> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.chimeedu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Verify Your Institution

> How an institution proves it is really the school — a DNS record or a website file — and what verification changes.

An email address on your school's domain proves that someone is *affiliated* with the school. It does not prove they speak *for* the school, because students often share the same domain. Verification is about control: of the school's DNS, or of its website.

An institution that ChimeEdu set up directly is already **Verified by ChimeEdu**. Adding a domain proof of your own is still worth doing — it makes the verification yours to keep, and it is what lets teachers on that domain link to your campuses as verified.

## Who can do this

Institution Admins and IT members, from **IT & Network → Verify your institution**. Leaders can see the status but not change it.

## Two ways to prove control

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="DNS record (recommended)">
    Add one TXT record at your DNS provider. It is harmless, reversible, and what most IT teams prefer.

    1. Enter your institution's domain — the one your staff email addresses end with — and choose **DNS record**, then **Get my record**.
    2. Copy the **host** (`_chimeedu.yourdomain.org`) and the **value** (`chimeedu-verify=…`) into a new TXT record at your DNS provider. Leave the TTL at your provider's default.
    3. Press **Check now**. DNS changes can take up to an hour to appear; the claim stays open for 14 days.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Website file">
    For schools where the website, not DNS, is what you control.

    1. Choose **Website file**, then **Get my record**.
    2. Publish a plain-text file at `https://yourdomain.org/.well-known/chimeedu-verify.txt` containing the token shown.
    3. Press **Check now**. The file must be served from your own domain over HTTPS.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## What happens after

* The **Verification** row in Settings and the badge on the IT page read **Verified by domain**.
* ChimeEdu re-checks every verified domain nightly. If the record disappears for seven nights in a row your admins and IT are emailed; after 30 days the institution returns to unverified. Nothing is deleted.
* Teachers who sign up with an address on a verified domain and pick one of your campuses are linked as **domain-verified**, not self-claimed.

## Removing a domain

**Remove** on a domain revokes it. The record is kept in the Activity log. If ChimeEdu verified your institution directly, that verification stays in place regardless of your domains.