The market for honorary awards has a credibility problem. In 2026, a Times Higher Education investigation found companies selling honorary doctorates for up to £10,000, with some offering “awarding, processing, and shipping” fees as if the honor were a product to be shipped [citation:1]. In Kerala, India, fraudsters have been demanding up to ₹2.5 lakh for fake foreign honorary doctorates, complete with staged “convocation” videos [citation:10]. Faced with this landscape, how do you tell a legitimate honorary award from a commercial transaction dressed in academic robes? This checklist provides ten criteria you can apply to any institution offering honorary awards — whether it is a university you are considering, an organization that has approached you, or an institution you are evaluating on behalf of someone else.
Why a Checklist Is Necessary
The honorary award sector has always had bad actors. What has changed is the scale and sophistication of the fraud. The 2026 THE investigation documented companies that present honorary doctorates as a service: submit a CV, pay a fee, receive a certificate. One company, QAHE, described its honorary doctorate as a “professional recognition” that would “enhance… credibility and reputation,” and explicitly stated that recipients “may choose to use the title of ‘doctor'” [citation:1].
In Kerala, police reported that scammers use sponsored social media advertisements, staged convocation videos, and fake office tours to convince victims that the degrees are legitimate. One victim lost ₹1.5 lakh but declined to file a complaint because of the embarrassment [citation:10].
Legitimate honorary awards do exist. But they are conferred through nomination, review, and institutional governance — not through an online application and a payment portal. The checklist below separates the two.
The 10-Point Checklist
1. Does the institution have legal degree-awarding authority?
An honorary degree can only be legally conferred by an institution authorized to award degrees. In the United States, this means accreditation by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA [citation:7]. In the UK, it means holding degree-awarding powers. In India, only universities established under a Central, State, or Provincial Act may confer them.
How to check: Search the institution on the U.S. Department of Education’s DAPIP database or CHEA’s database. For UK institutions, use the government’s checker at gov.uk/check-university-award-degree.
2. Is the institution itself real, with verifiable operations?
Fraudulent institutions often exist only as a website and a payment processor. The Des Moines Register’s investigation into Reagan National University found no students, no classrooms, no faculty, and empty office suites — despite the institution holding accreditation [citation:5].
How to check: Search for the institution’s physical address. Verify it on Google Maps. Look for faculty profiles, course catalogs, and news coverage that is not a press release. If the institution has no verifiable physical presence, proceed with extreme caution.
3. Is the award conferred through nomination and review, or through application and payment?
Legitimate honorary awards are nomination-driven. Candidates are nominated by faculty, alumni, or community members. They do not apply. They are not informed in advance. The selection process is confidential and involves committee review [citation:8].
Red flag: If you can “apply” for the award online, or if the institution asks you to submit a CV and pay a fee, it is not a legitimate honorary award. The THE investigation found companies offering exactly this model [citation:1].
4. Does the institution require payment of any kind?
Legitimate honorary awards are never sold. The Council on Higher Education in South Africa states explicitly that “an honorary degree should not be awarded in exchange for financial contribution” [citation:8].
Red flag: Requests for “processing fees,” “convocation fees,” “documentation fees,” “donations,” or “shipping charges.” The Kerala scam involved advance payments for “processing,” “international documentation,” and “convocation arrangements” [citation:10].
5. Is the awarding body an accredited or recognized institution — or a “partner” or “affiliate”?
Some fraudulent operations claim to award degrees through “partners” in countries with lax regulation. QAHE claimed its honorary doctorate would be jointly awarded by itself and the American University of Business and Social Sciences, which claims accreditation in Kyrgyzstan [citation:1].
How to check: Verify the actual awarding institution, not the marketing partner. If the degree is awarded by a “partner university” you have never heard of, verify that institution independently.
6. Does the institution make misleading accreditation claims?
Some institutions claim accreditation from agencies that are not recognized by legitimate authorities. Others use outdated terminology — such as “regionally accredited” — to imply a quality distinction that the U.S. Department of Education no longer recognizes [citation:6].
How to check: Verify the accrediting agency itself. Is it recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA? If not, the accreditation claim is meaningless.
7. Is the award being used to imply an academic qualification?
Legitimate honorary awards are clearly distinguished from earned degrees. The institution should describe the award as honorary, and the recipient should not be encouraged to present it as an earned qualification.
Red flag: Marketing language that blurs the distinction. QAHE told THE that recipients “may choose to use the title of ‘doctor’ if they wish” — a clear invitation to misrepresent the honor [citation:1].
8. Does the institution have a published policy on honorary awards?
Legitimate universities publish their honorary degree policies. These policies define eligibility, nomination procedures, selection criteria, and the rights and responsibilities of recipients. The University of Cape Town’s policy, for example, specifies that honorary degrees are not awarded to current staff, that they cannot be exchanged for financial contributions, and that recipients should not use the title “Dr” in broader society [citation:8].
How to check: Search the institution’s website for “honorary degree policy” or “honorary awards criteria.” If no policy exists, the institution may not have a legitimate process.
9. Are there verifiable, named recipients with documented achievements?
Legitimate institutions announce their honorary degree recipients publicly, with citations explaining why each person was honored. These recipients have verifiable achievements — in scholarship, public service, the arts, or philanthropy.
Red flag: Institutions that display generic testimonials or stock photos, or that list recipients whose achievements cannot be independently verified. The THE investigation found one organization using the name and photo of an academic who had never received its degree and had not authorized the use of their likeness [citation:1].
10. Does the institution have a revocation policy?
Legitimate institutions have procedures for revoking honorary degrees if recipients engage in misconduct or misrepresent the honor. The University of Cape Town’s policy states that an honorary degree “should be revoked if recipients are guilty of criminal misconduct or unethical behaviour” [citation:8].
Why it matters: An institution that has no mechanism for revocation is not treating the honor with the seriousness it requires.
Applying the Checklist in Practice
If You Have Been Approached by an Organization
If an organization contacts you offering an honorary doctorate, start with Point 4: did they ask for money? If yes, stop. If they did not ask for money but the offer came unsolicited, verify the institution through Points 1 and 2. Unsolicited offers are rare from legitimate institutions; most honorary awards are conferred without the recipient’s prior knowledge.
If You Are Evaluating an Institution’s Claim
If you are checking whether an institution’s honorary awards are legitimate — for example, because someone has listed one on a CV — focus on Points 1, 2, and 8. Does the institution have degree-awarding authority? Is it a real institution with verifiable operations? Does it have a published policy? If the answer to any of these is no, the award is questionable.
If You Are Nominating Someone
If you are considering nominating someone for an honorary award, verify the institution’s legitimacy before investing time in the nomination. A nomination sent to a fraudulent institution will not result in a meaningful honor.
Red Flags at a Glance
Immediate Disqualifiers
- Payment required — in any form, for any purpose
- Self-nomination accepted — legitimate honors are nominated by others
- Guaranteed approval — no legitimate committee guarantees outcomes
- No verifiable physical institution — no address, no faculty, no operations
- No degree-awarding authority — not accredited, not recognized, not established under law
Serious Concerns
- Vague accreditation claims — “internationally accredited” without naming a recognized agency
- Partners in obscure jurisdictions — degrees “awarded” through institutions in countries with lax oversight
- Staged ceremonies — photos and videos of “convocations” that cannot be independently verified [citation:10]
- No published policy — no criteria, no process, no revocation mechanism
- Encouragement to use “Dr.” — a clear sign the institution is selling status, not recognizing achievement
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if an honorary doctorate is legitimate?
Apply the ten-point checklist. The most important criteria are: the institution must have degree-awarding authority, the award must be conferred through nomination and review, and no payment of any kind must be required.
Is it ever acceptable to pay a fee for an honorary doctorate?
No. Legitimate honorary awards are never sold. Any request for payment — whether described as a processing fee, donation, or convocation charge — is a red flag [citation:8][citation:10].
What is the difference between an honorary doctorate from a legitimate university and one from a diploma mill?
A legitimate university has degree-awarding authority, a published policy, a nomination-based process, and no payment requirement. A diploma mill sells degrees, often with minimal or no review, and typically claims accreditation from unrecognized agencies [citation:1][citation:5].
Can an honorary doctorate from an unaccredited institution still be valuable?
It may have personal or ceremonial value to the recipient, but it has no academic or professional standing. It should not be presented as an academic qualification.
What should I do if I have already paid for an honorary doctorate?
If you believe you have been defrauded, report the matter to the relevant authorities in your jurisdiction. In India, the UGC has urged the public to report fraudulent honorary doctorates to its official channels. In the UK, Action Fraud accepts reports of academic fraud.
Does this checklist apply to honorary professorships and honorary fellowships too?
Yes. The same principles apply: the awarding institution must be legitimate, the honor must be conferred through proper process, and payment must not be required.
Final Thoughts (2026)
The honorary award sector is not self-regulating. Fraudulent operators have learned to mimic the language and imagery of legitimate institutions, and the rise of online sales has made it easier than ever to purchase a title that looks real but means nothing.
Key takeaways:
- Legitimate honors require no payment — any request for money is disqualifying
- Legitimate institutions have degree-awarding authority — verify accreditation through official databases
- Legitimate awards are nomination-driven — you cannot apply for an honorary degree
- Legitimate institutions publish their policies — criteria, process, and revocation rules should be public
- Apply the checklist to every institution — including those covered on this site
For anyone considering an honorary award — as a recipient, a nominator, or an observer — the ten-point checklist provides a consistent, evidence-based framework for distinguishing legitimate recognition from commercial fraud.
— The honorary-doctor.com team, 2026