Certification & License Verfication FAQs

The National Student Clearinghouse is the nation's trusted source for degree, enrollment, certification and license verification. A non-profit organization established by the higher education community in 1993, the Clearinghouse serves as a central repository and single point of contact for the collection and timely exchange of accurate, comprehensive enrollment, degree and certificate records on behalf of participating institutions. More than 3,300 colleges, enrolling 93% of US college students, participate in the Clearinghouse. Additionally, we've partnered with the leading provider of outsourced certification management to provide the only online professional certification and license verification service. More than 100 million verifications are performed by the Clearinghouse each year.

An estimated 50-80% of all resumes contain misleading or false information, such as academic degrees or professional certifications, putting employers at high risk of hiring unqualified or under qualified individuals. Employers who hire applicants who are not truly certified or licensed expose themselves to legal liabilities, including negligence claims and shareholder lawsuits, as well as public embarrassment and lost market value. Additionally, unlike college degrees, certifications and licenses can have short lifespans, making it difficult for an employer to know if a candidate has completed the most current requirements for the program. 

The Clearinghouse is the only provider of online certification and license verifications, offering an easy and affordable way for you to avoid costly hiring mistakes.

Yes. We regularly add certification and license providers. If you would like to suggest a certification option or provider, e-mail us at degreeverify@studentclearinghouse.org.

The Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization, strives to keep verification fees as low as possible while still covering our operating costs. Certification and license verifications are slightly more than educational verification because our cost to access the data is higher.

You can purchase certification and license verifications either via a major credit card at www.degreeverify.org or via a DegreeVerify account.  If you verify degrees frequently, you can take advantage of discounted degree verification by opening a DegreeVerify account.

Your Transaction History shows when each request was submitted and completed, and each verification's fee. Total fees are updated in real time, giving you immediate access to current billing information. Additionally, Transaction Histories, useful for account reconciliation, are available for all prior months.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at:

Phone:
703-742-4200

Fax:
703-318-4058

e-Mail:
degreeverify@studentclearinghouse.org

Mail:
National Student Clearinghouse
2300 Dulles Station Boulevard, Suite 300
Herndon, VA 20171

Customer Service Hours: Mon.-Thu., 9 am-7 pm, & Fri., 9 am-5 pm, ET