The next part of our scams series. A fake degree in India costs anything from a few thousand rupees to Rs 20 lakh, and in 2026 they turned up in schools, clinics and government offices. Here is the market in charts and cases, what is stopping it, and what to check.
- 32fake universities on the UGC's list in February 2026, up from 22 in October 2025
- 12fake universities shut down since 2014
- 3,000+Bihar teachers found with forged certificates in 2026
- Rs 10–20 lakhthe price of a fake MBBS degree in a 2026 police case
What a fake degree costs
Prices police reported in 2025 and 2026 cases. Medical degrees cost the most and a printed marksheet the least.
- MBBS or BMS degreeRs 10–20 lakhRaipur, April 2026: 30 fake MBBS degrees made and sold in several states (Patrika, Hindi)
- B.Pharma, D.Pharma or MBARs 2–2.5 lakhAgra, March 2025: UP STF case
- Forged marksheetRs 80,000–2 lakhNoida, July 2025: two arrested, 66 marksheets seized
- B.Tech, BCA, MCA, MSc or BARs 25,000–4 lakhLucknow, December 2025: 923 fake documents seized (Patrika, Hindi)
- B.Com, from a real university's stafferRs 70,000Pune, July 2026: an employee suspended after the university checked its records
- Honorary doctorateRs 10,000–20,000Hyderabad, October 2025: sold on social media
- Printed marksheet or degreeRs 4,000–5,000Prayagraj, 2026: 7,000+ documents sold since 2014
- Backdating a diploma, on topRs 3,000Uttar Pradesh, September 2025: a broker's quote in a newspaper sting
Prices as reported in each case. The last line is a broker's quote to a newspaper sting, not a police figure.
Where fake degrees come from
Three routes: institutions that are not universities at all, gangs that copy real universities' papers, and staff inside real universities. The UGC's list names 32 fake universities, up from 22 in October 2025.
Source: UGC, state-wise list of fake universities as on February 2026
- Kanpur · Jun 2026141 seals
University stamps and 830 blank marksheets seized. When employers called to verify, the gang answered and confirmed its own fakes.
4 arrested - Lucknow · Dec 2025923 documents
Fake degrees and marksheets with fake seals of at least 25 universities.
3 arrested - Agra · Mar 20258,000 sold
In four years, the accused told the STF, and he claimed 300+ buyers now hold government jobs.
Kingpin held
- Sehore · Aug 202666 degrees
Issued to selected candidates, most allegedly backdated. The university's vice-chancellor, exam controller and an operator were arrested.
VC arrested - Hapur · May 202510 arrested
A private university's chairman and 9 staff, at Rs 50,000 to Rs 4 lakh a marksheet.
Chairman held - Pune · Jul 2026Rs 70,000
A state university employee allegedly sold a B.Com degree. The university's own records showed it was fake.
Staffer suspended
Who got jobs on them
The fakes end up where checks are thin: government schools, clinics and recruitment drives.
- Bihar · Jul 20263,000+ teachers
Hired between 2006 and 2015 on certificates from fake institutions, now to be dismissed.
Pay to be recovered - Uttar Pradesh · Oct 202610+ jobs
On one set of documents in several cases, the High Court was told. It ordered every basic-school teacher's documents checked.
Statewide check ordered - Telangana · Oct 202635 lecturers
Government junior lecturers removed after universities confirmed fake certificates.
320 more under check - Madhya Pradesh · Jun 202612 doctors
Alleged to be fake, found in government clinics across 9 districts.
Statewide check - Raipur · Apr 202630 MBBS degrees
One went to a doctor practising at a private hospital in Bhilai, police said.
Doctor arrested - Supreme Court · Nov 2025Uncondonable
How the court described a job won on a forged degree, in the case of a constable hired in 1988.
Dismissal upheld
What's stopping it, and why it keeps working
The UGC publishes its list, the government issues show-cause notices, courts are ordering whole workforces re-checked, and some universities now issue certificates with a QR check against their own record. But the checks are slow and the market is large.
- Few closures12
Fake universities closed since 2014, while the list grew by 10 between October 2025 and February 2026.
- No easy check856 of 1,460
Universities publish no working way to verify a degree, and only 18 make an instant check their main route, in our October 2026 review.
- Phone checksIntercepted
Verification calls can be faked: a Kanpur gang answered them and confirmed its own fakes.
- Late checks20 years
Bihar teachers hired as early as 2006 on fake certificates face dismissal only in 2026.
- Hiring84%
Of healthcare candidates with an education discrepancy held certificates from unapproved or fake institutes, in an EY India analysis.
- Demand1.87 crore
Applications for 64,197 railway posts in 2024. A credential that clears the first filter is worth paying for.
What to check
- HiringVerify every degree with the university that issued it, through its own published route, not a phone number or email printed on the certificate. Do it before joining.
- Check the institutionSearch the UGC's list of fake universities, and its list of recognised ones, before you accept a degree or join a course.
- UniversitiesIssue certificates that carry a check against your own record, and watch who can reach your exam records.
- StudentsNo real university sells a backdated degree. A course with no classes or exams is not a degree.
Certificates issued on Dygital.degree are in the NAD standard format with a QR check against the university's own record, so a printed copy can't pass for the real one. On Checkkbox, degree checks go to the university itself, not to a number on the paper. If your team checks degrees every month, book a demo.
Sources
- Patrika, on 30 fake MBBS degrees made and sold in several states (Hindi), April 2026
- ETV Bharat, "Uttar Pradesh STF bust fake marksheet gang, kingpin held in Agra", March 2025
- The Week (PTI), "Noida: 2 arrested for forging mark sheets", July 2025
- Patrika, on a fake degree racket busted in Lucknow (Hindi), December 2025
- ThePrint (PTI), "Pune university employee suspended for 'selling' forged degree certificate, marksheet", July 2026
- ETV Bharat, on fake honorary doctorates sold in Hyderabad, October 2025
- Medical Dialogues, "UP fake degree scam: 7,000+ bogus documents sold across districts", April 2026
- Medical Dialogues, "Fake degrees sold for lakhs, real ones rented to labs" (Dainik Bhaskar sting), September 2025
- University Grants Commission, "State-wise list of fake universities", as on February 2026
- Free Press Journal, "UGC cautions students against fake universities", October 2025
- ThePrint (PTI), "Kanpur Police busts fake degree racket; 4 arrested", June 2026
- Aaj Tak, on the Kanpur fake degree syndicate (Hindi), June 2026
- Free Press Journal, "Rajasthan SOG arrests MP university VC, 2 officials over fake degree racket in PTI recruitment case", August 2026
- The Week (PTI), "Fake marksheets, degrees recovered from private university in Hapur; chairman arrested", May 2025
- ETV Bharat, on Bihar dismissing teachers with fake degrees, July 2026
- LiveLaw, "Allahabad High Court directs verification of documents of all UP basic school teachers", October 2026
- Telangana Today, "Telangana terminates 35 government junior lecturers over fake certificates", October 2026
- Medical Dialogues, "MP launches credential verification after 12 fake doctors found in Sanjeevani clinics", June 2026
- LiveLaw, "Getting appointment based on forged degree certificate is uncondonable: Supreme Court", November 2025
- India TV, "12 fake universities closed in 10 years; govt issues show-cause notices", February 2025
- All India Radio, "Government says 12 fake universities have been closed since 2014", December 2025
- EY India, "The First Firewall: background checks as India Inc's frontline defense", May 2025
- Free Press Journal, "1.87 crore candidates vied for 64,197 railway posts in 2024", August 2025
