State Authorization and Professional Licensure
State Authorization and SARA
BYU is an approved institutional participant of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state authorization and oversight of postsecondary education. BYU's participation in SARA means that it is authorized to offer distance learning and other educational activities to students in every SARA-member state. California is the only state that has not joined SARA; however, BYU's educational activities do not trigger California's state authorization requirements.
If you are a student located in a state other than Utah and have a complaint about a BYU course or program, please visit BYU's Complaints webpage for information about how to make your complaint.
Occupationally Required Professional Licenses or Certifications
BYU is required to disclose information about its educational programs leading to an occupationally required professional license or certificate.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Education adopted regulations that require the university to provide information to students regarding its educational programs that are advertised or designed to meet educational requirements for occupationally required professional licenses or certifications. Examples of such programs include nursing, teaching education, counselling, etc. The following disclosure is made for regulatory compliance purposes. It does not have any effect on or represent any change to BYU’s academic programs.
BYU has determined that all its programs designed to lead to an occupationally required professional license or certificate meet the educational requirements for licensure or certification in Utah. However, educational requirements for licensure and certification vary by state. While BYU has also determined that some of these programs meet the educational requirements for licensure or certification in certain other states, it has yet to make such a determination for many of its programs. This does not mean that a specific program does not meet the criteria of another state; BYU has simply not made a final determination.
Students pursuing occupations requiring a license or certificate in a state other than Utah should contact the appropriate BYU academic advisement center as well as the licensing agency in the state where they intend to work to seek information and guidance regarding licensure and certification requirements. Use the following link for a complete list of each BYU program leading to an occupationally required license or certificate, including:
- whether the program meets the educational requirements for licensure or certification in states other than Utah;
- contact information for the corresponding BYU academic advisement center; and
- information about the applicable licensing agency of each state.