How to Register with the Ncaa D1 & D2 Eligibility Center

  

 

1. Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center (for D1 and D2)

2. Choose between a Certification Account or a Profile page.

3. Have a valid email address you will have access to after high school.

4. Provide basic contact information, including your education and sports  

participation.

1. history.

2. Have official copies of your high school transcripts sent to the NCAA.

3. Complete the amateurism questionnaire.

4. Have a valid method of payment ($100 for athletes from the U.S. (including its territories) or Canada and $160 for international athletes). Valid forms of payment include debit, credit card or e-check.

In January 2023, NCAA D1 and D2 dropped the requirement for standardized test scores for full-time student-athletes, meaning you’re not required to send your ACT/SAT scores to the NCAA Eligibility Center. Contact your NCAA school choice to verify if test scores are still necessary for admission or scholarships.

 

What to expect when registering with the NCAA

The NCAA Eligibility Center process will take months or years to complete, depending on when you register. Initial NCAA registration will take 15-30 minutes, or up to 45 minutes for a Certification Account. Expect to spend around 30 hours throughout high school dedicated to the NCAA Eligibility Center process. Here is a rough breakdown of each part:

• 2-3 hours – creating your account and completing the amateurism questionnaire

• 5-10 hours – meeting and checking in with your high school counselor to make sure you are on track regarding the NCAA core course requirements

• 2-3 hours – coordinating with your high school counselor to make sure your official transcripts are sent to the NCAA

Here is a printable checklist and timeline for the eligibility center process, including how to register with the NCAA.

 

How much does it cost to sign up for the NCAA Eligibility Center?

NCAA registration for certification accounts cost $100 for U.S. and U.S. territories. This includes American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. It is the same cost for Canadian athletes. It costs $160 for international athletes. If you qualify for the federal free lunch program, you can have the NCAA fees waived by completing the NCAA fee waiver.

Can I get a refund for my NCAA fee?

All payments to the NCAA are final. However, if you completed a duplicate registration and paid your registration fee twice, you may be eligible for a refund of the duplicate registration fee. Click here to complete and submit an NCAA refund form.

If you are unsure about registering with the NCAA, create a free Profile page and you can easily upgrade that account to a Certification Account when needed.

 

To register with the NAIA Eligibility Center, athletes must take the following three actions:

• Create a profile at PlayNAIA.org.

  •  International students need to create a registration with InCred to send international records in addition to their PlayNAIA accounts. 

• Send all required documents to the NAIA Eligibility Center

• Get on the priority list (referred to as the “short list”) to ensure the NAIA reviews their information

Quick Links

Step 1: Create an online NAIA profile

Step 2: Send the NAIA Eligibility Center all required documents

Step 3: Secure a spot on the priority, or ‘short,’ list

What if I’m already a college student?

What if I’m an international student?

How much does it cost to sign up?

Can I get a refund for my NAIA fee?

How do I contact the NAIA?

 

 

Step 1: Create an online NAIA profile

NAIA registration starts with recruits building their NAIA profile, which serves as their home base in the academic eligibility process. Any time there is an update to their status, it will be reflected in their profile. Athletes can build their profile as early as their freshmen year of high school and no later than senior year. To do so, they must go to PlayNAIA.org and click the “Register Student” button. We advise that recruits build their profile with their parents, as there will be a fee that they need to pay to complete the set-up process. Overall, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to complete this first step in the NAIA registration process.

Insider tip: Recruits should familiarize themselves with their account, paying special attention to their “Current Tasks list. When the NAIA has any status updates for the recruit, they will be reflected in the Current Tasks list portion of their profile. Recruits should check their accounts frequently for changes and take action on any outstanding “Current Tasks.”

 

Step 2: Send the NAIA Eligibility Center all required documents

In the NAIA registration process, athletes have to submit documentation to prove that they meet the academic requirements. There are two primary records athletes must provide: their high school transcript and their ACT or SAT scores.

How to send the NAIA an athlete’s transcript: Unless the athlete qualifies for an early decision, they need to send their transcripts to the NAIA once they’ve completed all their coursework through graduation. However, families should make sure that they send the transcript as soon as it’s available. Ideally, students should have all documents submitted to their profile before the start of their sport season. If they do not, they are at-risk of missing competitions because their eligibility decision MUST be posted before they are able to compete.

Sending transcripts through the High School Portal is the only way to get it to the NAIA, as all high school records are required to be uploaded by the official high school personnel through that portal. The athlete should talk to their guidance counselor, who can upload the student’s records electronically via the High School Portal. International records must be submitted to InCred at www.InCredEvals.org. Hard copy transcripts are still accepted for U.S. college records and can be sent to:

Mailing Address (may take 7-10 business days)
NAIA Eligibility Center – Mailroom
120 W. 12th Street, Level S1
Kansas City, MO 64105

How to send the NAIA test scores: Students must request that their test scores be sent directly to the NAIA from the testing center. To do so, athletes should use the code 9876 when taking their test. There will be a box on the front of the test, which indicates to the testing center the student wants copies their scores sent.

How to send a class rank letter: If an athlete plans to use class rank as one of their eligibility criteria, the NAIA will accept class rank if it’s included on their official transcript. However, if that information is not available on the transcript, the high school counselor will need to submit their official ranking when uploading their transcript information through the High School Portal. International students do not have a portal option, and their high schools can use a class rank letter. The NAIA is fairly strict about the criteria for sending a class rank letter. The letter must be on school letterhead paper and sent in a sealed, school-stamped envelope. It must be signed by one of the following: the school’s principal, headmaster, vice principal or guidance counselor. The letter should be sent to: NAIA Eligibility Center –Mailroom, 120 W. 12th Street, Level S1, Kansas City, MO 64105. For information on submitting international records, visit the Documents Required By Country guide.

Step 3: Secure your spot on a “short list” of an NAIA institution so that the NAIA Eligibility Center can review your information

To make sure an athlete’s information gets reviewed by the NAIA on time, the athlete needs to be on the “short list”. This is a list of athletes who are actively getting recruited and need their eligibility decision completed quickly. To get on the short list, the recruit needs to get added by the NAIA coach recruiting them. Typically, athletes need to provide the coach with their Eligibility Center ID Number (ECID#), which they can find in their NAIA profile.

Insider tip: First-time college students who go straight to an NAIA school after high school graduation are not required to be on a school’s short list to receive an eligibility decision, but it can help provide priority in their review.

What if I’m already a college student?

The NAIA registration process for current college students is very similar to the process for high school graduates. The differences are

• College transfers should include all colleges that they’ve attended in their NAIA profile.

• College transfers must submit the transcripts for any colleges that they have attended.

• College transfers have to be on the short list in order to receive an eligibility decision.

What if I’m an international student?

The NAIA registration process for international athletes requires recruits to take a few extra steps, including:

• When creating their NAIA profile, international recruits should list all sports participation and all schools they have attended.

• International student-athletes must have their NAIA coach add them to the short list as soon as possible.

• International recruits must receive a credential evaluation from InCred (requires a separate registration at www.InCredEvals.org). Records sent to InCred are used for NAIA eligibility so students only need to send their records once. InCred allows students to upload records electronically, as an additional method for sending records. If the records are not in English, the recruit must provide literal, English translations.

• For international athletes who are transferring from a university, they must send all their post-secondary official records to InCred for evaluation. If the records are not in English, the recruit must provide literal, English translations.

How much does it cost to sign up for the NAIA Eligibility Center?

• No-break high school students from the U.S. and Canada: $100

• Students with a break in between high school and NAIA enrollment with no previous post-secondary enrollment: $135

• Transfer students: $150

• International students: $160 and students must also purchase an InCred evaluation separately (evaluations are $95 for the Basic Evaluation and $190 for the University/Post-Secondary Evaluation)

This is a nonrefundable registration fee and covers all services the NAIA Eligibility Center provides. U.S. students with a demonstrated need can get their NAIA registration fee waived. Athletes who received a fee waiver for the ACT or SAT test or  the federal free or reduced-cost lunch program, should contact their high school counselor, who can provide confirmation of their eligibility for a fee waiver to the NAIA Eligibility Center. High school fee waiver confirmations must be completed by high school counselors through the online NAIA High School Portal. Transfer students can qualify for a fee waiver if they did not meet the qualifications in high school (and their high school counselor denies their fee waiver), their financial circumstances have changed and they receive a minimum in Federal Pell Grant funds.

Can I get a refund for my NAIA fee?

In most cases, the NAIA registration fee is nonrefundable. But a refund will be awarded under very specific circumstances:

• The athlete has participated in NAIA athletics previously.

• The athlete competed at a school that was not affiliated with the NAIA during their time there, but the school is now an NAIA member institution.

• The athlete overpaid.

• The athlete created and paid for duplicate accounts

To request a refund, athletes or an immediate family member will need to call the NAIA Eligibility Center.

How do I contact the NAIA?

Families can contact the customer relations team Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5 pm CT by:

• Filling out the NAIA Contact Us form on PlayNAIA.org

• Twitter: @PlayNAIA