A training program cannot be paid for with a federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Individual Training Account unless it appears on the state's list of eligible training providers and programs. Under the federal rule, a listed provider is the only kind of entity an Individual Training Account (an ITA, or training voucher) can pay. Every state keeps its own list.

Who writes the rules

Congress set the framework in section 122 of WIOA. The Department of Labor's regulations that carry it out sit at 20 CFR part 680, subpart D (sections 680.400 through 680.530). Those regulations are final and in effect; they were published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2016 (81 FR 56385), and the eCFR shows the subpart as current in November 2026.

The federal rule sets a floor, not a single national process. Under section 680.430, each state's Governor, working with the State Workforce Development Board, sets the criteria, the information providers must submit, and the procedures, and decides how work is split between the state and its local workforce boards. Local boards may add their own requirements or set higher performance bars for their area, except for Registered Apprenticeship programs.

Who can be on the list

Section 680.410 names three kinds of providers: colleges and universities offering programs that lead to a recognized postsecondary credential, sponsors of apprenticeship programs registered under the National Apprenticeship Act, and other public or private training providers. What gets listed is the program, not just the school. A qualifying program must lead to an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a degree, a completed apprenticeship, a high school diploma or equivalent (in limited combinations), employment, or measurable skill gains toward one of those.

Initial eligibility lasts one year

A provider applying for the first time submits information under the Governor's procedure (section 680.450). At a minimum, the state must ask for a description of each program, information tied to the federal performance indicators, whether the provider works in partnership with a business, and how the training lines up with in-demand industries and occupations. Initial eligibility is good for one year for that program. After that, the provider has to apply for continued eligibility.

Continued eligibility runs on outcome data

For continued eligibility (section 680.460), providers other than Registered Apprenticeships must report, for the WIOA-funded students in each program, the share employed in the second quarter after leaving, the share employed in the fourth quarter after leaving, median earnings in the second quarter, the share earning a recognized credential or diploma during the program or within a year of exit, which credentials they earned, the cost of attendance including tuition and fees, and the completion rate. Section 680.490 requires that data at least every two years, and the state must review eligibility every two years. States may set minimum performance levels and must remove programs that fall short of their criteria.

Providers can also be removed for cause. One found to have intentionally supplied inaccurate information, or to have substantially violated WIOA title I, must come off the list for at least two years and repay the training funds received during that period (section 680.480).

Registered Apprenticeships qualify automatically

Under section 680.470, apprenticeship programs registered with the Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized state apprenticeship agency are automatically eligible. They skip the initial application, though the sponsor must be told and must agree before being listed. They stay on the list until they are deregistered, ask to come off, or are found to have supplied false information or seriously violated the law.

Where the list is published

Section 680.500 requires each state to post its list online in a searchable form, with performance and cost information for each program, and to make it available through the American Job Center network. The Department of Labor also runs TrainingProviderResults.gov, a national search tool built from the annual state ETP performance reports (form ETA-9171). Its current data covers programs on state lists as of June 30, 2025, with outcomes from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025.

How a job seeker gets an ITA

Being on the list makes a program fundable; it does not fund any particular person. Under sections 680.210 and 680.220, an adult or dislocated worker is approved for training after an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning at an American Job Center (a one-stop center), which must find that the person needs training to reach self-sufficient employment and has the skills to complete it. The chosen program must connect to jobs in the area, or in an area the person is willing to commute or move to, and the person generally must lack other grant aid, such as a Pell Grant, to cover the full cost. The participant then picks a listed program with a career planner (section 680.300).

ITAs have limits. Section 680.310 lets state and local boards cap the dollar amount, the length of training, or both, and those caps must appear in the state or local plan. A person may choose a program that costs more than the cap when other money, such as a Pell Grant, a scholarship or severance pay, covers the difference.

The practical next step: find the nearest American Job Center through the CareerOneStop finder, ask for your state's eligible training provider list and the local ITA cap, and compare the program's posted employment and earnings figures before you enroll.

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