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Checking a degree
How to check if a degree is real (the certificate won't tell you)
Four certificates, all claiming the same degree, stand in a line-up. One is genuine, and no amount of staring will tell you which. What will tell you is three checks, in order, each built to catch a different fake.
The line-up: four certificates, one genuine
You're about to hire someone, pay for their expertise or simply trust what they've told you, and all you have is a certificate. It looks right, which proves little: a fake degree certificate rarely looks fake.
Here is an imaginary line-up. All four say BSc Business Management, first-class honours.
- No. 1, by post. A creased original on cream card, signed by the vice-chancellor of the day; the embossed crest rises under your thumb. You'd trust the holder's warm memories of graduation.
- No. 2, by courier. Heavy card with a gold seal you can feel and a Latin motto without a slip. You'd trust the sheer weight of it.
- No. 3, at interview. Handed over in the university's own folder, crisp and spotless. You'd trust that every detail matches the CV.
- No. 4, by email. A sharp PDF from the best-known university here, with its real crest and the registrar's name spelt right. You'd trust the famous name.
One is genuine; the other three are the fakes you'll meet most:
- The mill degree. A grand "university" that no education authority recognises.
- The counterfeit. A real university's name on a document it never issued.
- The upgrade. A real graduate whose paper claims more than the record, such as a 2:2 printed as a First.
Hedd, the UK's official degree verification service, calls this "giving themselves a better grade than they achieved" in its employer toolkit, on its home page.
Pick one to bet on, and hold that number in mind.
Why your eye can't pick the winner
A degree isn't a piece of paper. It's an entry in the awarding university's records: this person, this award, this class, this date. The certificate is a printout of that entry, and anyone can print, so nobody can verify a degree by looking at it.
Question the record, not the paper. Every check below asks an official list or the university, through a door you found yourself.
Three checks, three fakes: how to check if a degree is real or fake
Check 1: is the awarding body officially recognised?
Look up the body that awarded the degree, which isn't always the college that taught it.
- UK universities: GOV.UK's guide points to the list for each UK nation, such as the Office for Students Register for England.
- US colleges: the Department of Education's DAPIP database.
- Australia: TEQSA's National Register of Higher Education Providers.
- New Zealand: the Education Counts list of tertiary providers.
- Anywhere else: the official list of recognised universities in its own country (ENIC-NARIC's country pages point to many of them), then our search of official warning lists.
Mills know this, so many claim accreditation from "a bogus, but official-sounding, agency they invented", the US Federal Trade Commission warns. The US Department of Education reviews the accrediting agencies it recognises, and a mill's invented agency won't be one of them.
Not on the list?
It may have merged, closed or been renamed. Hedd's search includes UK degree-awarding bodies that merged or changed their name.
Who's out after check 1?
No. 2. Its "university" is on no official list, under any name.
Check 2: does the university have a record of this person?
Only the university's records can answer this, usually with the graduate's consent:
- UK: Hedd, which organisations use with the graduate's signed consent.
- US: the National Student Clearinghouse for colleges that take part; otherwise the registrar.
- Australia and New Zealand: a My eQuals link from the graduate. My eQuals says all universities in both countries take part. A printout doesn't count. No record there? The university can confirm.
- Elsewhere: the registrar or examinations office.
Never use a link, number or email on the certificate or sent with it: the FTC warns that some mills run a "verification service" that sends a fake transcript to an employer who calls. The verification trap check shows whether an address really belongs to the university.
Who's out after check 2?
No. 4. A forger can copy a famous crest, but not add a line to the university's records.
Check 3: does the record match the claim, detail for detail?
It's tempting to stop at "yes, they studied there". The upgrade is counting on it. Put the claim beside the answer: the name, the award (a BA is not a BSc), the subject, the classification, the year.
The US Clearinghouse doesn't confirm grades, so for a claimed GPA, ask the graduate to have the college send you an official transcript, which needs their consent.
Who's out after check 3?
No. 1. The record shows a 2:2, not a First.
The reveal: what each certificate was
| No. | Caught by | It was |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check 3: the record shows a 2:2 | Upgrade |
| 2 | Check 1: on no official list | Mill |
| 3 | Nothing: passed all three | Real |
| 4 | Check 2: no record of the holder | Counterfeit |
All four passed the eye test. Open the verdict on your bet:
I bet on No. 1
You trusted a real signature on a real certificate, altered from a 2:2.
I bet on No. 2
You trusted weight and a seal. Hedd's toolkit says such features are "less effective once a fraudster has access to the same technology".
I bet on No. 3
Right answer, wrong reason: a fake would match the CV just as well.
I bet on No. 4
You trusted a famous name, its crest and its registrar. All are public, so a forger copies them.
The three checks on one card
| Degree from | 1. Recognised? | 2. On record? | 3. Grade? |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | GOV.UK's lists | Hedd, with consent | Yes, through Hedd |
| US | DAPIP | Clearinghouse or registrar | Transcript only |
| Australia, NZ | TEQSA; Education Counts | My eQuals link | On a shared transcript |
| Elsewhere | Ministry or quality agency list | Registrar (foreign degrees) | Ask the registrar |
| Catches | The mill | The counterfeit | The upgrade |
How do I verify someone's degree if it isn't my job?
How to check if someone's degree is real depends on who you are to them. Check 1 is open to anyone; checks 2 and 3 usually need their say-so. Hedd is "not intended for individuals", and the Clearinghouse turns away the media and private investigators.
One US exception: under FERPA, a college may designate degrees and dates of attendance as "directory information" and confirm them without consent, unless the graduate opted out while a student.
For a nurse, physiotherapist or solicitor, the licence outranks the degree: check the NMC (UK nurses and midwives), the HCPC (many UK health professions) or the Solicitors Register (England and Wales). If it's someone you're dating, read how to check if someone went to university.
For an employer or a client, ask:
"I check every degree at the source. Would you rather sign a consent form so I can ask your university, or send me an official record, such as a My eQuals link? If you studied under another name, please tell me."
For everyone else:
"Would you mind asking your university to confirm your degree to me or, if you studied in Australia or New Zealand, sending a My eQuals link? I ask everyone the same."
If a check fails, or nobody answers
Think back to No. 1's holder. The right first words were never "you lied": a missing record or a mismatch is a question, not a verdict.
Hedd says a request most often comes back "cancelled" because the details don't match the university's records. Ask the person kindly, then ask the university again.
No consent, or no reply? Then the degree is unverified. Don't rely on it, and ask again through the official route.
A confirmed fake is different. Hedd runs the UK's official degree fraud reporting service, and its contact page explains how to report one. Employers can follow our guide to handling a confirmed fake.
Your next step: run check 1 on the certificate in front of you now. Hiring? Use the ten-minute routine for employers.
Sources
- Hedd: home page and employer toolkit
- Hedd: FAQs: consent, merged bodies, cancelled requests
- Hedd: Contact us: reporting degree fraud
- US Federal Trade Commission: Avoid Fake-Degree Burns
- National Student Clearinghouse: Verify now
- My eQuals: FAQs for employers and verifiers
- GOV.UK: Check if your university or college can award a degree
- US Department of Education: DAPIP: the Department reviews the accrediting agencies it recognises
- TEQSA: National Register of Higher Education Providers, described on ENIC-NARIC's Australia page as "the authoritative primary source" on registered providers
- Education Counts: List of tertiary providers, named on ENIC-NARIC's New Zealand page under recognised institutions
- ENIC-NARIC: Recognised higher education institutions: check the official national list
- US Department of Education: FERPA, 34 CFR Part 99: sections 99.3, 99.30, 99.37
- NMC, HCPC and SRA registers
Check it before you trust it. The free tools in the Fake Degree Lab look at a CV, a school's website, a message or a "verification" service and show the warning signs, with links to the official registers.