Teaching License from Georgia to Utah: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Utah State Board of Education (USBE) - Educator Licensing ↗
A teaching certificate transfers from Georgia to Utah by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) - Educator Licensing, verify your Georgia license, and meet Utah's endorsement requirements. USBE states plainly: 'If you are completing your preparation program through an institution in another state, Utah testing rules do not apply to you. Instead, you must meet the state testing requirements where your program is based,' and if Utah requires a test the program's state does not, it need not be taken. Utah's own required exams apply to candidates who complete a Utah educator preparation program - UFORA for Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education; Praxis 5412 or 6990 for School Leadership; Praxis 5422 for School Counselor; Praxis 5403 for School Psychologist. Testing already completed out of state is checked against USBE's Out-of-State Testing Equivalency document. The Pedagogical Performance Assessment (PPA) requirement was eliminated effective June 10, 2024.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The honest version of Georgia to Utah: your Georgia teaching license gets you in the door, not into the classroom on its own terms. Utah will review your credential, issue a provisional certificate so you can begin teaching, and then require its own tests and coursework within its completion window before the full license. Nothing about holding an Georgia license waives Utah's requirements — plan them into your first year.
What changes, Georgia → Utah
| Georgia (current) | Utah (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $0–$20 ($20 processing fee payable via MyPSC for all certification transactions; waived for an applicant's first Georgia certificate when the application is supported by an employing Georgia local unit of administration (LUA). GACE exam fees and fingerprinting costs are additional.) | USBE publishes no educator license application fee on its Licensing home, Apply (LER), or Background Check pages - applications are filed through the SM Apply portal and no amount and no explicit no-fee statement appears on any page reviewed. The BCI/FBI fingerprint-based background-check cost and, for international applicants, credential-evaluation fees are separate and also unpublished. Left null rather than asserted as $0, because no USBE page reviewed on 2026-08-07 says licensure applications are free |
| Processing time | ~2 weeks (GaPSC publishes no fixed range; it posts a live queue date and asks applicants to 'wait at least two weeks after completing your application' before contacting the office. On 2026-08-07 the site stated it was processing complete application packages received on or before July 27, 2026.) | USBE publishes no LER processing range. For the mandatory background check, mailed fingerprint cards take 'up to 25 business days to process' after USBE receives them, plus up to three weeks in transit; LiveScan in Utah has no published timeframe. LER questions go to [email protected] |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) | Utah State Board of Education (USBE) - Educator Licensing |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Utah sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Utah's current requirements on the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) - Educator Licensing website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) - Educator Licensing (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Create an SM Apply account and submit the License Equivalency Review (LER) application.
- Hold a bachelor's degree, a completed educator preparation program, and a standard renewable educator license from another state or country.
- Complete a USBE background check including fingerprinting, initiated through USIMS.
- For credentials earned outside the US, obtain a course-by-course equivalency and degree evaluation with a certified English translation from an approved evaluator.
- Pay the fees (USBE publishes no educator license application fee on its Licensing home, Apply (LER), or Background Check pages - applications are filed through the SM Apply portal and no amount and no explicit no-fee statement appears on any page reviewed. The BCI/FBI fingerprint-based background-check cost and, for international applicants, credential-evaluation fees are separate and also unpublished. Left null rather than asserted as $0, because no USBE page reviewed on 2026-08-07 says licensure applications are free) and allow USBE publishes no LER processing range. For the mandatory background check, mailed fingerprint cards take 'up to 25 business days to process' after USBE receives them, plus up to three weeks in transit; LiveScan in Utah has no published timeframe. LER questions go to [email protected].
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Utah accept a Georgia teaching license?
A teaching certificate transfers from Georgia to Utah by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) - Educator Licensing, verify your Georgia license, and meet Utah's endorsement requirements. USBE states plainly: 'If you are completing your preparation program through an institution in another state, Utah testing rules do not apply to you. Instead, you must meet the state testing requirements where your program is based,' and if Utah requires a test the program's state does not, it need not be taken. Utah's own required exams apply to candidates who complete a Utah educator preparation program - UFORA for Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education; Praxis 5412 or 6990 for School Leadership; Praxis 5422 for School Counselor; Praxis 5403 for School Psychologist. Testing already completed out of state is checked against USBE's Out-of-State Testing Equivalency document. The Pedagogical Performance Assessment (PPA) requirement was eliminated effective June 10, 2024.
Will I have to retake tests moving from Georgia to Utah?
USBE states plainly: 'If you are completing your preparation program through an institution in another state, Utah testing rules do not apply to you. Instead, you must meet the state testing requirements where your program is based,' and if Utah requires a test the program's state does not, it need not be taken. Utah's own required exams apply to candidates who complete a Utah educator preparation program - UFORA for Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education; Praxis 5412 or 6990 for School Leadership; Praxis 5422 for School Counselor; Praxis 5403 for School Psychologist. Testing already completed out of state is checked against USBE's Out-of-State Testing Equivalency document. The Pedagogical Performance Assessment (PPA) requirement was eliminated effective June 10, 2024. Holding a Georgia license does not by itself waive Utah's tests — experience or National Board certification is what typically does.
Can I teach in Utah right away?
Generally yes on a provisional or one-year Utah certificate issued while you complete its requirements; districts hire on that credential.
What does the Georgia-to-Utah transfer cost and how long does it take?
USBE publishes no educator license application fee on its Licensing home, Apply (LER), or Background Check pages - applications are filed through the SM Apply portal and no amount and no explicit no-fee statement appears on any page reviewed. The BCI/FBI fingerprint-based background-check cost and, for international applicants, credential-evaluation fees are separate and also unpublished. Left null rather than asserted as $0, because no USBE page reviewed on 2026-08-07 says licensure applications are free; processing USBE publishes no LER processing range. For the mandatory background check, mailed fingerprint cards take 'up to 25 business days to process' after USBE receives them, plus up to three weeks in transit; LiveScan in Utah has no published timeframe. LER questions go to [email protected].
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- Utah USBE - Apply for an Educator License (License Equivalency Review via SM Apply; Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact eligibility; 'Utah testing rules do not apply' to out-of-state program completers; USIMS background check with fingerprinting; international credential evaluation) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Utah USBE - Educator Tests (Utah required exams apply to Utah EPP candidates; UFORA; Praxis 5412/6990, 5422, 5403; Out-of-State Testing Equivalency; PPA eliminated effective June 10, 2024) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Utah USBE - Background Checks (BCI criminal background check required of all Utah educators; mailed prints up to 25 business days plus transit) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Utah USBE - Educator Licensing home ('Transfer your out-of-state or international license to Utah') ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- GaPSC Rule 505-2-.21 Certification by Interstate Reciprocity (eff. July 1, 2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- GaPSC Rule 505-2-.24 Special Georgia Requirements (eff. July 1, 2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- GaPSC Rule 505-2-.28 Certification Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- GaPSC Certification Division — Common Documents Required for Each Certification Transaction Type ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- GaPSC home page — current application processing status ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]