How to Verify a GED in Arizona

The General Education Development exam is recognized as a high school equivalency nationwide. The U.S. Department of Education has published studies showing that on average across eight studies, the full-time employment rate of GED recipients increased from 46.1 percent before certification to 57.0 percent afterward. Due to increased job marketability, there is a risk of GED fraud, making it more important than ever to verify any GED certificates that come across your desk. Whether you are a potential employer or a school official, Arizona has made it easy, fast, and free to verify a General Educational Development exam.

Instructions

Verification With a Transcript

1. Request an official transcript from the person in question.

2. Go to http://ged123.org and locate the box labeled "Employers, School Officials, and Others."

3. Enter the transcript verification code from the upper-right-hand corner of the transcript in the box. When you are ready, click "Go" to validate the record.

4. Compare the name and status on the transcript to that of the online record. If the name matches and both say "passed," then the transcript is valid. If the names do not match, the score on the web record is lower than the transcript, or says "incomplete" or "not passed," the transcript is not valid. If you come across an invalid transcript, please call [phone] and report your findings.

Verification Without a Transcript

1. Fill out the Arizona GED Transcript Request form, located in the "References" section of this article.

2. Fax the completed form to [phone].

3. Call [phone] two business days after sending the fax request for results of the search. The verification office is only permitted to release whether a candidate was awarded his/her diploma and the date it was awarded. No information will be faxed back to you regarding the student in question, nor will scores or transcripts be provided over the phone.

Tips & Warnings

• To save time, try to verify all transcripts using the online method, as this only takes about 20 seconds versus two days for fax/phone verification.

References

• Arizona Department of Education: E-Transcripts
• GED123.org
• U.S. Department of Education Archives: Educational and Labor Market Performance of GED Recipients - Appendix D
• Arizona Department of Education: GED Verification Process If You Have a Transcript
• Arizona Department of Education: GED Verification Process If You Don't Have a Transcript
• Arizona GED Transcript Request Form