How to verify a candidate's degree through the National Student Clearinghouse or the registrar, step by step

To verify a candidate's degree, collect their signed consent and, as the employer, a stand-alone disclosure and written authorization, then order a degree verification from the National Student Clearinghouse, or ask the registrar directly if the school does not take part. As of November 2026, a Clearinghouse degree verification costs $19.95 plus any school surcharge per confirmed result, needs the candidate's name, date of birth and school, and usually returns immediately; if it does not, the request goes to the school for research. A confirmed result always shows the school, the degree title, the award date and the name on the degree. A diploma image, a LinkedIn profile or a certificate the candidate ordered for themselves is not verification.

This page is the procedure. For what FERPA lets a school share, diploma mills, foreign degrees and how to judge a mismatch, see how to verify education credentials; to check that the school counts, see how to verify college accreditation for hiring.

What do you need before you order a degree verification?

• The candidate's details: full name as it was while enrolled (and any other names), date of birth, the school and campus, the degree, the major and the year. The Clearinghouse's ordering page asks for "name, date of birth, and school attended" and payment.
• A reason the Clearinghouse accepts. Its consent article says you can submit a request only for someone who "has applied for employment with the organization you represent," and its FAQ says media and private investigators are not permissible requestors.
• Signed consent. The Clearinghouse's FERPA consent article says consent "is always required if you submit a Social Security number," and may be required if the person "has placed a block on their directory information" or the school requires it for all verifications. A valid consent is signed and dated, names the records, states the purpose and identifies who receives them (34 CFR 99.30).
• The FCRA steps. The Clearinghouse's Verification Services Terms make an employer certify that, before ordering for employment purposes, it gave the candidate "a clear and conspicuous disclosure, in a document consisting solely of the disclosure," and received written authorization. Our FCRA background check process page covers both documents.

A consent paragraph to adapt with counsel (an example, not a form any school has approved):

Education verification consent

I authorize [School name] and its agent, the National Student
Clearinghouse, to release to [Employer name] my degree(s), major(s),
award date(s) and dates of attendance, for the purpose of verifying
my education in connection with my application for employment.

Names used while enrolled: ____________________
Date of birth: ____________

Signature: ____________________   Date: ____________

How do you order a verification from the Clearinghouse?

1. Check that the school participates. The Clearinghouse's verification FAQ points to downloadable participating-school lists for degrees and enrollment. If the school is missing, go to the registrar (below).
2. Register your organization. The ordering page lists the business steps: "Register your organization," "Complete organization verification," "Receive approval," "Submit requests online." Do this before you need a result on a deadline.
3. Choose the verification type (degrees and attendance) and fill in the student information; required fields are marked with an asterisk. You can add another verification for the same person, for example a second degree.
4. Pay and accept the terms. Accounts without a signed agreement pay by card; the checkbox accepts the Terms and Conditions, including the FCRA certifications.
5. Open the result and download the PDF certificate for the file.

What does each result status mean?

The statuses are quoted from the Clearinghouse's results article, as of November 2026.

The FAQ lists why a result may not be instant: the degree is "not yet conferred or may predate the school's electronic records," the details were wrong, "or the applicant may have falsified his or her credentials." Only the last of those is a problem, so treat a non-instant result as a question, not a finding.

What does a confirmed degree verification show?

The FAQ says a degree verification "always include[s] the following: awarding school name, degree title, award date, and the graduating student's name as it appears on the degree," and may add majors, minors, honors and some dates of attendance. Three limits to know, from the Clearinghouse's education data FAQ:

• Many schools keep only the month and year of the award, especially for older degrees; that is "complete information."
• "Schools do not provide GPAs to the Clearinghouse." If grades matter, ask the candidate to have an official transcript sent to you directly.
• If an expected degree is missing, you can reorder with degree-level filtering or submit a dispute for the Clearinghouse to research with the school.

The Clearinghouse describes itself as a primary source for degree data because it acts as the participating schools' authorized agent, and it never sends copies of diplomas.

What if the school doesn't use the Clearinghouse?

Contact the registrar's office, using contact details you find on the school's official website, never ones the candidate supplies. A request you can copy:

Subject: Degree verification request – [candidate full name], DOB [date]

Hello,

[Employer] is verifying the education of a job applicant who has
given written consent (attached). Could you please confirm:

- Degree awarded and date conferred
- Major(s)
- Name on the record (they may have been enrolled as [other name])

They report: [degree], [major], conferred [month/year].

If you verify only through a third party, please tell us which one.

Thank you,
[Name, title, organization, phone]

Some registrars send all employers to the Clearinghouse, and closed schools' records may sit with a state agency; the education credentials guide covers both cases. Record who confirmed what, and when.

Can the candidate verify the degree for you?

Not with a Clearinghouse certificate. The ordering page says "Self-verification certificates may not be shared with third parties," and the Terms list a student requesting their own record as a separate kind of requestor (a "Self-Verifier"). What a candidate can do is ask the school to send an official transcript straight to you. A PDF the candidate forwards is a copy, not an official record.

Can a staffing agency share the result with its client?

Read the Terms first. Except for self-verifiers, a requestor agrees not to "release, transfer, distribute, share or re-disclose" Clearinghouse information except to "the individual or entity on whose behalf the Requestor is acting" or the student. A requestor that obtains a certificate on behalf of another entity is treated as a "Reseller" and may release it only to an end user with a permissible purpose under the FCRA, after the disclosure and authorization steps. If you are not set up that way, write in the submittal what you verified, how and when, for example "Bachelor's degree confirmed through the National Student Clearinghouse on [date]," and let the client run its own check if it needs the certificate.

What do you do if the degree doesn't verify?

1. Rule out the ordinary causes: a different name, a later conferral date, a campus that reports under its parent school.
2. Ask the candidate, factually, and give them a few working days to explain or have the school confirm.
3. Before you decide against them because of the certificate, the Terms require giving the candidate "a copy of the Certificate" and "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act," then, after the waiting period, the adverse action notice.
4. Judge materiality, then record what you checked, found and decided. See how to handle a candidate who lies if it was a fabrication.

What does each route cost, and how long does it take?

Prices from the Clearinghouse's ordering page and conditions from its consent article and Terms, as of November 2026; foreign evaluations from the Education Department's recognition of foreign qualifications page. Education is one line of a wider check: the candidate identity verification checklist and how to verify employment history cover the rest.