How to find out if an institute is real. How to check the authenticity of a higher education diploma. We write not only about how to check documents, but also about how to read contracts, make money on unusual things and apply for tax deductions

Who can check the authenticity of a diploma and why? This is usually done by employers who, for one reason or another, are not sure that the applicant’s diploma for the position is real. Or when the knowledge of an employee already engaged in labor activity clearly does not correspond to the education received. Information about the education of any person is considered personal data, so verifying it can be quite difficult. We will talk about official and unofficial ways to verify a diploma, as well as prospects in this area below.

In what cases is the employer obliged to check the authenticity of a diploma? There are not many such cases. Diplomas of applicants applying for positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for work in state security agencies, and for work in the space and military industries undergo a mandatory verification procedure.

In other cases, the decision whether to check the diploma of an applicant for a position or not is made by the head of the enterprise.

How to check the authenticity of a diploma?
According to labor legislation, and specifically, Article 3 of Article 86 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, all personal information about oneself at the place of work is provided by the employee or applicant for the position. Another option is to obtain data from a third party, but only with the employee’s consent. Moreover, this consent must be provided in writing.

By law, the employer is obliged to inform the employee where, how and for what purpose he is going to check his personal data. And also about what actions will be taken in case of refusal to give written consent to the inspection.

If the employer is going to strictly follow the letter of the law, then he has two official ways to verify the authenticity of the diploma.

An official request to law enforcement agencies. This method is usually used in cases where the employer is confident that the diploma is forged and wants to prove it so that the applicant or employee suffers the appropriate punishment. In this case, evidence of forgery will be an expert’s opinion and a certificate from the university confirming that the applicant did not study with them. At the request of law enforcement agencies, a certificate from the university is obtained quickly and smoothly. Punishment for using counterfeit documents: a large fine, correctional labor or arrest for up to 6 months.
First, the entire form requests the employee’s written consent to check his personal data, in particular, his diploma. If the employee refuses to give such consent, this may already serve as confirmation of the assumption of forgery. In this case, the employer can act in the first way by sending an application to the relevant authorities.

If consent is received, then the employer draws up a request in accordance with the established form (official form, reason for verification, signature of the diploma holder, seal and signature of the employer) and sends it to the educational institution where the diploma was received. If the university has been dissolved, the request is sent to its legal successor.

It should be noted that verification through a request to the university does not always guarantee that the employer will know the real state of affairs. Many companies that sell fake diplomas have gone so far in their activities that they order diplomas directly from universities. Therefore, such educational documents are actually registered in the archives. In this case, it will be very difficult to prove that the diploma is fake.

Other ways to verify the authenticity of a diploma:

Through social networks. Communities such as Odnoklassniki or VKontakte have extensive and detailed databases of educational institutions in our country and around the world. If the last name and first name, university and year of graduation are known, you can obtain information about whether such a person actually studied at this educational institution.
In principle, anyone can send a request to a university, indicating the diploma number and asking to confirm its authenticity, even without using official forms and seals. But in this case, the university may refuse, considering the request unlawful.
Requests from law enforcement agencies are satisfied in one hundred percent of cases, and some employers take advantage of this without the intention of opening a criminal case. But this is an unofficial method and to implement it you need to have friends in the police.
If the request to confirm the authenticity of the diploma comes from the owner himself, then it is guaranteed to be satisfied. Therefore, an applicant or employee who is confident that he is right, but is suspected of forgery, can send a request to the university himself or, if possible, visit the educational institution and obtain the appropriate certificate from the archives.
A new service has appeared on the websites of some educational institutions: after entering the diploma number, you can get information about educational activities former student. This includes titles coursework and diploma, grades, etc. If the diploma is fake, then this information will not be detected.

Electronic database of diplomas of higher educational institutions

This project has been mature for a long time and work on it is now being carried out quite actively. Project name: “Unified register of university graduates.” It is being developed by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the project, the following information will be included in the register:

Last name, first name and patronymic of the graduate
His passport details
University code according to the All-Russian Classifier
Name of the university
Year of ending
Specialization
Diploma details: series, number, date of issue

A similar register already exists; it has been maintained by the National Accreditation Agency in Education since 2005, but only administrative structures now have access to it.

Law enforcement agencies report that there are thousands of organizations in Russia that sell fake diplomas. And hundreds of thousands of citizens work with such diplomas. Perhaps, after the creation of a single registry, similar to which exists in all developed countries, this number will decrease.

Today, almost everyone dreams of financial well-being and a life of abundance. However, without a well-paid and stable job, such a goal is very difficult to achieve. Again, to get a warm place, you need to at least have a higher education. But not all young people bother with five years of university study. They don’t understand why go to lectures and take exams when they can buy the coveted paper in the transition, and then present it at the request of a potential boss.

Labor market situation

Unfortunately, the number of such would-be specialists in our country is not decreasing. In this regard, an increasing number of employers have begun to take a closer look at the document on higher education that the applicant palms off on them. But few people know how to verify the authenticity of a diploma.

This issue becomes especially relevant when it comes to hiring an employee for high positions, where, in principle, it is impossible to do without specialized education. Unfortunately, in pursuit of big money, the lion's share of applicants resort to outright deception, providing HR officers with fake certificates. Of course, the recommendations below on how to check the authenticity of a diploma will be very useful for them.

How to counterfeit

Unscrupulous individuals buy false documents and inserts from equally unscrupulous employees of academies, universities and employees of the printing houses that produce them. Signatures and seals are easily forged, and information is entered that is deliberately false. Moreover, in some cases, all this is done on fake paper. However, it is not particularly difficult for experienced specialists to recognize the above fake, although there are exceptions to the rules. One way or another, every employer will be interested in knowing how to verify the authenticity of a diploma.

Procedure

Currently, document inspections are carried out, as a rule, on applicants for positions in internal affairs bodies (police, prosecutor's office), as well as on those who want to work in the space and military industries.

However, this does not mean at all that the director of a bakery does not have the right to make sure that his subordinates have real diplomas. Are diplomas actually checked for authenticity? One way or another, it is up to the employer to check or not check. If he has time and wants to get to the bottom of the truth at any cost, then the likelihood of an inspection is quite high. However, when initiating the above procedure, you should remember some nuances.

So, how can a manager check the authenticity of a diploma?

Official request

The boss can address the request to the university that issued the document to his potential employee. However, he must obtain written permission to do this from the subordinate himself, since in Russia personal data cannot be the property of third parties.

In addition, the employer's request must be authorized by the relevant government authorities. Moreover, he must present serious arguments to justify the verification. As a rule, the justification is most often the low qualifications of the employee. To be fair, it should be said that university office workers often react very sluggishly to the above written requests from employers; they are simply too lazy to go to the archives and “raise cases,” making the excuse that the requested information cannot be disclosed by law.

Thus, checking the authenticity of a diploma is not such an easy task. Bureaucratic red tape can last up to six months, so some employers subsequently abandon this idea for fear of spending too much time, and, as you know, for every businessman it is money.

However, the boss can take an easier path: send the diploma holder directly to the university.

In other words, the subordinate himself goes to the university and brings an archival certificate from there. However, here’s the problem: today both a diploma and a certificate are easy to buy, so in this sense the employer is not protected in any way.

Social media

To solve the problem in question, you can do the following: try to find the owner’s profile on social networks. Today, every reputable university has created online communities of students and alumni. Even if your subordinate is not a member of social networks, you can always find his fellow students-friends who will be able to tell a lot of new and interesting things about their friend. Of course, this is not the most effective method to verify the authenticity of a document on higher education, but you can find out whether this or that person really studied at an academy or university.

Of course, it is not always possible to verify the authenticity of a diploma. In Ukraine, by the way, this problem is quite acute. There are plenty of fake documents on higher education in the neighboring country.

Diplomas can be verified there on the Internet portal of the Ministry of Education by entering contact information.

Naked eye

How else can you verify the authenticity of a diploma? It wouldn’t hurt to act as an expert yourself.

First of all, pay attention to the quality of the paper, which should belong to the State Sign category, have a durable structure and exude a subtle smell of cellulose. Look carefully at the series and number of the document, run your finger over them: if after this some numbers are erased, then this is an obvious fake. Proof of the originality of the diploma is the presence of watermarks, which are very difficult to fake. Pay attention to how the document is filled out: in a real diploma, entries are made with high-quality matte paint.

By number

There is another way to check. Each diploma has an identification element in the form of a number. Naturally, all such codes of real university graduation documents issued are recorded in the register of the Russian Ministry of Education. To verify the authenticity of a diploma by number, you need to initiate a request on behalf of the university that issued the document.

Again, we should not forget that federal officials can provide information of interest only with the written consent of the employee and permission from law enforcement agencies.

Today there are Internet services where, using a number, you can find out the authenticity of a document. However, using them is fraught with errors, since they do not provide 100% reliable information.

Conclusion

It should be recognized that the number of false documents on higher education is steadily growing every day. That is why officials should focus on this problem and create in the near future an impressive database of authentic diplomas that were issued to university graduates.

Unfortunately, it is not difficult to acquire counterfeit documents of any complexity, so the question of the authenticity of the information provided is always relevant. To get a high-paying job, they falsify educational documents, especially higher education. The opportunity to check the fact of receipt of a diploma, including by its number, is provided through special information sites on the Internet. Let's analyze this and other methods of verifying the authenticity of documents on higher and special education below.

Methods for checking educational documents for authenticity

When hiring a new employee for a vacancy that requires special knowledge and skills, the employer will necessarily require information about the availability of appropriate education. A mandatory condition for employment in government agencies is to verify the authenticity of all documents. There are several completely legal and easily accessible ways to establish the authenticity of an education diploma, both with and without the consent of the diploma holder.

Among the main ways to verify the authenticity of a diploma, as a state form, are:

external compliance with all established standards;
request confirmation of issue of the relevant diploma from educational institution who gave him away;
authentication in a special Rosobrnadzor database, accessed via the Internet.

There are other ways to obtain confirmation of completion of training at a specific educational institution and obtain a diploma or certificate of education. Alternative authentication methods include, for example, social networks that contain information about universities and study dates. In this case, you should remember that in the profile of social networks, all information regarding training is entered by the account owner independently, therefore, this method is not reliable.

A detailed questioning of the diploma holder about the educational institution and teachers will allow, after clarification, to draw a conclusion about the completion of training. This method is relevant if little time has passed since graduation.

Verifying the authenticity of a diploma by external features

All education diplomas, like other state documents, have a certain degree of protection and features. After analyzing the external characteristics, you can make a preliminary conclusion about its authenticity or counterfeit.

The original authentic diploma must have the following features:

the presence of watermarks containing the abbreviation “RF”;
when exposed to ultraviolet light, the coat of arms of Russia should appear, on either side of which there are the merging inscriptions “Russia” and “Diploma”, and you can also find peculiar threads across the entire surface;
Using a magnifying glass, you can read the words written in 0.5 mm font to the right of the inscription “Diploma”. and making up the inscription “Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation”.

Attention! When photocopying a genuine diploma of education, the inscription “Copy” will appear on the copy, which is not visible to the naked eye on the form itself.

At the same time, the presence of all the above security elements is not proof of the authenticity of the diploma, but only indicates that the form is original. In practice, there are cases of large-scale theft of blank diploma forms from educational institutions. Despite the fact that in such cases, educational institutions are required to post information about the invalidation of such forms, many employers do not pay attention to this.

Checking your diploma for authenticity via the Internet

All information about obtaining an education, any qualification or training in accordance with the Federal Law dated December 29, 2012 No. 247-FZ and Government Decree No. 729 dated August 26, 20133 is entered into a specially created federal register. The main purpose of maintaining such a register is to suppress the activities of the market for fake diplomas and other government educational documents, as well as to consolidate information about all previously issued diplomas.

Access to this database for verification of diplomas is open to everyone, for this there is no need to register or gain access through specialized bodies. When checking authenticity, you only need to indicate the required information, marked with a red asterisk and contained in the diploma itself:

If the required data does not allow you to find required document, then you should use the advanced search, which involves additionally entering the name of the document, its registration number, as well as the assigned qualifications and specialty.

After moving the unlock slider, information about the availability of a diploma with the specified parameters in the database should appear.

Attention! The Rosobrnadzor database is at the stage of developing and entering all information about issued diplomas. The absence of data corresponding to the request is not evidence of document forgery.

If information is missing, you can send a request on the website to enter information about the issued diploma; registration is required for this. Project specialists will clarify the information at the specified university and, after confirmation, add the information to the register.

In addition to the federal register containing information about documents on higher education, you can also check the authenticity of a diploma on the website of the educational organization that issued it. The websites of large universities in the country contain special applications that allow you to establish the authenticity of diplomas issued to their graduates.

In conclusion, we note that the surest way to establish the authenticity of educational documents is to send a request to the institution that issued it. Although any person can make such a request, the university administration is not obliged to respond to a request received from third parties. Therefore, if there are reasons to suspect that the documents provided are forged, the employer may impose on the employee the obligation to provide a certificate from an educational institution confirming the fact that a particular education document was issued.

Federal Register of Diplomas: video

To combat fake diploma projects and works purchased from scammers, you need to have information about methods of checking documents for authenticity and uniqueness.

Unified register of higher education diplomas of the Russian Federation

Following the example of Western countries in 2013, state provision it was decided to form single register graduates of higher and secondary educational institutions. In accordance with the data provided in it, it becomes possible to verify the registration of the diploma and determine its authenticity.

In order to create a single, full-fledged mechanism, back in 2009, the official resource for supervision in the field of science and education (Rosobrnadzor) http://www.obrnadzor.gov.ru/ru/ began to accumulate extensive and varied information about diploma projects compiled by graduates universities, technical schools and colleges, as well as academic degrees and titles, certificates for the unified state exam.

Thanks to this approach, it happened formation of an extensive base, allowing you to carry out any analytical and evaluation activities.

As conceived by the compilers of the database, 1960 serves as the lower time limit for collecting information. And new information is added to the register every day to this day.

Since 2013, the opening of the diploma verification database took place at free of charge for the purpose of assessment both by regulatory services and structures, and as part of the request of ordinary citizens.

At the time of launch, they included more than 2,000,000 data. In 2018 the volume useful information has increased several times compared to the time when the registry was just starting to function.

According to official data contained on the structure’s resource, the register should be updated with new relevant information from 1992 inclusive.

The purposes of forming the Federal Register are the following directions:

preventing the entry into circulation of counterfeit educational documentation that has a state standard;
providing departments and employers with reliable data on the qualification level of candidates for employment;
reducing the number of violations of the law and corruption within the walls of educational institutions;
improving quality indicators for educational programs by providing the public with reliable materials about graduates.

Step-by-step verification instructions

Exists several ways verification of the authenticity of the diploma, the algorithm of actions depends on the chosen method.

Actions through Rosobrnadzor

You can contact this organization directly by means of a letter, indicating in it all the data from the diploma. This also includes the name of the university, the number and series of the form, and the date of receipt.

A copy of the diploma must also be attached so that the applicant is confident that all data can be verified by the controlling service. If you suddenly change your last name, you need to indicate the previous details (which are written on the diploma). If the name of the university has since changed, you must indicate two options.

You should wait a month after submitting your application. This will allow you to confirm the presence of a diploma, even if it was lost.

It is worth remembering that not all higher education institutions transfer data to the common database in a timely manner; some of them violate legislative norms and provisions. If the necessary information is not available, you will have to spend time proving its authenticity and relevance.

Online (via the Internet) on the ROSOBRNADZOR website

You can check your diploma of higher or secondary education online on the official website of Rosobrnadzor http://www.obrnadzor.gov.ru/ within the section of the federal register of information on educational and qualification documents.

Access to this information is available at permanent basis For everyone. Another way is to obtain information from the register, which operates within the framework of Federal Law No. 273 Art. 98.

How to use the registry for verification

To obtain information, you must have information not only about the diploma number, but also about other issues related to the recipient of the document. Without having auxiliary data, it's impossible to do this(to avoid disclosure of confidential information).

Not having it in my hands the required document, you must fill out the form and submit your request. Only when the condition is met is it possible to conduct a correct analysis, and confidential information will remain untouched.

The step-by-step instructions are as follows:

you need to go to the official resource of the organization http://www.obrnadzor.gov.ru/ru/;
find the section of the federal register of documents according to the state model and click on it;
familiarize yourself with detailed information on current legislation and receive answers to frequently asked questions;
fill in the required search fields and click the check availability button.

As you can see and verify, the process of obtaining this information is quite simple and understandable if you act competently and consistently.

What data is needed to search for information?

The official resource will have a special form in which the user enters next data set:

the degree of education received and received (higher or secondary is indicated);
the name of a public or private educational institution; entering a code based on the All-Russian Classifier plays an important role;
Full name of the person who will receive the diploma;
state sample of the series and form number on which the documentation was issued;
actual date of receipt.

Thus, although the list of input data is considerable, allows you to ensure the protection of user data from the actions of intruders.

Extended diploma verification

To check the authenticity of the diploma, the Rosobrnadzor website http://www.obrnadzor.gov.ru/ru/ can be used advanced option. IN in this case You will need to enter supporting information. Of course, they are not mandatory, but are considered desirable.

Correct actions will prevent mistakes and simplify the process of searching through an impressive information base. You will need to deposit the following information:

full name of the paper received (certificate, diploma, certificate, etc.);
documentation status (original, copy, duplicate, lost version);
registration number value (under the entry “Diploma”);
qualification indicator of the person receiving education (master, bachelor, specialist);
specialty (as indicated in the diploma);
year of completion of studies.

By entering this information, you will receive more detailed information about the diploma and its authenticity/invalidity.

Getting Results

Verification activities regarding the authenticity of the diploma are carried out in fully automated. If the entered data matches, the official resource instantly gives a positive answer.

As a result, new documents appear in the electronic list around the clock. They are entered into the database no later than 60 days from the date of official issue.

It is worth noting that it is impossible to independently enter a document into the database. The fact is that to add new information, you can only send a corresponding request to the company that issued the education document. The register of diplomas is replenished through the work of the educational institution.

This type of analysis cannot 100% guarantee the reliability and relevance of the information provided. This is also reported in an additional footnote at the end of the check, because just like anywhere else, there is a possibility of errors in the data entry process, as well as inaccuracies in their processing.

If information is missing during the request generation process, there is a possibility that the document is not a fake after all.

Perhaps it was received recently and has not yet been entered into the register with general information. Therefore, to avoid confusion, the results should be recheck several times and ensure the introduction of clarifying information and materials.

Registry limitation

The register represents a database that contains a huge amount of information about higher education. But diploma verification impossible for documents issued by a certain category of government agencies. For example, those that are in the department of the FSO ( Federal service security), FSB (Federal Security Service), SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service).

The database also does not receive materials about diplomas from institutions related to state secrets. This information is protected and controlled by relevant structures and services.

Therefore, for persons who received their education in such places, there is no possibility of checking the authenticity of the diploma number.

Based on the above, we can conclude that in Russia for a long time there has been a unified information base on issued documents related to obtaining an education. It will not be difficult for potential employers, federal agencies and ordinary citizens to verify the authenticity of a diploma document. And holders of fake diplomas are increasingly having difficulty finding work today.

To obtain more detailed information about the status of the diploma, you need to have information not only about its number, but also about additional data. This is necessary for their protection.

Formal written request

An official written request is drawn up in accordance with the sample. It will allow you to obtain the necessary information and do it as rationally as possible.

It indicates the basic information about the existing diploma - number, date of issue, status, qualification indicator. It is also recommended to include with your request photocopied version of the document to avoid various questions and confusion.

You can also check your diploma document for authenticity on the website of the university where it was received. A large proportion of official resources belonging to such institutions makes it possible to verify authenticity.

Diploma data is stored in university archives and educational departments, which is suitable for local organizations. If you need to act as urgently as possible, it is created immediately several requests: to higher education educational institution, relevant department, Rosobrnadzor.

As part of the letter, you should indicate that the response is needed urgently, and also note the reason for such haste. According to the law, the period is 1 month.

How to protect yourself from fakes

In order not to end up in a university that issues fakes, you need to protect yourself from such situations. The fact is that each educational institution has an official website and social network. Information about licensing, accreditation, charter, and violations is also posted there.

When choosing an educational institution you need to carefully study his website.

The news release on criminal liability for a fake diploma is presented below.