Accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which a facility's or institution's services and operations are examined by a third-party accrediting agency to determine if applicable standards are met. Should the facility meet the accrediting agency's standards, the facility receives accredited status from the accrediting agency.

In most countries in the world, the function of accreditation for educational institutions is conducted by a government ministry of education. In the United States, however, educational accreditation is performed by private nonprofit membership associations.