Credential Verification
How to Verify an Indian Degree
India has 1,213 universities and 58,643 higher education institutions — the second-largest system in the world. That scale creates real verification challenges. UGC recognition checks, DigiLocker document pulls, and WES evaluations each serve different purposes. Here is how to use all three, and what fraud patterns to watch for.
Quick answer
For most US employers: (1) confirm the university is on ugc.gov.in and not on UGC's fake university list, (2) ask the candidate to share a DigiLocker-issued document (cryptographically signed, free), and (3) contact the Registrar directly. For immigration and formal equivalency, require a WES evaluation. Note that most Indian bachelor's degrees are 3 years — this affects H-1B eligibility and must be addressed separately.
Why Indian credential verification is complex
India's higher education system is enormous by design. 43.3 million students are enrolled across tens of thousands of institutions. Most bachelor's degrees are granted not by universities directly, but by affiliated colleges — a university might have 800 or more affiliated colleges, each granting degrees under the university's name. This creates three structural verification problems:
- Name similarity: Fraudsters use names close to legitimate universities. "Aligarh Muslim University" is real; "Aligarh University" is not.
- Affiliated college ambiguity: A degree from "University of Mumbai" might have been conferred through any of thousands of affiliated colleges, only some of which are legitimate.
- Incomplete digitization: Older records, especially pre-2010, may exist only on paper with no online verification path.
The UGC (University Grants Commission) lists 21–29 fake universities as of 2025, but known diploma mills operating under the appearance of legitimate institutions — like Manav Bharti University, which sold 36,000 bogus degrees while UGC-recognized — are a separate and harder problem. Recognition alone is not sufficient.
Step 1: Check UGC recognition
The University Grants Commission is India's statutory body for granting recognition to universities. If a university is not UGC-recognized, its degrees have no legal standing in India — and no standing with US credentialing bodies.
How to check:
- Go to ugc.gov.in → "University" tab → search by institution name
- Verify the exact name matches what appears on the candidate's degree
- Cross-check against the UGC fake university list at ugc.gov.in/universitydetails/Fakeuniversity
- For distance or online programs, also check the UGC-DEB portal — regular UGC recognition does not cover distance education programs automatically
Eight institutions on the current UGC fake list are in Delhi. Four are in Uttar Pradesh. Others appear across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and other states. The list updates — always check current status, not a cached copy.
NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) accreditation is a secondary quality signal. Of 58,643 institutions, only around 16,743 have NAAC accreditation. A grade of A or above suggests a functioning academic institution. Absence of NAAC accreditation is a yellow flag, not conclusive fraud — but it narrows your risk picture.
Step 2: Request a DigiLocker document
The National Academic Depository (NAD), accessible through DigiLocker, is India's government-backed digital repository of academic credentials. Universities upload degree certificates and marksheets; students access them via their Aadhaar-linked DigiLocker account. Documents are cryptographically signed — they cannot be altered after issuance.
Verification process:
- Ask the candidate to log into digilocker.gov.in
- Pull their degree from "Issued Documents" (populated by their institution)
- Share the document with you via DigiLocker's consent-based sharing mechanism
- Verify the digital signature is valid and issued by the institution
DigiLocker verification is free for both candidates and verifiers. Its main limitation: not all institutions are onboarded, particularly smaller colleges and institutions that graduated students before 2016. If the institution doesn't appear in DigiLocker, move to direct registrar contact.
Step 3: Contact the Registrar directly
For institutions not covered by DigiLocker, or as a secondary confirmation, contact the university's Registrar's Office directly. Do not use contact information provided by the candidate — look up the institution on ugc.gov.in or the university's official site and find the Registrar's email or phone number independently.
Provide the candidate's enrollment number, name, degree title, and year of graduation. Most university Registrars will confirm or deny degree issuance in writing. Response times vary widely — allow two to four weeks for older records.
For large-scale hiring from India, background check firms with India-specific verification networks (AuthBridge, QuadraFacts, and similar) maintain direct institutional relationships and can run volume verifications faster than direct contact.
Step 4: WES evaluation for formal equivalency
World Education Services (WES) is the most widely recognized credential evaluation service for US and Canadian purposes. USCIS, universities, and state licensing boards accept WES evaluations as standard documentation. For H-1B petitions, immigration purposes, or any context where formal degree equivalency matters, a WES evaluation is typically required.
WES process:
- Candidate creates a WES account at wes.org and receives a reference number
- Candidate requests official transcripts and degree certificate from the institution's Registrar — sent directly to WES, not through the candidate
- WES evaluates and issues a report within 7 business days once documents are received
- Choose document-by-document (general summary) or course-by-course (full credit conversion) depending on the use case
The three-year degree problem
Most Indian bachelor's degrees are three years (the 10+2+3 system), not four years. USCIS adjudicators often treat a three-year Indian bachelor's as equivalent to a three-year US degree, which may not satisfy specialty occupation requirements for H-1B visas. If the candidate holds only a three-year degree, supplement with a master's degree, post-graduate diploma, or a work experience evaluation. WES's course-by-course report, combined with an AACRAO EDGE reference, is the standard approach for H-1B RFE responses.
Fraud patterns to watch for
Indian credential fraud ranges from outright diploma mill purchases to subtle document alterations. The following patterns appear most frequently in employer and immigration contexts:
UGC-flagged fake universities
UGC's public fake university list is the first check. Current entries include Commercial University Ltd. (Delhi), Vocational University (Delhi), Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad (Lucknow), Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith (Allahabad), and Christ New Testament Deemed University (Guntur). The list changes — institutions are added and occasionally challenged. Always verify against the current UGC list, not any third-party republication.
The Manav Bharti University case
In one of India's largest credential fraud cases, Manav Bharti University — a UGC-recognized institution in Himachal Pradesh — was caught selling approximately 36,000 bogus degrees for roughly $1,300 each. Singapore's Ministry of Manpower subsequently investigated 15 foreign workers who had submitted MBU qualifications. The lesson: UGC recognition is necessary but not sufficient. A degree from a recognized institution still requires verification through the institution's Registrar or DigiLocker.
Distance education fraud
Some institutions are UGC-recognized for on-campus programs but not approved by UGC-DEB for distance education. Degrees issued through unapproved distance programs are invalid even when the university itself is legitimate. Always verify the delivery mode separately if the candidate studied via distance or correspondence.
Affiliated college fraud
Degrees may name a legitimate university but list an affiliated college that does not exist. A degree claiming to be from "Osmania University via [College Name]" requires verifying that the college is actually listed as an affiliated institution — Osmania's Registrar or official affiliated college list is the source of truth.
Transcript and grade alterations
Altered transcripts — changed grades, added coursework, or swapped institution names — are flagged frequently in USCIS H-1B RFE contexts. A DigiLocker-issued transcript eliminates this risk. For paper transcripts, discrepancies in font, formatting, or seal quality relative to samples from the same institution are the primary indicators.
Verification checklist
| Check | Source |
|---|---|
| University on UGC recognized list | ugc.gov.in |
| University not on UGC fake list | ugc.gov.in/universitydetails/Fakeuniversity |
| Distance programs: UGC-DEB approved | deb.ugc.ac.in |
| DigiLocker/NAD document verified | digilocker.gov.in |
| Registrar confirmation (if no DigiLocker) | Direct contact via official university site |
| WES evaluation (immigration/formal use) | wes.org |
| 3-year degree — supplementary evidence | Master's, PG diploma, or work experience eval |
VerifyED and Indian institutions
VerifyED's database covers over 912,000 schools globally, including Indian universities and known diploma mills operating from India. You can look up any institution to check its accreditation status, country of operation, and whether it appears in our diploma mill database.