Course Delivery

State Fire Training (SFT) offers courses that can be categorized into two distinct groups: the California Fire Service Training & Education System (CFSTES), which is closely associated with certification, and the Fire Service Training and Education Program (FSTEP), which does not offer certification pathways.

Course Requests and Scheduling

Classes Ending Prior to July 1, 2024:
Classes Ending on or After July 1, 2024:

Approval will not be granted after the fact; approval must be obtained before beginning the class. More information can be found in the SFT Procedures Manual (PDF) Section 5.1: Course Delivery.

Tips for Scheduling a Course

  • Verify that your class criterion meets the prerequisites found in the course plan, classes may require a student to instructor ratio.
  • Verify that the listed instructor(s) are approved to teach the class. This can be done by looking them up in the on-line Registered Instructor Database.
  • Fill-in the name of the "Training Facility" even if it is the same as the sponsor.
  • Urgent requests must be discussed first with the Course Scheduler. Approval will only be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Class Changes/Cancellations
The Registered Instructor or the host agency, shall notify SFT in writing of any changes or cancellations in course delivery. Class changes or class cancellations can be emailed to the Course Scheduler at: SFT.CourseScheduler@fire.ca.gov. When emailing to request a change/cancellation please include the class approval number, in addition to the old class information (i.e. dates, instructor, location) as well as the new changes that need to be applied.

Courses with Less than Five (5) Students
All courses with less than 5 students must be approved by SFT prior to delivery. More information can be found on the Course Enrollment Reminder bulletin.

Video Guide for the New Course Return and Invoicing Process:

Course Returns Prior to July 1, 2024:
Course Returns on or After July 1, 2024:
  • Instructors record student enrollment and grades directly in the SFT User Portal. The Excel file roster will be discontinued. See following informational bulletins:

Digital Roster and Grade Submission for Instructors (PDF)

Digital Roster and Grade Submission for Academy Admins (PDF) 

Course credit will only be awarded to participants being reported with their assigned State Fire Training Identification Number (SFT ID). Instructors are required to return completed courses within fifteen days of the approved course end date. Once SFT staff electronically processes the course and payment for the course is received, students will receive an automated email with instructions on how to access their diploma(s) through their personal SFT User Portal account. In some cases, this email notification may be flagged as spam; therefore, remind users to check their spam folder.

Starting July 1, 2024, State Fire Training (SFT) will be moving to a new process for returning course rosters and generating and paying invoices. The registered instructor will enroll students directly into the course via their portal and the user portal will generate the invoice electronically once the submission has been approved. SFT expects this new process will dramatically cut down the amount of time from roster submission to receiving an invoice for the course.

Please review the following information bulletin containing the steps necessary to pay your invoices: 

Digital Course Invoice Payment Information Bulletin (PDF)

Persons that will be responsible for paying invoices on behalf of an agency will need to submit a request via the Agency Billing Contact Request form to be added to an organization's record as an approved invoice payor. If they do not have an existing account with SFT, they can request one via the SFT ID Request Form - New User. Once they receive their ID (within two business days) they can complete the invoice payor request form. Both forms are located on the SFT User Portal WebForm page.

Electronic course invoices will be emailed to the Primary Billing Contact on record for an agency as well as all Registered Instructors assigned to the course delivery.

The Registered Instructor, in conjunction with the host agency, shall:

  • Verify student eligibility and prerequisites for course enrollment
  • Ensure the maximum student limit for the course is not exceeded
  • Ensure the appropriate instructor-to-student ratio
  • Ensure the safety of all students participating in the course
  • Ensure that absenteeism and tardiness does not exceed 10% of the required course
    attendance hours

Class evaluations can now be completed on-line via the Class Evaluation Form (PDF). Students will be required to list the class approval code, instructor name, date and course name therefore it is important to share this information with students prior to the course completion. 

Although class feedback is submitted directly to State Fire Training, Primary and Senior instructors of record may request to review submitted class feedback via the Class Feedback Request Web Form from within the SFT User Portal. Requests may take up to 2 weeks to process and will be delivered in PDF format via email. Instructors who wish to see feedback on a regular basis are encouraged to instead provide their own class feedback survey.