The NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse is the organization that determines whether prospective college athletes are eligible to play sports at NCAA Division I or Division II institutions. It does this by reviewing the student athlete’s academic record, SAT or ACT scores, and amateur status to ensure conformity with NCAA rules.

The NCAA is the governing body of many intercollegiate sports. Each college and university regulated by the NCAA has established rules on eligibility, recruiting, and financial aid, and falls into one of the three membership divisions (Divisions I, II, and III). Divisions are based on school size and the scope of their athletic programs and scholarships.

The NCAA recommends that student athletes register with the clearinghouse at the beginning of their junior year in high school, but many students register after their junior year. There is no registration deadline, but students must be cleared by the clearinghouse before they receive athletic scholarships or compete at a Division I or Division II institution.

Students can register online at the NCAA Clearinghouse website. They will have to enter personal information, answer questions about their athletic participation, and pay a registration fee. The website will then prompt them to have their high school transcript and ACT or SAT scores sent to the clearinghouse.

Students who have received a waiver for the SAT or ACT are eligible for a waiver of the clearinghouse registration fee. The student’s counselor must submit confirmation of the student’s test fee waiver. Go to the NCAA Clearinghouse’s High School Administration page for more information.

Students should arrange to have their counselor send their high school transcript to the clearinghouse as soon as they have completed at least six semesters of high school. The transcript must be mailed directly from their high school. They must also arrange to have their ACT or SAT test scores reported directly by the testing company to the clearinghouse. Students can arrange this when they register for the ACT or SAT.

Students can update the information on the athletics participation section online as often as they want (and should update it regularly), up to the time when they request a final certification of their status. At that point (usually three to four months before enrolling in college), students must finalize their information.

• To play sports at an NCAA Division I or Division II institution, the student must:
• Complete a certain number of high school core courses (defined below)
• Earn a certain minimum grade point average in these core courses
• Earn a certain minimum score on the SAT or ACT (for Division I, this is scaled according to the student’s core-course GPA)
• Graduate from high school

For more information, see the NCAA’s Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, available at the Publications section of the NCAA website.

“Core courses” is the name that the NCAA gives to high school courses that meet certain academic criteria specified by the association. Students must complete a certain number of core courses for NCAA Division I and II eligibility.

All participating high schools submit lists of the courses that they offer that meet NCAA core-course criteria. If approved, the courses are added to a database that the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse maintains.