Failed Education Verification: What You Need to Know

Evelyn Sanderson - July 8, 2025

When someone goes through the background check process, there is often an education verification portion. This part of the check includes checking someone’s education history to determine if they’re qualified for employment. Some jobs may run this alongside a more in-depth background check, or it might be the only background check run, which is common for internships where applicants likely don’t have a lot of work history.

Regardless of why an applicant failed one, or if you’re wondering why you may have failed one yourself, we’re here to help. Read on to learn everything you need to know about a failed education verification problem.

What Does the Education Verification Process Look Like? 

The education verification process tends to include a few things. First and foremost, the hiring agency or Human Resources Department (HR) will run a pre-employment background check. During the background check process, the company will look for things including education history, work history, criminal records, and other public records. 

In fact, some background checks even extend to social media accounts, websites, and additional personal information. Many HR departments and background check agencies will also contact references or the source of someone’s records to ensure that everything is accurate.

For the purpose of this discussion, we’re focusing on the education verification portion of the background check process. This includes academic records, references, and accomplishments. Depending on the job and its requirements, you may find that the depth of the check changes.

For example, if a job only requires a high school diploma, not much digging will be done aside from finding that diploma or at least a record of it. On the other hand, jobs that require a four-year degree, a masters-level education, or a doctorate will be more intensive, and failing one is more serious.

How Long Does Education Verification Take? 

Most education verification checks take around 72 hours or three days. It takes about three days because the person or agency running the check has to source public records, which takes some time. Aside from sourcing public records, people running the check may have to contact references, and if they don’t promptly answer their phone or email, the check may take longer.

How Much Does an Education Verification Background Check Cost?

An education verification background check will cost you anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred dollars. The cost of the check depends on the service you work with. For example, you can contact a school for this information for free, or you can work with an expensive background check company and spend a few hundred dollars. Therefore, it depends on your situation.

Why Failed Education Verifications Happen 

Failed education verifications don’t happen for no reason. More often than not, it’s an issue with paperwork, but something else might also be going on. Learn more about some of the reasons why a failed education verification can happen.

Paperwork Issues 

The most likely problem is an issue with paperwork. This doesn’t have to be a user error; it can be an issue with the company running the background check itself. In fact, even the school providing the records can cause paperwork problems if they send the wrong information.

While paperwork issues are the most common problem, the good news is that it’s the most fixable. Businesses, background check agencies, schools, and applicants can easily get on the same page by coordinating and providing fixes or additional details when necessary. If you notice a background check is taking too long, like over two or three weeks, it’s a good idea to follow up to prevent further problems.

Inconsistencies 

Another leading reason for failed education verifications is inconsistency. If an applicant lies about their education status, it will raise a red flag and result in a failed education verification. Inconsistencies can be simple problems like the date someone went to school or more complex issues, including someone lying about attending school or a specific school.

Identity Theft 

It’s possible that someone might lie about their identity during a background check. If someone does this, they’ll likely have inconsistencies in their information. Not only is identity theft an issue if you hire someone, but it’s also a case of fraud, which is a legal one that needs to be reported to the authorities immediately.

How to Proceed When Someone Fails an Education Verification 

When someone fails an education verification background check, it’s important to confront them and address the problem. The last thing you want is to work with someone who doesn’t have the right credentials. That said, you have to approach this situation carefully because some people might have failed the check due to minor paperwork problems.

For this reason, we recommend checking in with the applicant first. Take some time to evaluate why they may have lied, and see if you can find any inconsistencies when you speak with them. If it’s something simple like a paperwork issue, they shouldn’t have any problems providing that paperwork.

On the other hand, if you’ve caught someone in a lie, things can go down a few different paths. If the applicant doesn’t work for you yet, you can simply not hire them and tell them why. Unfortunately, if someone is working for you already, you may need to hire legal counsel. To avoid these issues and having to confront someone, always use a reliable education verification tool. 

How to Check Someone’s Education History 

Checking someone’s education history isn’t as simple as asking them about it. You’ll need to do some digging, and we recommend using a public records search tool to start. Even if you can’t find a specific record, it will at least point you in the right direction. Learn more about your options below.

1. Use a Public Records Search Tool

The best way to run an education verification on your own is to use a public records search tool. At Information.com, we offer one of the best people search tools in the industry because it’s connected to millions of databases across the United States. 

You can enter someone’s first and last name, city, and state to find all available public records. As long as their information wasn’t manually removed from our sources, you shouldn’t have any problems finding what you’re looking for. Once you enter someone’s information, you can begin the search process, and we may ask for a few more key details to narrow down the results.

After finding the person you’re looking for, you can open the full report that we create. Within this full report, you’ll find their education records, along with everything else, from criminal records to civil court records. Social media accounts, contact information, addresses, and plenty of other information are available when you open the report.

In fact, even if we can’t provide you with specific information, we can at least send you to the right places. For example, we can help you pinpoint where someone went to school and provide you with contact details for that school.

2. Visit the School’s Website 

When you want to find a record of where someone went to school, you can try checking their website if you want fast results. Most schools will have information about students on their website, so you can at least find alumni, old yearbooks, and sometimes even their GPAs or achievements. 

That said, this works best for high school because some colleges are private and don’t have to list this information. Therefore, we recommend starting your search with a public records search tool first. Doing so will help you find what you’re looking for with ease, or it can have you searching for the right school.

3. Contact the School 

Contacting the school is another great way to find someone’s education records. You can contact high schools, colleges, and other institutions with an applicant’s permission, and they’ll likely have their records ready to go for you. 

Once you know what school someone went to, you can call the school or send an email. Contact forms may also be available on the school’s website, so that’s another option for you.

We always support calling schools because it can help you get in contact with someone’s old teachers, professors, or additional references. These can be valuable resources to confirm someone’s status as a student or even their status as a good student.

4. Work With a Background Check Service Provider 

Last but not least, you can always work with a background check company. Most background check companies will include education verification in their normal background checks, so it’s worth it to go this route if you don’t feel like searching on your own. 

Working with background check companies is also helpful if you need a lot of background checks run on a large group of employees. This is because they tend to have special deals on large amounts of background checks compared to single background checks. Still, we only recommend going this route if you’re an employer. If you just want to check your personal records, you’re better off using a public records search tool instead.

Get Through Failed Education Verifications Today! 

Failed education verifications aren’t the end of the world. If you’re an applicant who recently failed one, don’t worry; you can likely clear things up quickly if it’s just a paperwork issue. On the other hand, if the problem is due to lies or inconsistencies, let the applicant know they failed and move on.

Whenever you need to run an education verification background check, we have you covered at Information.com. Any of our people search tools will help you learn more about someone’s public records, which includes their education history.