Trade school red flags: what to watch for before you sign

Most schools are legitimate, but a few practices should make you slow down.

• Pressure to sign today or a discount that disappears when you leave.
• Guaranteed jobs or specific salaries with no data on how many graduates were counted.
• Vague total cost, or fees that show up after you enroll.
• No clear accreditation or a mismatch between the program and your state's licensing rules.
• Low completion rates or very low graduate earnings on the Scorecard compared with similar schools.
• Refund terms you cannot find in the enrollment agreement.
• A CDL school not listed in the FMCSA Training Provider Registry for the classes it teaches. Entry-level driver training must be taken from a registered provider.

Where to check and report

• State higher-education or proprietary-school regulator and your state attorney general.
• Federal Trade Commission: reportfraud.ftc.gov.
• FMCSA Training Provider Registry, which shows removed and under-review locations: tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov.

This page is general information, not legal advice.