Is Your Degree From a Real University? Fake Universities, Lost Recognition and the RTI Route to the Record

Who needs this - and what each situation actually requires

These are different questions to different offices - most weak verification attempts fail because everything is sent to one office that holds only part of the record.

The routing table: who actually holds which record

Sending a general degree-verification RTI to AICTE is the commonest mis-route: AICTE approves technical institutions and programmes under the AICTE Act, 1987 - "programmes of Education, Research, and training in Engineering and Technology, Architecture, Town Planning, Management, Pharmacy, and Applied Arts and Crafts" per its own definition - and does not confer the degree and is not the custodian of the university's degree register - approach it for programme and institutional approval records. Degrees may be conferred only by bodies empowered under Section 22 of the UGC Act - universities, deemed universities and institutions specially empowered by Parliament.

What the law actually says (UGC Act, 1956 - read from the bare Act)

• Section 22(1): "The right of conferring or granting degrees shall be exercised only by a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act or an institution deemed to be a University under section 3 or an institution specially empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees."
• Section 22(2): save as above, "no person or authority shall confer, or grant, or hold himself or itself out as entitled to confer or grant, any degree."
• Section 23: no other institution "shall be entitled to have the word 'University' associated with its name in any manner whatsoever".
• Section 24: contravention of section 22 or 23 is punishable with fine - the Act's text says a fine "which may extend to one thousand rupees". The consequence that actually matters to a degree-holder is not this fine: it is that a body outside section 22 cannot confer a degree at all.

The official fake-universities list. UGC publishes a state-wise list of self-styled institutions - 32 institutions across 12 states as on February 2026, with Delhi (12) and Uttar Pradesh (4) leading. We deliberately do not reprint the names here: the list changes, and the authoritative version is always UGC's own page. Check it first - it is free and takes a minute. AICTE likewise publishes approved and unapproved technical institutions on its public dashboard.

The date-anchored method: recognition is checked against YOUR years, not today

A verification query that asks "is this university recognized?" invites today's answer to a question about the past. Every question on this page is therefore anchored to the years on your certificate: was the institution entitled to confer this degree in academic years [X-Y], and what does the record in force for those years say? A university approved in 2000 and derecognized in 2005 produces two different records - and the one that matters to a 2000 graduate is the 2000 record.

For open and distance learning there is an officially stated continuation principle: UGC's Distance Education Bureau states that admission taken in an approved ODL programme during the recognition period "stands recognized till the completion of course even if the University does not have recognition for further years", subject to compliance with UGC norms (as displayed on deb.ugc.ac.in, checked 2026-08-28). For conventional degrees, obtain the contemporaneous approval record and take case-specific legal advice - this page states no general rule beyond what the sources above say.

Government employees: promotion-linked qualification checks

Where a promotion, increment or pay fixation depends on a qualification, the department may verify it where the applicable recruitment, promotion or service process requires - and the useful move is to have the record before the file asks for it. The set is: (1) certified copies of your enrolment, examination and degree entries from the awarding university; (2) the recognition record for the programme and years - UGC/State department, DEB for distance mode, AICTE for technical programmes; and (3) your own service-book entries and any verification correspondence about the qualification, from your department, as your own information. If a qualification was arranged through a consultancy and any of these records cannot be produced, take legal advice before relying on it. A no-record reply is a finding to pursue - transfer under Section 6(3), a first appeal, the correct custodian office - not, by itself, proof that the qualification is invalid.

The copy-ready RTI questions

Set A - to the awarding university (your own records)

This set is for a university that is a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act - one owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government. Statutory establishment alone does not decide it: State private universities are also created by State legislation, yet are not automatically public authorities. For a Section 2(h) university, address its Public Information Officer via the State RTI portal or by post. A private or deemed university outside Section 2(h) answers through its own verification process instead - and the RTI sets below then go only to offices that actually hold records about it: UGC, AICTE, the State higher-education department, or an affiliating public university where one genuinely exists. Edit the bracketed details.

1. Certified copy of the enrolment/admission record of [name, enrolment/hall-ticket number] for [programme] for the academic years [from-to], as recorded.
2. Certified copies of the examination records - appearance and results - of the said candidate for the said programme, as recorded, if any.
3. Certified extract of the degree register / convocation record showing the degree entry of the said candidate, with the date of award, as recorded, if any.
4. The record identifying the college or study centre through which the said candidate was enrolled, and its affiliation/authorization status with the university for the said years, as recorded, if any.

Set B - to UGC (recognition and the fake-list record; Central - file on rtionline.gov.in)

1. Whether [institution name, address as on the certificate] was, during academic years [from-to], a university established or incorporated by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, a deemed university under Section 3, or an institution empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer degrees, as recorded - with a certified copy of the relevant record, if any.
2. Whether the said institution appears, or has at any time appeared, in the list of fake universities published by the Commission; if so, a certified copy of the relevant entry and the record on the basis of which it was listed, to the extent held and disclosable.
3. Copies of any correspondence between the Commission and the State Government or other authorities concerning the said institution, to the extent held and disclosable, if any.

Set C - date-anchored recognition (pick the office that matches the degree)

1. To AICTE (technical programmes): whether [institution] held AICTE approval for [programme] for academic years [from-to]; certified copies of the approval letters in force for those years, and the record of any subsequent withdrawal or lapse, as recorded, if any.
2. To UGC / Distance Education Bureau (distance or online degrees): whether [university] held recognition to offer [programme] through open and distance learning / online mode for academic session(s) [years]; certified copies of the recognition in force for those sessions, and the record of any subsequent withdrawal, as recorded, if any.
3. To the State higher-education department (State private universities): certified copies of the Act/notification establishing [university] and of any order affecting its status during [years], as recorded, if any.

A worked example (hypothetical - not a real customer's case)

Suppose a candidate holds a 2000-batch degree from an institution that no longer has any working website, and a prospective employer wants verification. The steps this page sets out would be: check UGC's fake-universities list and the AICTE dashboard (free, immediate); file Set A with the awarding university for the enrolment, examination and degree-register extracts; and file Set B/C date-anchored to 1997-2000 for the recognition record in force in those years. Certified copies are the verification; a no-record reply is a finding to pursue through a Section 6(3) transfer, a first appeal or the correct custodian office before any conclusion is drawn. What any reply would say depends on the records; this example makes no claim about the outcome.

Related guides on this site

• Verifying an employee's degree - the employer-side guide
• Decades-old marks memos and degree-register extracts
• Lost certificate - duplicates, and where RTI helps
• How to verify a degree certificate through RTI (step-by-step)

Common Questions

My university was approved when I got my degree, but was derecognized later. Is my degree still valid?

Ask for the record, anchored to YOUR years - that is what an employer ultimately accepts. The RTI questions on this page ask the university and the regulator for a certified copy of the recognition or approval in force for your admission and award years, and the date and record of any later withdrawal. For open and distance learning specifically, UGC's Distance Education Bureau states that admission taken in an approved ODL programme during its recognition period "stands recognized till the completion of course" even if the university loses recognition for later years (as displayed on deb.ugc.ac.in, checked 2026-08-28). For other situations, the contemporaneous approval record plus case-specific legal advice is the safe path - this page does not decide validity.

The university on my certificate has no website and I cannot find it. What do I do?

Check the official lists first, then ask the regulator for the record. Under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956, only a university established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, a deemed university under Section 3, or an institution specially empowered by Parliament may confer degrees. UGC publishes a state-wise list of fake universities (32 institutions across 12 states as on February 2026), and AICTE publishes approved and unapproved technical institutions on its dashboard. If your institution appears nowhere, an RTI to UGC (and the State higher-education department) asking whether it was ever established, recognized or listed - with certified copies of whatever record exists - puts the answer on paper.

Can an RTI make my degree valid or "regularize" it?

No. An RTI retrieves what the records say - it cannot add to them. If the awarding body's records show your enrolment, examinations and the degree entry, the certified copies prove it. If a reply says no record was found, treat that as a finding to pursue, not as proof by itself that the degree is invalid: a no-record reply can also reflect retention periods, an incomplete search, the wrong office, or records held elsewhere - the follow-ups are a Section 6(3) transfer request, a first appeal, and the correct custodian office. Nothing on this page is a way to make an invalid degree valid.

My promotion depends on my degree being verified. What should I check before the department does?

Three records, each by RTI or the official portal: your own enrolment/examination/degree entry from the awarding university (certified copies); the university's recognition for your programme and years from UGC - and for distance mode, the DEB year-wise recognition for that programme and session; and, if it is a technical qualification, the institution's AICTE approval for those years. A serving employee can also seek their own service-book and verification correspondence from their department, as their own information. If any of these records does not exist, take legal advice before relying on the qualification.

My employer or a foreign credential agency asked ME to get my own degree verified. Is that normal?

Yes - it is common. Employers, background-check agencies and foreign credential evaluators routinely put the burden on the candidate. Universities run paid verification cells for third parties, but for your own records the RTI Act gives you a direct statutory route: certified copies of your enrolment, examination and degree-register entries from a public university, typically within the Act's ordinary timelines. Attach those certified copies to whatever verification form the agency wants.

The institution on my certificate is on UGC's fake-universities list. What are my options?

Get the record first: an RTI to UGC for the certified record relating to that institution (when it was listed and on what basis, as recorded), and to the State higher-education department for any action taken. Under Section 22 of the UGC Act only lawfully established universities can confer degrees, and Section 24 makes contravention punishable. If you paid a consultancy or institution for the qualification, the records you obtain are the foundation for a police complaint or consumer case - take legal advice on those steps; this page covers only the information route.