Education Verification

This article will help you:

• Understand what an Education Verification is and why it’s an important part of a background check
• Decide when to include Education Verifications in your background check package
• Interpret Education Verification on a background check report
• Understand your candidate's experience

This article is intended for the following user roles: admin, adjudicator, user

Education Verification verifies a candidate's certifications or educational claims. They confirm where the candidate went to school, the type of degree obtained, the major, and sometimes the graduation date.

Education can be verified for colleges, universities, high schools, and GED equivalency exams. International education verification can be enabled if needed, however, these verifications will take longer and additional fees apply. To enable international education verifications please Contact Us.

Education Verification Process

During the Checkr-Hosted Apply flow, candidates are asked to provide education history. They are also given the opportunity to upload documents to verify the education history they've entered. These supplemental documents will be used for the Education Verification only if all other contact attempts have been exhausted. If your candidate does not provide any education information, the report will return with status: Consider.

Once candidates have provided their education history, Checkr's Education Verification can take up to three steps:

1. We reach out to our Education Databases to verify the highest level of education completed.
2. If the school does not report to the Education Database, we will reach out directly to the school’s registrar. We will make three attempts to contact the registrar.
3. If the school does not respond after three requests, or if the registrar cannot confirm the highest level of education completed, the report will generate an Exception, and the candidate will be asked to upload proof of education. They have 7 days to upload the information before that section of the report moves to Suspended status.

Note: If a candidate uploads a high school diploma or a GED certificate during the Checkr-Hosted Apply Flow, the Checkr team will compare the candidate's stated education history to the document provided, and mark the verification complete. In these cases, Checkr will not attempt to contact the education databases or the school's registrar for confirmation.

Any user with an admin role may upload any requested documents directly to the candidate's report using the exception link.

Interpreting the Results

For candidates with multiple degrees earned, Checkr will display the different degrees on their report.

Once the search is complete, you'll also see a log of notes from the calls made.

If we still haven't received the information, or if the details are not a close match to what the candidate submitted, you'll see a warning icon (⚠) appear next to that information.

Candidate Experience

Education Verifications may be run as standalone Screenings.

Candidates will be asked to provide their education history, including the highest level of education they achieved, and the institution’s name and location. They will also be asked to provide a copy of their high school diploma, if that was the highest level of education they attained.

They will then be presented and asked to acknowledge receipt of applicable forms and notifications, including Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and an Acknowledgement and Authorization for Background Check.

After the candidate consents, Checkr will initiate the verification process.

If the candidate lists information that cannot be verified, they may be asked to submit transcripts as well.

If you've applied for a job and are looking for more information on your background check’s status or progress, please log into the Checkr Candidate Portal.