Is this course legit?
Check it yourself, in 60 seconds.

Ask these five questions of any course, masterclass or certificate before money leaves your UPI app. YES means you confirmed it from a public record. NO or CAN’T TELL means you could not — which is a reason to wait, not an accusation against anyone.

1. Is the qualification on the National Qualifications Register?

   Why it matters. The register (NQR) is, in the government’s own words, “the official national public record of all qualifications aligned to NSQF levels and approved by NSQC.” If a seller says government-recognised, NSQF-aligned or Skill India certified, the qualification has a code, a level and an awarding body on this register — or the claim is decoration. NSQF-2023 notification §6.2, PDF hosted on nqr.gov.in — fetched 2026-09-02.

   How to check
   • Open KaushalVerse, the register’s new home (nqr.gov.in itself now shows “Important Notice: The National Qualification registry is migrating” to it). Type the course or qualification name in the search box.
   • A real entry shows an NQR code (they look like QG-04-MG-06060-2026-V1-CHTI), a Level, an Awarding Body and a Valid Till date. Read all four.
   • The register is a web app: it cannot be searched by pasting a URL, so type the name yourself. The older nqr.gov.in search still works and can be browsed by sector.
   • NSQF level, in one line: the 2023 framework runs from Level 1 to Level 8 (with half-levels such as 4.5); “Level one of the framework represents the lowest complexity while highest level i.e. level eight represents the highest complexity.” For scale: NIELIT’s ‘O’ Level is NSQF Level 4. Older entries may still carry levels up to 10 from the 2013 scale. NSQF-2023 §5.1; NIELIT Delhi ‘O’ Level page — both fetched 2026-09-02.
   KaushalVerse register ↗ nqr.gov.in search ↗

   KaushalVerse read in a real browser 2026-09-02: “1468 Qualification(s) Found”, “Last updated on 01 September 2026”. nqr.gov.in fetched 2026-09-02: content last updated 28/08/2026. READ 2026-09-02

   What a YES looks like: the exact course title — or the qualification the certificate is issued against — is in the results, with a level and awarding body that match what the seller claims.

   Your answer

   Yes, found it No Can’t tell

2. Does the page name the awarding body — and is it one the register lists?

   Why it matters. A certificate is worth exactly what the body whose name is printed on it is worth. The register carries, for every qualification, the “sector/awarding body concerned” — NCVT, NIELIT, a Sector Skill Council, a university, an IIT through NPTEL. “Certified by our academy” is a signature, not an awarding body. NSQF-2023 §6.3 — fetched 2026-09-02.

   How to check
   • Find the awarding body’s name on the sales page. If it is not stated, that is your answer.
   • In KaushalVerse, open the Awarding Bodies filter and look for that name; the older nqr.gov.in search has the same filter (115+ bodies listed when we read it).
   • The regulator that recognises awarding bodies, NCVET, publishes its own list at ncvet.gov.in. That site refused every connection from our network on 2 September 2026 (HTTP 403 from three different tools), so we could not read it — open it yourself and tell us if it loads for you.
   Awarding Bodies filter (KaushalVerse) ↗ NCVET recognised bodies ↗

   KaushalVerse filter read 2026-09-02 READ 2026-09-02 · ncvet.gov.in UNREACHABLE FROM OUR NETWORK 2026-09-02

   What a YES looks like: the seller names the body whose name will be on your certificate, and that body appears in the register’s Awarding Bodies list (or on NCVET’s).

   Your answer

   Yes, named and listed No Can’t tell

3. Is the institute itself on an official list?

   Why it matters. A genuine qualification can be sold by a centre that is not approved to teach or examine it. Each awarding body publishes the institutes it has affiliated or accredited — by state, by level, with a status. Match the seller to the list that fits the course.

   How to check — pick the line that matches the course
   • ITI trade / NCVT certificate: NCVT MIS “ITI Search” — choose exam system, state and district, then type the institute name (wildcards allowed). An affiliated ITI appears with its trades.
   • NIELIT ‘O’, ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ Level: NIELIT’s “Statewise Accredited Institutes” — choose the Level, then your state; the list separates Fully Accredited from Provisionally Accredited. The page said “Updated Upto: 31/08/2026” when we read it.
   • A degree: UGC’s universities directory (central, state, deemed and private lists with a search) — and its “State-wise list of Fake Universities as on February, 2026” — 32 names, published with the UGC’s letters asking state governments to act against them.
   • An online or distance degree: UGC’s Distance Education Bureau lists the “Recognised HEIs for Online Programs” and the ODL programmes it has recognised, year by year.
   • Engineering, management, pharmacy or other technical diplomas and degrees: AICTE’s approved-institutions dashboard. AICTE’s servers reset every connection from our network on 2 September 2026, so we could not read it tonight; the link is the address other official pages point to.
   NCVT MIS · ITI Search ↗ NIELIT · accredited institutes ↗ UGC · universities search ↗ UGC · fake universities ↗ UGC-DEB · online degrees ↗ AICTE · approved institutions ↗

   NCVT MIS, NIELIT, UGC and UGC-DEB pages fetched 2026-09-02 READ 2026-09-02 · AICTE UNREACHABLE FROM OUR NETWORK 2026-09-02 · NCVT MIS also carries a lapsed security certificate — see check 4.

   What a YES looks like: the institute’s exact legal name is on the list, for the level or programme the seller is selling, with an affiliated, accredited or recognised status — not merely “registered” as a company.

   Your answer

   Yes, on the list No Can’t tell

4. Can the certificate be verified on a government portal after you pass?

   Why it matters. Certificates from the bodies above can be checked by number, by anyone — an employer, a bank, you. Before paying, ask the seller one question: “Which government portal will verify my certificate number?” If the answer is “our website”, the certificate verifies nothing outside the seller’s own page.

   How to check — the portals, as they read tonight
   • NCVT (ITI, apprenticeship): “e-Certificate Verification” asks for the e-Certificate Number (“Only Numbers Allowed”) and the type, NCVT or Apprenticeship; “Trainee Verification” takes the registration/certificate number, father’s or guardian’s name and date of birth. Fair warning: this portal’s security certificate expired on 12 August 2026 and was still expired on 2 September 2026, so your browser will show a warning first. That is a lapsed certificate on a government server, not a sign of fraud — and still a reason to type nothing beyond what the form asks.
   • NIELIT (‘O’ Level, CCC and the rest): the certificate portal is titled “Digitally signed certificate for NIELIT examinations”; its “Verify Certificate Details” check takes a serial number or roll/registration number plus a captcha.
   • NPTEL / SWAYAM: every NPTEL e-certificate carries a QR code; scanning it — or opening the archive verification address with the certificate number after ?q= — shows the certificate. SWAYAM’s own FAQ says the “National Coordinator/Host institution offering the Online Course would issue the certificate”, so verification belongs to that coordinator, never to a reseller.
   • Degrees: the university’s own verification desk. The UGC lists universities; it does not verify individual degrees.
   NCVT · e-Certificate Verification ↗ NCVT · Trainee Verification ↗ NIELIT · certificate portal ↗ NPTEL · e-certificate verification ↗

   All four fetched 2026-09-02 READ 2026-09-02 · ncvtmis.gov.in TLS certificate: expired 2026-08-12 BROWSER WARNING EXPECTED

   What a YES looks like: the seller names one of these portals, and their sample certificate shows a number in that portal’s format (or a QR code that resolves to a .gov.in or .ac.in address).

   Your answer

   Yes, a portal is named No Can’t tell

5. Is the full fee public, with a written refund policy — and no countdown, no guaranteed job?

   Why it matters. This is the check the regulator wrote down. The Central Consumer Protection Authority’s Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector, 2024 (13 November 2024) prohibit false claims about “the courses offered, their duration, faculty qualifications, fees, and refund policies” and about “job security promises” and “guaranteed selections or promotions”; they target “creating a false sense of urgency or scarcity, such as implying limited seats”; and they require disclaimers “with the same font size as other important details”. A price hidden behind a free webinar, a missing refund policy and a ticking timer are three separate failures of a test that already exists in writing. PIB release, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, 13 Nov 2024 — fetched 2026-09-02.

   How to check
   • Find the total price without registering, on a page you can link to, with GST shown. If the price only appears “in the session”, you cannot answer yes.
   • Find the refund policy in writing. Read who decides, and within how many days.
   • Read the promise. “Guaranteed placement”, a salary figure, “only 12 seats left”, a countdown — each is a pattern the guidelines name.
   • One free thing sold as paid: SWAYAM’s FAQ says its courses “are available free of cost to the learners” and NPTEL’s page says its optional proctored exam is “Rs. 1000/- per course”. Paying a tutor to help you through one is your choice; paying for “access” is paying for something that costs nothing.
   • Scope, honestly stated: the guidelines define a coaching centre as one “providing coaching to more than fifty students”, so a very small seller may sit outside their reach. The checks still apply; the enforcement may not.
   CCPA guidelines — official summary (PIB) ↗ SWAYAM FAQ on fees ↗ NPTEL: free course, ₹1,000 exam ↗

   All three fetched 2026-09-02 READ 2026-09-02

   What a YES looks like: a public, total, GST-inclusive fee; a refund policy in writing; and no promise that a register — or anyone honest — could back.

   Your answer

   Yes, all three No Can’t tell

The bodies whose names carry weight on an Indian certificate, what each one’s name goes on, and the page where you verify it. A seller can be a training partner of one of these; it cannot be one.

“READ” means we opened the page on 2026-09-02 and quoted from it; “UNREACHABLE” means the server refused or reset our connection from three different tools that night — a fact about our network as much as theirs, so open the link yourself. Ministry attributions are as stated on the bodies’ own pages.

• Absence is not proof. Plenty of legitimate training — vendor certifications, university short courses, foreign online courses — is not NSQF-aligned and never will be. “Not on the register” means “not a government-recognised qualification”. It does not mean fake, and it does not mean useless.
• Presence is not quality. A register records approval, level, awarding body and validity. It records nothing about teaching, pass rates, or whether a single graduate was hired. India publishes no earnings-by-course data at all; our ₹999 report prints that gap as its first labelled downgrade rather than filling it with a guess.
• Registers lag, and they move. nqr.gov.in says it is migrating; the fake-universities list is dated February 2026; NIELIT’s accredited list said “Updated Upto 31/08/2026”. A course approved last month may not be there yet. Read the date on the page, not just the list.
• A real certificate can carry a false promise. Checks 1 to 4 can all come out YES and the job guarantee still be invented. That is why check 5 stands on its own.
• Government portals have bad days. On the night we read them, NCVT MIS was serving an expired security certificate (lapsed 12 August 2026) and an NPTEL sub-domain’s had lapsed on 2 August. A browser warning on a .gov.in or .ac.in address is a lapsed certificate, not a scam — and still a reason to type nothing beyond what the form asks.
• We could not reach two sites. NCVET’s own site and AICTE’s dashboard refused or reset every connection from our network on 2 September 2026. We say so rather than describe pages we did not see; both links are here for you to try.
• Data, not advice. Whether a course is worth your money depends on the job you want, the money you have and the time you can give. Registers hold none of that. Only you do.

If the discipline on this page is the kind you want applied to your own occupation, that is what the RetrainMap India report is: the ILO’s published exposure reading for your desk, then a priced menu of government routes out — ITI, NIELIT, apprenticeship, NPTEL — each with its fee page, the date it was read, and the gaps stated in writing. ₹999, once, GST included, UPI at checkout. No email capture before purchase, no webinar, no telecall.

Do not take our word for it: the complete sample report is free and watermarked, and every figure in it carries a source you can open — the same way every link on this page does.

Read the complete free sample The ₹999 report

This checker stays free and stays here whether or not you ever buy anything. That is the point of it.

All read on 2 September 2026 from the United States, with a standard desktop browser identity, unless a line says otherwise. Where a site would not answer, the line says that instead.