Official Site of The State of New Jersey

For information on career and vocational programs contact the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, at Center for Occupational Employment Information (COEI).

Out-of-State institutions of higher education seeking to offer New Jersey residents no other programs except for distance education programs with no physical presence in the State, are not required to petition for licensure  N.J.A.C. 9A:1-7.5(b).  “Physical Presence” is defined in the higher education licensure rules of the New Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C.) to mean “that an entity offers credit-bearing courses from or conducts some portion of the learning experience at a location established in New Jersey by the entity, whether established directly or under the auspices of another entity or an institution . . .”  N.J.A.C. 9A:1-1.2. 

New Jersey does not consider marketing or recruitment activities for programs offered outside of the State to constitute a physical presence as defined above.  Therefore, no licensure is required in order to conduct those activities in the State.

New Jersey does not have a religious exemption.

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 9A:1-7.5(c), if a distance education degree program offered by an out-of-State institution requires a supervised component for a certain degree, such a component, if conducted in New Jersey, will not meet the definition of “Physical Presence” so long as the following two criteria are met:

1. The student-supervisor relationship is conducted on a one-to-one basis (e.g. no group review sessions or other gatherings); and
2. The supervisor is not a permanent employee of the institution.

If the degree program is intended to lead to professional licensure or certification by a New Jersey licensing body (ex. the Board of Social Work Examiners) or is otherwise under the oversight of such a body, your institution will still need to meet that body’s requirements.

If an out-of-state institution is not fully accredited by a US Department of Education-recognized accrediting body then a degree from that school may not be considered valid in New Jersey.  Students from New Jersey should be made aware prior to enrollment if this is the case.

New Jersey has been accepted as part of the SARA through the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and does not require annual notification from NC-SARA institutions providing academic programming within the state.

If a non-NC-SARA, out-of-state institution desires to provide distance education programs, with no physical presence,  additional information on SARA is also provided .  Non-SARA institutions must submit the required registration form to this office

Form

There is a registration fee of $10.000 per program and/or $1,000 per course. 

Registration will be considered incomplete until the submission fee has been received. Fees must be received within ten (10) days of the submission. All checks should be made out to Treasury, State of New Jersey.

Fee submissions must be sent via next-day carrier, along with the Licensure Petition Fee Memo and Licensure Check Information Sheet, to the address provided below. Please click below to download the memo template and itemized check information sheet.

• Licensure Check Information Sheet  — (Sample Sheet )
• Licensure Petition Fee Memo 

Please send fee submission via overnight mail with tracking number to:
Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE)
Attn: Licensure Unit / Adrian Wright
1 John Fitch Plaza, 10th Floor
PO Box 542
Trenton, NJ 08625

If the check is received with incorrect or missing information, it will be returned to the submitting institution.

Once the annual report and corresponding fee have been received and accepted, OSHE will send a confirmation email to the institution via the contact identified in the Licensure Petition Fee Memo.

Please Note: ALL FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.