The BPPE, California's Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, grants the approval to operate that a private postsecondary school needs to do business in California unless it is exempt under the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009. Approval runs five years. For the business office, the Act and the Bureau's regulations set an annual fee of 0.55% of each campus's revenue from California students (at least $2,500, at most $60,000 per campus), required contents for the enrollment agreement, a cancellation and pro rata refund policy with refunds paid within 45 days, Student Tuition Recovery Fund reporting each quarter, an annual report, and student records kept for five years.
What is the BPPE?
The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education is the California agency that approves and oversees private postsecondary schools, including career, trade and vocational schools. Its authority comes from the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, in the Education Code starting at section 94800, and its regulations in Title 5, Division 7.5 of the California Code of Regulations.
The Act says a person may not open, conduct or do business as a private postsecondary educational institution in California without an approval to operate, unless the institution is exempt under Article 4 of the Act (Education Code 94886). The Bureau publishes a school search on its site, so students and agencies can check a school's approval.
The BPPE is a state approval body, not an accreditor. An accredited school applies for approval by means of its accreditation, which is a separate, shorter route (Education Code 94890).
How does a school get an approval to operate?
It applies to the Bureau, which grants approval only after the school shows, and the Bureau verifies through site visits or other methods, that it can meet the Act's minimum operating standards (Education Code 94887). An approval to operate runs for five years (Education Code 94889). Each new branch needs its own approval.
The application fees in the Act's fee schedule (Education Code 94930.5):
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Approval to operate, application | $5,000 |
| Approval to operate a new branch | $3,000 |
| Approval by means of accreditation | $750 |
| Renewal, main campus | $3,500 |
| Renewal, each branch | $3,000 |
| Renewal by means of accreditation | $500 |
| Substantive change | $500 ($250 by means of accreditation) |
What does the BPPE charge each year?
An annual fee for each main campus and each branch: 0.55% of that campus's total gross revenue from students in California, with a floor of $2,500 and a cap of $60,000 per campus. The Act's subdivision (d) still reads 0.45%, but subdivision (g) raised the rate to 0.55% from 1 July 2018. The total for one institution can't exceed $750,000 (Education Code 94930.5(d) and (g)). The fee is due within 30 days of the original approval and then on each anniversary of it (5 CCR 74006).
Gross revenue here means tuition, fees and other charges for instruction and related services in the last fiscal year, not counting unearned tuition and refunds, under generally accepted accounting principles (5 CCR 74002).
A worked example for a group with three California campuses:
| Campus | Revenue from California students | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Main campus | $3,000,000 | $16,500 |
| Branch A | $1,200,000 | $6,600 |
| Branch B | $400,000 | $2,500 (the floor, since 0.55% would be $2,200) |
So the business office needs revenue by campus, not just for the school as a whole.
What goes in the annual report?
The Act requires an annual report signed under penalty of perjury by a responsible officer (Education Code 94934). It includes enrollment, the credentials awarded, the School Performance Fact Sheet, the catalog, the total charges for each program by period of attendance, and a statement of whether the school is current in remitting Student Tuition Recovery Fund assessments. The regulations add branch and satellite locations, federal and state aid received, other public funding such as workforce programs, the share of income from public sources, a blank enrollment agreement, and annual financial statements for the prior fiscal year (5 CCR 74110).
The Bureau's own page says the 2025 Annual Report is due by 1 December 2026, and that a separate School Performance Fact Sheet is prepared for each approved program at each main and branch location.
What does the BPPE require of the enrollment agreement?
Education Code 94911 lists the minimum contents. For the business office the money lines matter most: a schedule of total charges with any nonrefundable charges and the Student Tuition Recovery Fund obligation marked nonrefundable, and, in underlined capitals on the signature page, the total charges for the current period of attendance, the estimated total for the whole program and the total due on enrollment. The agreement must also carry a "STUDENT'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" disclosure with the refund policy. See enrollment agreement.
What refund rules does the BPPE set?
- Cancellation. A student who cancels through attendance at the first class session, or the seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later, gets back 100% of institutional charges paid, less a reasonable deposit or application fee of no more than $250 (Education Code 94919(d) and 94920(b)).
- Withdrawal. A student who has completed 60% or less of the period of attendance gets a pro rata refund (Education Code 94919(c) and 94920(d)). The regulation sets the formula (5 CCR 71751).
- Timing. Refunds are paid or credited within 45 days (Education Code 94920(e)).
- Logs. The school keeps a monthly log of cancellations and withdrawals with refund amounts (5 CCR 71750(d) and 71751(d)).
A school in the federal aid programs also runs the Return of Title IV Funds calculation first. See tuition refund policy and R2T4.
What records does the business office keep?
Each student's file must include a document showing all money received from or for the student and the dates received, and a document for any refund showing the amount, the method of calculation, the date and who it was sent to (5 CCR 71920(b)(9) and (10)). Those records are kept for five years from completion or withdrawal, in California (5 CCR 71930). In practice that is the student ledger.
How does the STRF fit?
The Student Tuition Recovery Fund is administered by the BPPE. Schools report to it every quarter, even while the assessment rate is $0.00. See STRF.
General information, not legal advice. Check the current Act and regulations with the Bureau.
- BPPE: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, as of 1 January 2026: Education Code 94886, 94887, 94889, 94890, 94911, 94919, 94920, 94930.5, 94934
- BPPE: California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Division 7.5, effective 1 October 2026: sections 71750, 71751, 71920, 71930, 74002, 74006, 74110
- BPPE: Laws and regulations
- BPPE: Annual reports
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 21, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.