U.S. education · Accreditation
Postsecondary accreditation checker.
Type a college or school name to see which accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education covers it, its status, and the dates on file.
Harvard University, for example, is listed as accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, accredited since December 1, 1929, with a review date of June 30, 2028. The same lookup works for roughly 9,600 institutions in the snapshot.
Find an institution
Loading the snapshot…
Accreditation on file
How to read a result
- Accredited: the agency lists the institution as accredited and no end date is recorded.
- Preaccredited: the institution is a candidate working toward accreditation. Federal aid rules treat candidacy differently from full accreditation, so confirm with the school and the Department of Education.
- Denied accreditation: the agency recorded a denial.
- Ended: an earlier accreditation record has an end date. An institution can show an ended record from one agency and a current record from another.
- Review date: the date shown in the DAPIP “ReviewDate” field for that record. It is not a promise that accreditation lapses on that day.
Regional and national accreditors
People still talk about “regional” accreditors (historically tied to a part of the country and mostly covering nonprofit and public degree-granting colleges) and “national” accreditors (historically covering career, trade, faith-based and distance schools across the country). Since July 1, 2020, federal regulations no longer make that distinction: any accreditor recognized by the Department of Education is treated the same for federal purposes (84 FR 58834, Nov. 1, 2019).
Why it matters for aid and transfer
- Federal student aid: a school generally needs accreditation by a recognized agency (or an equivalent route) to take part in Title IV programs such as Pell Grants and federal loans. See the Federal Student Aid school eligibility page.
- Transfer credit: there is no federal rule that a school must accept credits from another accredited school. Each receiving school decides, and some prefer credits from certain accreditors. Ask the receiving school before you enrol.
- Graduate school, licensing and employers: some licences and programs name the accreditor they accept. Programmatic accreditation (for example nursing or law) is separate from institutional accreditation and is not shown here.
Data, scope and as-of date
This page uses a snapshot of the Department of Education’s Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), downloaded from the official data files on September 30, 2026. It keeps only records labelled “Institutional Accreditation” for main institutions (not branch campuses, sites or program-level accreditation): 9,654 institutions, 46 agencies. Agencies report to the Department and records can lag, so DAPIP itself is the authority. The snapshot is refreshed by hand, not live.
Frequently asked questions
Is a school with no current record unaccredited?
Not necessarily. It may never have been accredited by an agency in this snapshot, may be accredited through a route DAPIP does not list as institutional accreditation, or may be missing from the snapshot. Check DAPIP directly and ask the school.
Does this tool tell me whether my credits will transfer?
No. Transfer is decided by the receiving school, not by the accreditor name. Use the result as one question to ask, not as an answer.
Why does a school show two accreditors?
A school can move between agencies, or be covered by more than one at once. The ended record keeps the older agency and its end date.
Is this the same as being eligible for federal aid?
No. Aid eligibility also depends on the school signing a program participation agreement and meeting other Department of Education requirements. Search the school on the Federal Student Aid site to confirm.
Reference data, not advice
This lookup repeats published Department of Education records as of the snapshot date. It does not decide aid eligibility, credit transfer or licensing. Confirm with the school, the accreditor and the Department of Education before you rely on it.