The University of Utah's College of Education is the licensing entity for any educator license that needs to be completed through the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). We complete recommendations for those completing initial licenses, second licenses, and endorsement additions to current licenses for the state of Utah.

College of Education Licensing includes:

Educational Leadership (ELP K-12 Administration)

Teacher Education (Elementary, K-3 and K-8, and Secondary including Music and Kinesiology)

Special Education

School Counseling

School Psychology

Social Work

Speech and Language Pathology (also includes Audiology)

In all, we recommend 10 areas for licensure!

There are no fees associated with the licensing process through the university.

An initial license is for those educators who have never held a license before. An Associate Educator License (AEL) doesn't count as an initial license in this case though it is an important step and a required part of some of your programs. If you have an AEL license and no other licenses, you'll complete a license application for an initial license.

A second license is for those who do have a professional license already. Applicants who already have a license usually have a Professional Educator license to teach in a K-12 classroom. If you have a Professional Educator license but also have an AEL license for your specific program, you'll still complete a second license application.

If you want to know what kind of license you have, check your USIMS account and click on License Information.

If you are an elementary initial license student and you have an AEL license, please go ahead and complete your license application. Note that the License Coordinator will contact you in late May, early June with some very specific instructions that you must complete to be recommended for your license.

If you are with another program and have an initial license, please send an email to the License Coordinator, Kristen Lindsay, for more information.

Note, due to the USBE shutdown (discussed later on the page) students must be attentive to the information received and act promptly when receiving the information, following the directions exactly as stated and as soon as possible after receiving the mail.

If you are a second license student with both a professional license and an AEL license, please proceed as normal with a second license application. If additional steps are required due to your situation, the License Coordinator will reach out to you directly.

An endorsement is an "add on" to your license. You must either be recommended for an initial license or already have a license to have an endorsement added on to your license. Please see the examples below.

Initial License with an endorsement

Students who are recommended for an initial license can get an endorsement added to their license. The best examples of this are the English as a Second Language (ESL) or a Secondary Teaching Major.

Students who have completed the ESL Endorsement coursework can have the ESL endorsement added on to their license. Students wanting this added on will need to have completed the required coursework, and submit their license application either in Elementary, Secondary or Special Education.

Secondary students are recommended for a Secondary Teaching license and then have their specific areas added on. If you are an English teaching major, you'll have a Secondary Teaching license, with an English endorsement added onto your license.

Second License with an endorsement

This is much more rare with second licenses as not all second license programs have an endorsement that can be added on. However, an example of a second license with an endorsement would be if you already have an Elementary Professional Teaching license and you've completed the M.Ed in Special Education for teacher licensure. Similar to an initial license, you'll receive a second license in Special Education with an endorsement in one of those areas such as mild/moderate disabilities.

Some programs will require a test for you to be recommended for your license. There is not a universal test that covers all recommendations as different programs will have different tests.

Audiology: 3 page passed Praxis score report.

Elementary (K-3 and K-8): The Foundations of Reading score report.

Secondary: No Praxis test required unless directed by your Advisor. (Foreign language students and students receiving the Science Core Endorsements, please see your advisor.)

Special Education: The Foundations of Reading score report.

Music: No Praxis test required.

School Counseling: 3 page passed Praxis score report.

School Psychology: 3 page passed Praxis score report.

Social Work: Not test, however you are required to submit your official University of Utah Transcript in your application and you will need to send a copy directly to Diane Buck.

ELP K-12 Administration: 3 page passed Praxis score report.

That will depend on your program.

Social Work students will need to submit an official copy of their University of Utah transcripts in their license application as well as ensure that advisor Diane Buck has a copy of it on file.

Students in Educational Psychology and Educational Leadership and Policy are strongly recommended to have any Undergraduate, M.ED and/or Ph.D. official transcripts obtained from other institutions (outside of the University of Utah) available if asked to submit them as the USBE may request those.

All students, no matter the program should have all official transcripts from degrees received at other institutions (outside of the University of Utah) available for submission for verification purposes if requested.

If the only program you have received a degree from is the University of Utah, then you will not need to have that transcript on hand for license recommendation purposes.

It is recommended that students obtain an official copy of their University of Utah transcripts once they receive their degree for professional purposes if asked for one by their future employer for proof of degree completion. The USBE may also request this directly from you rather than from the University of Utah. You can request a copy of your official transcripts here: Official Transcripts.

To access USIMS, please go to: USIMS

The UITE Background Check website has step by step instructions on how to access it.

The Educator Ethics Review is a quiz required for all licensed educators. This quiz is 25 multiple choice questions referring to the Educator Standards Rule (linked in the Educator Ethics Review itself). You can refer to the rules as you complete the review. You must successfully answer 80% of of the questions to pass. At the end of the review, you'll receive a notification that you've passed and it'll be marked off of your USIMS checklist displaying the date that you completed it.

The Educator Ethics Review is only valid for one year. If you have completed it before and your USIMS account is asking you to complete it again, it is because it has been over a year since you last completed it. Note, the License Coordinator cannot recommend you for your license unless this has been completed.

All programs except for UITE Elementary and Secondary must submit a screenshot of their USIMS Checklist. UITE Elementary and Secondary have a screenshot requirement built into their fall semester licensure year courses where they must submit the screenshot to pass the fall of the licensure year.

The screenshot is to help ensure that we can verify that you have completed the USBE Background check, Educator Ethics Review and ensure that we are able to match you up with your CACTUS id number from your screenshot to your account when the recommendation is completed. This helps to ensure that we are recommending the correct applicant for the license.

All applicants should note that the screenshot they submit should look like the one shown here. USIMS Screenshot. It must show all of the information on that example. The Checklist is the only place on your USIMS account that can display your name and CACTUS id number. It is important that the arrow next to License Information is clicked so that information displays. If you submit a screenshot without that arrow clicked, displaying your name and CACTUS id, you will experience a delay in your license recommendation. The License Coordinator will reach out to you via your umail address and ask you to send a new screenshot with the correct information displaying. No applicant will be recommended without the screenshot made available to the License Coordinator.

If you need help in getting your screenshot, please visit the UITE Background Check website and scroll all the way to the bottom, Need Help?

This must be completed due to security restrictions. Even if you completed your initial license at another intuition and are being recommended for your second license you must complete this step.

This is the only way the License Recommender can see your account in USIMS is if you complete the steps on the UITE Background Check, Step One, Part 5. Note, the License Coordinator cannot recommend you for your license unless this has been completed.

For further licensing information for the state of Utah please refer to the following link USBE Licensing.

Note that this is not the link for you to use to be recommended for your license. The USBE will refer you back to the College of Education if you use that link to apply for your license.

Students should be aware that license recommendations are not instantaneous. They do require processing on several levels and can take several weeks to complete as they require your participation, advisors to review what you submit and ensure that you meet requirements, the License Coordinator to verify information in both University systems and USIMS and finally the USBE to issue the license.

Additionally, students are reminded that summer is the time of the year that most licenses are processed. Therefore, students are encouraged to be patient as this process is taking place.

Students complete the license application once they are almost or have completed their program. All students are reminded that it is their responsibility to begin the process as soon as they are given permission to do so by their Advisor.

All students are held to current licensing standards at the time that their license recommendation is being processed. If students delay and wait a year or more, those license standards may change according to USBE requirements and directives. It is in students' best interest to complete the license application soon after their degree's post. ELP students should speak with their advisor given program requirements.

Students will submit the license application including all required documentation (tests, screenshots and verifications). Note that all licensing correspondence goes through students umail accounts. Students retain access to umail after graduation.

Students note, unless directed by the License Coordinator, do not submit more than one license application. Submitting more than one application may cause delays.

Note that degrees may post 4-6 weeks after graduation. You can complete the application prior to your degree posting.

A reminder to students, we submit a recommendation to the USBE for your license. The USBE are the ones who actually issue you the license.

After students have completed their license application, the system will automatically forward the license application onto the program advisor.

The advisor will verify that all program requirements have been completed, degree has posted and the program is able to recommend you for licensure. Advisors will review your test scores (if required) to ensure that you have met the testing requirements, grades if there are required minimums and any other departmental program requirements.

Your application may remain with the academic advisor for 3 weeks depending on a number of factors which includes the number of applications that are being processed. Note that the advisor will not send your application to the License Coordinator if the degree has not posted, which may extend your timeline.

Once the application is completed by the advisor, the system will automatically send the application to the License Coordinator.

The License Coordinator will verify that all documentation is submitted, students have a current and valid background check, the Educator Ethics Review has been completed within the past year and the student can be found in USIMS. If any of these things are not completed, then the License Coordinator will send the student an email asking them to either send the documentation or complete a step. This will delay your recommendation.

Under typical circumstances, with no additional information required to be sent or completed, most licenses will be completed 2-3 weeks after it is received by the License Coordinator. Note that second licenses will take longer than initial licenses due to the processes that take place.

Once the recommendation is completed by the License Coordinator, students will receive an email informing them of next steps. Second License applicants should be aware that the email is a notification that the recommendation has been sent to the USBE, however, their license may not be available in USIMS for up to another two weeks as there are processes within the USBE that must take place regarding these licenses.

All students are reminded that the University of Utah is not the only institution that recommends licenses, there are multiple other Universities that complete this process at the same time and all recommendations are received by the USBE by the various University License Coordinators to be processed.

Every year, the USBE revokes access to USIMS from everyone. This includes, students, license coordinators and school districts. No one has access to the system to do anything. This means that if you need to complete a background check, complete your Educator Ethics Review, grab a screenshot of your USIMS Checklist, etc, you will be unable to access the system during this time. The License Coordinator will not be able to verify any information or check on the status of anything in USIMS.

This occurs beginning July 1 and continues to a date still to be determined, usually 2-3 weeks. The USBE takes this time to update systems and ensure the system is ready to go for the incoming academic year. Students note, USIMS is not a system solely used by Universities but is also the primary system used by school districts for hiring, background checks, placements and more. The system is shut down at this time to accommodate the end of the year processes for school districts and to get it ready for the beginning of the year for those same districts.

Students should adhere to the following dates to help ensure that their license applications are submitted before the shutdown occurs:

Initial License

Students submit license application date: June 13, 2025

Advisors complete their portion of license application: June 20, 2025

Second License

Students submit license application date: June 6, 2025

Advisors complete their portion of license application: June 13, 2025

Note that any recommendations submitted after these dates either may not be completed by the Advisor on time to get it to the License Coordinator, or may not be completed by the License Coordinator before the shutdown. They will be processed as soon as possible once the USIMS system is available again.

Degree's posting is a University process that we can't speed up for you. It may be that some grades weren't available when the Registrar's Office was checking your graduation application for completion.

A reminder that it may take 4-6 weeks for a degree to post. Which means the recommendation process for your advisor may not start until the degree posts.

If you have had a name change, you will need to contact the USBE to make those changes as the Licensing Coordinator does not have access to correct that. You will need to submit a current state/federally issued photo ID with the legal documentation that changes the name such as a marriage certificate or pages from court documents.  Submit to licensing@schools.utah.gov with your CACTUS ID#.

Please refer to the timelines listed above discussing what to expect as your application moves through the system. If you have completed all the steps have waited through the expected times, please first reach out to your academic advisor before reaching out to the License Coordinator to ensure that there isn't something on their end which is delaying your application. The licensing coordinator will not be able to give you a timeline on when your license will be processed if your application is still with your academic advisor.

All students retain access to their umail after graduation. The Licensing Coordinator sends the licensing information to your umail for security and also because it is official university correspondence. If you are having difficulties accessing your umail account, please reach out to the University Help Desk.

Once recommended, your license will appear on your USIMS account. Please click on the arrow next to Licensing Information. A bar should appear asking you to accept your license. It may have you complete a few tasks. Once those are completed, you will be able to download a PDF of your license. This bar will only appear after you have been recommended for your license.

No, the USBE doesn't have access to University of Utah licensing processes. The USBE will receive your license to enter into their database and issue you your license. But they will not be aware as to where in the process your application is within the University. They would recommend you back to us. The only thing that the USBE would be able to tell you is if your license has been submitted by us or not.

If you can't find the answer to your question, please reach out to the License Coordinator, Kristen Lindsay.

Students should be emailing from their Umail accounts, not personal email accounts due to security. All responses will be made only to student Umail accounts.