (PDF) or printed and filled out manually. The educator must document a minimum of 100 hours of renewal activity. 

Complete the online renewal process in Utah Schools Information Management System (USIMS). Educators should only finalize the renewal in USIMS once ALL requirements have been completed and the form has been reviewed and signed by a licensed administrator or other approved authority. The signed/approved form is then maintained by the educator and is not submitted to USBE unless the educator is notified of a monitoring review. Failure to maintain documentation and follow licensing procedures may result in a repeal of your license renewal and referral to the USBE Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC).

Associate Educator License (AEL)

An Associate Educator License (AEL) may not be renewed, effective June 10, 2024.  The AEL may be extended up to two years depending on your experience in Utah schools.

Educators who are employed in a Utah public or accredited private school, they may work with their employer to request an Associate Educator License extension. You must complete the Associate Educator License Extension Form and submit the Associate Educator License Extensions application in SM Apply. The one-time extension may be granted for up to two (2) school years.

AEL Extension FAQs (Google Docs)

LEA-Specific Educator License (LEA-S)

A Local Education Agency (LEA)-Specific License may be renewed if the license area is not special education or a related service. Renewals are submitted for approval by the Local Education Area (LEA) Human Resources and the approved renewal status is then reported electronically by the LEA through CACTUS after July 15th of the new school year. LEA-Specific licenses may be renewed at any time after the license has expired. Renewal forms are not submitted to the USBE.

Your employer may require you to use the Local Education Agency (LEA) Specific Educator License Renewal Form to renew the license. The form may be completed either digitally (PDF) or printed and filled out manually then provided to the Human Resources department for approval. The educator must document a minimum of 60 hours of renewal activities in at least two areas on the form. LEA-Specific Renewals require a refresh through the Utah Schools Information Management System (USIMS) site of both the USBE Educator Ethics Review within the last 12 months, and a cleared USBE background check completed after July 1, 2015 that has not been discontinued through the FBI Rapback network.

Approved LEA-Specific Renewal forms are retained by the Educator and LEA in the event the renewal is selected for monitoring by the Utah State Board of Education for up to 24 months from the date of the renewal. Failure to maintain documentation and follow licensing procedures may result in a repeal of your license renewal and referral to the USBE Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC).

Administrator Helps

The Professional Educator License (PEL) Renewal Form must be signed by a charter school director or a licensed administrator with a School Leadership license area. The board rule, R277-302 Educator Licensing Renewal, has recently changed to be much more flexible for what activities "count" for renewal hours. Renewal hours are now clock hours and not prescribed by any particular ratio.

Any educator who has not worked all five (5) of the previous years in a Utah public school district or charter may complete 100 renewal hours in any category; the hour limits below do not apply.

Form Review and Signature Checklist

  • Are the COVID-19 hours correct? There are 0, 20, and 40 hours possible.
  • Ensure that the educator completed the USBE Utah Student Data Privacy Educator course; it is worth 1 renewal hour. 
  • Professional Learning (90 hours maximum):
    • Any professional learning activity that you feel supports the educator may be counted: school-based professional learning, mentoring, coaching, some paid professional hours, conferences, university courses and more.
    • Educators with a "highly effective" evaluation may earn 10 hours per year.
  • Educator Collaboration (30 hours maximum):
    • School-based collaboration with teams that include data analysis to inform practice may be counted in this section.
  • Professional Service (50 hours maximum):
    • Time spent engaged in government service or association leadership related to education are appropriate.
  • Alternate Learning Opportunities (50 hours maximum):
    • This is the most flexible section.
    • Time spent volunteering, substitute teaching, or working as a paraprofessional in a public school may be counted.
    • Other activities include education conference presentations, educational research, or school leadership such as department chair.
  • Verify that there are at least 100 hours recorded on page 4.
  • Verify that the form is completely filled out and signed by the educator.
  • Complete and sign the last section of page 4.
  • Tell the educator to complete the renewal in USIMS.

Tutorials for Professional License Renewals

Complete the USIMS Professional Educator License Renewal Process (Link to detailed steps - Google Sheets) 

The following video tutorials will walk you through the steps to complete your professional educator license renewal.

Episode 1:  Set up a USIMS account, migrate CACTUS data, and complete the Educator Ethics Review

Episode 2:  Completing the renewal form, documenting activities, and meeting with an administrator

Episode 3:  Saving documentation, completing renewal in USIMS, and printing a copy of your license.