Only schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) may enroll F and/or M nonimmigrant students. Per regulation, schools must periodically undergo recertification to continue this enrollment. The recertification process begins when the principal designated school official (PDSO) at your school receives a notice from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) regarding your school’s impending certification expiration date (CED). Schools receive the first notice 180 days before the CED, when SEVIS will allow the school to file for recertification. If you do not file for recertification, an additional notice is sent 90 days before the CED and a Notice of Intent to Withdraw is issued 30 days before the CED.

Follow these basic steps to file your recertification package:

• Review your school’s Form I-17, "Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Students," to make sure the information is accurate and up-to-date.
• If you need to make a change, you should immediately file an update. Updates must be adjudicated before you can file for recertification and your CED will not be extended even if you have a pending update.
• Once your Form I-17 is updated and ready to send to SEVP, click “submit” in SEVIS to apply for recertification.
• Print and complete the attestation statement with the complete official name of your school’s accrediting agency and state licensing agency, as well as the PDSO’s signature.
• Print a copy of the Form I-17 and have the PDSO sign page 3. All designated school officials (DSOs) must sign the Form I-17A, "Record of Designated School Officials" and the president, owner, or head of school must also sign to certify that the DSOs are employed by the school and prepared for the related responsibilities.
• Within three business days of electronically submitting all materials, you will receive either a Notice of Confirmation of Complete Filing, or a Notice of Rejection of Complete Filing, which indicates that there is information that you need to add to complete your recertification package.

For more information about the recertification filing process, as well as what constitutes a complete recertification package, use SEVP's Recertification Checklist. There is no timeline for the adjudication of a recertification petition and as long as your school’s petition and documents are received before your CED, you can operate normally while they are reviewed. For more information on recertification, please visit SEVP's website.