Contact the school that appears on the degree, if it is a real school. You can't always get personal information from a school, but most should tell you whether or not the person was enrolled. Typically, the registrar is not able to give out personal information for enrollment. However, if you suspect that someone has made a fake diploma from a school, contact the Dean of Students and explain your concerns. The Dean of Students will ask you why you feel the diploma is fake, and if they also believe you might have a a fake diploma on your hands, they can check to see if the person graduated or not. Tell the school that the person has a fake diploma from them. In most cases, this isn't a crime because the school will say that they have security measures in place so their real diplomas are distinguishable from something someone could buy or print out at home. However, the school will want to know about it in case a crime has been committed.If the school does not exist, you already know the diploma is fake.
Contact the immediate supervisor of the person who has the fake diploma first to explain your fears. If you are absolutely sure the diploma is fake, be sure to provide the reason that you believe so. In most cases, a fake diploma only hurts the person in their career, so the supervisor's only real course of action would be to fire the person.
Contact the authorities if the person with the fake diploma has used it in a way that can harm others. A fake diploma hanging on an office wall isn't a crime, but if the person has used the diploma to get a job where they work in the medical field or with children, or if the job they've obtained with the diploma is highly dangerous or a skilled position, the authorities will want to investigate whether that person has broken any laws by representing themselves as a trained professional. The laws vary from state to state, so if you are unsure if a person has broken any laws, contact the authorities and fill out a police report.
Find out if the person presenting a fake diploma is actually presenting a certificate of completion from a non accredited school - which is completely legal as long as it is presented as a simple certificate of completion, or if the fake diploma is an indication that a school is lying about being accredited.
Call the school in question and ask if they are accredited. If they say no, look again at the diploma because it could be just a certificate of completion, which is perfectly fine. You can decide if you want to work with or hire the person based on that. If the school says they are accredited, and you believe this is false, ask them which agency accredited them.
Contact the agency that supposedly accredited the school by finding their website or calling them on the phone. A list of accrediting agencies and contact information is found in resources. Ask them about the institution in question. If it is accredited, the diploma in question is at least from an accredited school but you'll still need to make sure that the person actually earned it. If the accrediting agency says the school is not actually accredited, be sure to tell them that you have seen a diploma that comes from that school and that the school has claimed they are accredited. This will be sufficient for reporting the fake diploma.
Contact the school that the diploma came from. If you can't get through to anyone, can't find the school on the Internet or in the phone book for the city where its located, or you aren't able to speak to someone in charge, such as a registrar or a dean of students, you could be dealing with a diploma mill. This is a company that is in the business of selling fake diplomas to people to make money.
Contact your state department of education or read diploma mill laws on your state's educational board's website. In some states, diploma mills are illegal. In other states, they are frowned upon but not illegal. You need to find out whether or not they are illegal, because some are not. Some diploma mills are perfectly legitimate. If you can't find out any information about whether or not they are legal in your state, contact your legislator's office, because the office will be able to direct you to your state's law books or tell you how to find out for sure.
Contact the State Board of Education. Again, speak to your lawmaker or legislator if you don't know how to do this to report a diploma mill if it is in fact illegal in your state.
Discuss your options with your supervisor if you have one, or think about the person presenting the fake diploma, if it is not illegal in your state. The person might be a good candidate for the job, but the idea that they presented a fake diploma or one that they purchased doesn't say much about a potential employee. If it isn't illegal, there is no one to report it to, but you will need to decide what to do with the information.