Find your new credential

A simpler structure is easier for teachers, students, and the public to understand. Education requirements for new applicants are also evolving: new RYTs will still need 200 hours of yoga teacher training (YTT), and new E-RYTs will need 500 hours of YTT, reflecting the depth expected at the advanced level. Your additional training still counts, and you can add it to your directory profile so students and employers see the full depth of your education.

The 40 questions cover effective teaching and leadership, ethics, safety, and multicultural diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging: the areas every teacher relies on to keep students safe and serve the wide range of people who come to yoga. E-RYTs also cover teacher trainer development. A passing score is 75%, and you’ll have two attempts. The assessment doesn’t replace the education and experience you already have; it establishes a common professional foundation every Yoga Alliance teacher shares.

That’s intentional. Yoga encompasses many diverse traditions, lineages, philosophies, and approaches, and passing those on is the work of yoga schools and trainers. The assessment focuses on the core professional knowledge that supports all yoga teaching, whatever your lineage or tradition.

Your credential will lapse, and your $65 annual fee will cover your membership only. To hold the credential again, you’ll need to pay the $150 recertification fee, which covers three years of certification.

Your current requirements stay the same until the 2030 recertification cycle. Then RYTs will complete 30 hours and E-RYTs 40 hours every three years. Qualifying topics are broad: yoga traditions, techniques, and practices; teaching skills and pedagogy; professional development; health, safety, and well-being; complementary practices; business management; and professional essentials and ethics. CE doesn’t have to come from Yoga Alliance. It can come from an E-RYT, or from any individual or organization with demonstrated expertise in the topic. Deepen your philosophy with an experienced E-RYT, or grow your business with topics like pricing, marketing, and personal branding, many of which are available through membership.

They become specialty designations, shown alongside your RYT or E-RYT on your profile. Your RYT or E-RYT represents your foundational or advanced qualification; a specialty designation recognizes additional education, expertise, and experience. Specialty requirements don’t change. And this is just the beginning: we plan to grow the number of specialty designations, and starting in 2028, you’ll have a voice in how specialties are defined and which new ones we add.

Bundling the two is unusual for professional associations, and that single path limited options for working professionals and for people who simply love the practice. Some teachers only want a credential: after your three-year transition, that’s $150 every three years, about $50 a year, less than the $65 you pay today. Others want more: our all-new membership, launching in 2027, brings benefits and services worth more than $5,000, including business tools and resources to run and market your teaching, professional development, community, and a growing list of exclusive member savings, like discounts on CPR programs (see what’s new). Not convinced yet? Let us prove it. That’s why current RYTs and E-RYTs get both at their current rate for three years.

Through our new Restorative Accountability Framework: a transparent, community-centered approach that protects students and teachers alike. Concerns can be shared anonymously or with a name attached. Responses fit the situation, ranging from restorative resolution and remediation to formal investigation and enforcement. And the framework balances safety, fairness, due process, and opportunities for repair.

The Institute for Credentialing Excellence sets quality standards for professional credentialing. Earning accreditation isn’t as simple as submitting an application. It requires a comprehensive review of a credentialing program that’s already in place, backed by evidence of how well it works. The new assessment is part of those requirements: an accredited credential is built on a shared assessment of core professional knowledge. That’s why we’re launching the new assessment and credential model in 2027 first. As teachers complete the assessment, we’ll invite every one of you to share feedback, listen closely, and use what we learn, along with real-world data, to strengthen the program before we apply. Together, these changes raise professional standards while honoring the diversity of yoga traditions and the teachers who built this community.

A single RYS credential is easier for students, the yoga community, and the public to understand, and it opens up more ways to be an RYS. Your teacher training programs aren’t lost: each becomes a specialty designation of your RYS, showing your specialty areas.

It covers ethics, compliance and safety, values-based business practices, customer service, and multicultural diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, giving every RYS a shared foundation for running a trusted, professional school. You’ll take it on Yoga Alliance’s new online learning platform, launching in January 2027, with an optional self-paced prep course at no additional cost.

Schools will verify compliance with local laws, staff qualifications and training, their educational framework and teaching philosophy, and transparent school policies.

Every RYS is expected to operate from a defined educational framework that includes the tradition(s) your school teaches. All of your programming is guided by an underlying approach grounded in your school’s philosophy, lineage, or methodology, helping students understand what makes your school unique.

Each year, renew your Ethical Commitment (your agreement to the Code of Conduct and Scope of Practice), verify your teachers’ credentials, and read and respond to student reviews of your school. Every three years, complete a refresher course and submit your updated framework and policies.

Schools that maintain a rolling average of 4.5 stars or higher over the preceding 12 months, based on verified student reviews, earn the annual Certificate of Excellence. Every RYS is expected to maintain a rolling minimum average of 3.5 stars. Falling below the minimum triggers a Yoga Alliance staff review of feedback trends and requires the school to submit a Rating Response Plan.

Your school’s credential will lapse, and your $240 annual fee will cover your membership only. To hold the RYS credential again, you’ll need to pay the $1,000 recertification fee, which covers three years of certification.

Bundling the two is unusual for professional associations, and that single path limited options for schools of different sizes and goals. Some schools only want a credential: after your three-year transition, you’ll be able to pay for just that and keep your RYS and specialty designations without a membership. Others want more: our all-new membership, launching in 2027, brings benefits and services worth more than $5,000, designed to help your school grow, including business tools and resources to run and market your school, professional development, community, and a growing list of exclusive member savings (see what’s new). Not convinced yet? Let us prove it. That’s why current schools get their credential plus a group membership at their current rate for three years.

After the initial changes, we’ll take a closer look at all specialty standards, including how specialties are defined and what education and experience they should represent. Starting in 2028, Registered Yoga Schools will have a voice in shaping existing specialties and adding new ones that reflect the needs of the yoga community.

Through our new Restorative Accountability Framework: a transparent, community-centered approach that protects students and schools alike. Concerns can be shared anonymously or with a name attached. Responses fit the situation, ranging from restorative resolution and remediation to formal investigation and enforcement. And the framework balances safety, fairness, due process, and opportunities for repair.