How to check a certification on France compétences (RNCP register)

Before choosing a course, signing a partnership or communicating about an educational offer, one question comes up systematically: does this certification have an official existence, and which one? In France, the answer does not depend on an institution's commercial judgement. It rests on a public register, maintained by a state body: France compétences. Understanding how to consult it helps avoid costly mistakes, for a project owner as much as for the head of a school or training provider.

Why verification is essential

The French market for professional training and private higher education features a large number of designations: "certificate", "qualification", "bachelor", "mastère", "diploma". In law, these words have no value in themselves. Only registration in an official register gives a certification recognised scope:

• the Répertoire national des certifications professionnelles (RNCP), for qualifications with a professional purpose;
• the Répertoire spécifique (RS), for complementary certifications and authorisations;
• the list of national diplomas, awarded under the authority of the State (for example the BTS, a French national diploma under the ministry responsible for higher education).

An institution can offer a serious course without it leading to an RNCP qualification: this is the case for many in-house courses, preparatory programmes or complementary modules. The problem is not the existence of these courses, but the ambiguity when their status is not clearly stated. Checking the RNCP record, or its absence, removes any doubt in a few minutes.

What France compétences actually manages

France compétences is the public body that certifies and regulates professional training and apprenticeship in France. It examines applications for registration in the RNCP and the RS, sets a period of validity for each registration, and publishes a public search engine.

Each RNCP record specifies several essential pieces of information:

• the exact title of the qualification;
• the level of qualification, on a scale from 3 to 8 (from the CAP to the doctorate);
• the certifying body or bodies, i.e. the organisation or institution authorised to award the qualification;
• the end date of validity of the registration;
• the NSF code (nomenclature of training specialities) and the associated blocks of competences.

An RNCP qualification is never permanent: it is registered for a fixed period, generally a few years, and must then be renewed. An expired record no longer has the same scope as an active record, even if the title of the qualification remains identical from one year to the next.

The verification method, step by step

1. Identify the exact title of the certification communicated by the institution, as well as, where possible, the RNCP record number mentioned in its documentation.
2. Consult the France compétences search engine and search for the title or the record number.
3. Check the certifying body indicated on the record: it must correspond to the organisation that actually awards the qualification. An institution may prepare students for a qualification without being its certifying body; in that case, the record must mention a partnership or an authorisation.
4. Check the validity date of the registration, to make sure it covers the period of the course being considered.
5. Distinguish the RNCP from the Répertoire spécifique: an RS certification complements a specific skill; it does not constitute a diploma or a qualification with a professional purpose.

This check takes a few minutes and should be a systematic reflex, in the same way as checking a SIRET number or a company registration.

National diploma, RNCP qualification, own certification: do not confuse them

Rigour in vocabulary is not a secondary legal detail; it is a condition of trust. Three categories must be distinguished precisely:

• The national diploma is awarded under the authority of the State, within a national regulatory framework that is identical for all authorised institutions. The BTS is an example: it is a national diploma under the ministry responsible for higher education.
• The RNCP-registered qualification is awarded by a specific certifying body, identified on the record. The certifying body may be a ministry, a higher-education institution or an authorised private organisation.
• The certification specific to an institution is not registered in any national register. It may have genuine educational value, but it must never be presented as equivalent to a national diploma or an RNCP qualification.

Confusing these three categories, whether deliberately or through imprecision, exposes the communicating institution to a risk of challenge and weakens the trust of its stakeholders: families, companies, academic or institutional partners.

What this implies for an institution or a project owner

For a school director, a franchise project owner or the head of a training provider, this vigilance has a direct impact:

• in commercial communication: each course must clearly display its status (national diploma, RNCP qualification of a given level, own certification) without any ambiguous wording such as "diploma recognised by the State" used without further detail;
• in the choice of an academic partner: checking an institution's RNCP record before building a partnership avoids associating your own image with an uncertain or expired certification;
• in the development of a network: a group that structures several institutions around RNCP qualifications or national diplomas must ensure that each site in the network communicates identically and accurately about these certifications.

A structured education group, such as BSG Group, which relies on courses preparing for diplomas or qualifications regulated by the State or by a recognised certifying body, has every interest in documenting this compliance centrally, so that each school in the network has the same verified information.

FAQ

Is a certification not registered in the RNCP worthless?

No. Many complementary courses, in-house certifications or short modules have genuine educational value without being registered in the RNCP. The problem is not the absence of registration, but the lack of clarity about the real status of the certification communicated.

What should you do if the RNCP record has expired?

This means that the registration is no longer active on the date of consultation. You should check with the institution whether a renewal procedure is under way and not present the qualification as currently registered until the record has been renewed.

Who can award an RNCP-registered qualification?

Only the certifying body or bodies identified on the corresponding record. An institution that prepares students for a qualification without itself being the certifying body must say so and indicate under which authorisation or partnership the qualification is awarded.

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Would you like to see the institutions in the network and the certifications they prepare students for? Find the detailed presentation of each school on our schools.