How to verify a college's accreditation for hiring: the official databases and what each result means

To verify a college's accreditation for hiring, look the school up in the U.S. Department of Education's Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP) and in the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's (CHEA) database, then confirm that the accreditor listed is recognized by the Department or by CHEA. For licensed jobs, check the program's own accreditation with the accreditor the licensing board names, and for older degrees check that the school was accredited when the degree was conferred. Foreign schools are not in these databases: the Department says it does not evaluate foreign qualifications, so employers rely on a credential evaluation service. Both U.S. searches are free and take minutes; the facts below are as of November 2026.

This page covers accreditation, meaning whether the school counts. Confirming that the candidate actually earned the degree is a separate step: see how to verify a candidate's degree, step by step, and for consent, FERPA, diploma mills and mismatches, how to verify education credentials.

What does "accredited" mean for a hiring decision?

The Department's page on diploma mills and accreditation describes accreditation in the United States as "a voluntary, nongovernmental process." Private accrediting agencies accredit schools; the Secretary of Education "recognizes select accrediting agencies as reliable authorities," and recognition is what lets a school's students receive federal student aid. The same page warns that "Any institution can claim to be accredited," and that "many employers in the United States only recognize degrees earned from institutions accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education."

So a useful check answers three questions, in this order:

1. Is the school accredited, and by whom?
2. Is that accreditor recognized by the Department of Education, CHEA or both, for this kind of school or program?
3. For a licensed role, does the program hold the accreditation the licensing board requires?

How do you check a school's accreditation, step by step?

1. Get the exact details. The school's full name, the campus or city, the degree, and the dates attended. Similar names are a common diploma-mill tactic, and large systems list campuses separately.
2. Search DAPIP. The Department's DAPIP database holds accredited institutions and programs "as reported to the U.S. Department of Education by accrediting agencies and state approval agencies." The Department calls it a "positive list" and "simply one source of information." For an older degree, search without the "Currently Accredited Only" option and open the record's history to see when accreditation was granted or ended.
3. Search CHEA. CHEA's institution search finds schools "accredited by recognized U.S. accrediting organizations"; its directories page says it covers more than 8,200 institutions and 44,000 programs.
4. Check the accreditor and its scope. The Department lists recognized institutional and programmatic accrediting agencies, each with a "Scope of Recognition." Scope matters: the Department's listing for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' accrediting council, for example, covers dietetics programs only. CHEA's recognition chart shows which accreditors CHEA, the Department or both recognize.
5. For licensed roles, check the program. Use the accreditor's own directory, such as the ACEN program search for nursing or the LCME directory for U.S. medical degrees, and follow the licensing board's rule. Our license verification guide covers the license itself.
6. Record the result: database, date, accreditor, and whether the school was accredited when the degree was conferred.

What do the results mean?

Sources: CHEA's CHEA- and USDE-recognized accrediting organizations chart; the Department's ACICS termination page and diploma mills page, as of November 2026.

Is "regionally accredited" still the right requirement?

No. The Department's 2019 accreditation rule (84 FR 58834) took effect on July 1, 2020, and ended its recognition of accrediting agencies as "regional." On February 17, 2026, the Department published a proposed interpretive rule (91 FR 7199) stating that "The Department does not recognize accrediting agencies as 'regional' accreditors" and that institutions "should consider only referring to their accreditation status as being with a 'nationally recognized accrediting agency.'" We found no final version as of November 2026, but the 2020 change is in force.

Old postings and screening rules still say "regionally accredited." A clearer line for a posting or a background check package is: "a degree from an institution accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or the foreign equivalent." Ask also whether the job needs a degree at all; a requirement that screens out a protected group without being tied to the work raises the disparate impact question.

How do you check a foreign college?

The Department's recognition "does not extend" to foreign institutions or programs, according to its overview of accreditation. Its page on recognition of foreign qualifications sets out who decides:

• "When seeking employment, the competent authority for recognizing previous education and qualifications is the employer."
• Evaluations "are carried out by private, non-governmental entities for a fee," and "There is no federal regulation of credential evaluation services." The Department does not endorse any service or association of services.
• For licensed professions, "The authoritative source of information regarding the evaluation of foreign credentials is the relevant state licensing board."

In practice: name the evaluation you accept in your policy (or the licensing board's required evaluator), ask for it early so it does not delay the start date, and use CHEA's international directory, which CHEA says lists more than 550 quality assurance bodies and ministries of education in over 170 countries, to see whether the school is recognized in its own country.

Does a Clearinghouse degree verification prove accreditation?

It helps, but it is not the same check. The National Student Clearinghouse's diploma mill guidance says "The Clearinghouse only works with Title IV accredited institutions," meaning schools accredited by a recognized agency for federal student aid. A school missing from its list is not proof of a problem, because participation varies, and a confirmation does not tell you whether a specific program holds the accreditation a licensing board requires. Run the accreditation check and the degree check as two lines on the file.

An accreditation check record you can copy

Accreditation check – [candidate] – [role]

School and campus:        [name, city, state/country]
Degree and conferral date: [ ]   (as claimed / as verified)

DAPIP:   found / not found      Accreditor(s): [ ]
         accredited on conferral date: yes / no / unknown
CHEA:    found / not found
Accreditor recognized by:  ED / CHEA / both / neither
Scope covers this degree:  yes / no
Program accreditation (licensed roles): [accreditor, status]
Foreign degree: evaluation by [service], equivalent to [ ]

Checked by: [name]   Date: [ ]   Decision: [meets / does not meet requirement]

Keep the record with the rest of the background file. If a third-party screening company runs the check for you, the FCRA's disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps apply; see the FCRA background check process. For licensed health roles, pair this with how to verify a nursing license or pharmacist license verification.