Laws on unrecognised and fraudulent degrees: UK, India, South Africa and US guidance

Laws compared

United Kingdom

Section 214 of the Education Reform Act 1988 makes it an offence for a person, in the course of business, to grant, offer to grant or issue an invitation about an award that is described as a degree, or that claims to confer the title of bachelor, master or doctor, when it is not a recognised award ¹. The penalty on summary conviction is a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale ¹.

A recognised award includes one granted by a body authorised by Royal Charter or by or under an Act of Parliament to grant degrees, or by a body permitted by such an institution to act on its behalf ¹. A defence exists for awards made under authority a foreign institution conferred on or before 5 July 1988 ¹.

GOV.UK explains how to check degree-awarding status in each nation. In England the check is the Office for Students Register, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish lists of recognised and listed bodies ⁵. HEDD, the UK verification service, says checks start from £14 and cover place of study, award, grade and dates of attendance ⁶.

India

Section 22 of the UGC Act says the right to confer or grant degrees may be exercised only by a university established or incorporated by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, an institution deemed to be a university under section 3, or an institution specially empowered by an Act of Parliament ². Section 23 restricts the use of the word university ². Section 24 sets a fine of up to one thousand rupees for a breach, in the version printed by the UGC as modified up to 20 December 1985 ².

In a written answer in the Lok Sabha on 3 February 2025, the government said 21 institutions were on the UGC list of fake universities and 12 had been closed since 2014 ³.

South Africa

Vuk'uzenzele reported in October 2019 that the President signed the NQF Amendment Act 12 of 2019 into law on 13 August ⁴. The report, by Allison Cooper, said a person who misrepresents a qualification or makes a false entry into the National Learners' Records Database is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for up to five years, or both ⁴. It referred to databases of misrepresented and fraudulent qualifications kept under the Act ⁴.

United States

The Federal Trade Commission describes a diploma mill as a program that offers a degree without any work ⁷. Its warning signs include no studying, exams or contact with professors, degrees based on work or life experience, degrees promised in days or weeks, and invented or false accreditation ⁷. It notes that a .edu web address does not guarantee a school is legitimate ⁷.

For regulated jobs, the US Department of Education says the state licensing board where the person intends to work is the authoritative source on foreign credentials ⁸.