Per regulation, all SEVP-certified schools must be recertified every two years. A school’s certification expiration date (CED) is exactly two years from the date of initial certification or the date of previous recertification.

In response to the March 2019 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendation for SEVP to more precisely establish a two-year recertification cycle, any school that is certified or recertified after March 1, 2020, will receive their next CED notice 180 days before the two-year deadline. Schools will continue to receive their CED notification through an automatic Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)-generated email.

Previously, SEVP notified schools for recertification two years after the date of its last certification or recertification. SEVP then gave schools up to 180 days beyond the two-year mark to submit for recertification. Under this process, schools were permitted to submit its complete petition and supporting documentation to SEVP up to 180 days after the two-year mark, resulting in a two-and-a-half-year recertification submission cycle.

As your institution’s CED approaches, read the Recertification Series on the Study in the States blog for more information, reminders and helpful resources that you can reference during the recertification process. Download Frequently Asked Questions: Updated Certification Expiration Date Process on ICE.gov/SEVP for answers to common questions about this change.

For case specific questions, please contact your assigned field representative or the SEVP Response Center.