Accreditation receives much emphasis in our educational systems and it forms a significant element in both institutional and programmatic accountability and credibility. Numerous agencies and associations in addition to national institutional accrediting agencies are recognized as accrediting bodies. The accrediting bodies establish accreditation standards or essentials that guide their deliberations regarding accreditation and an educational institution's efforts in applying for accreditation. Accreditation standards apply to institutional accreditation, while accreditation essentials generally pertain to programmatic accreditation. Concern about the eligibility of vocational institutions for federal funds brought accrediting opportunities to these institutions in the 1960s. Because of the difficult questions vocational-technical education encountered with the accreditation process, a national workshop held in 1979 with participants from existing accrediting agencies and vocational educators from state agencies and local institutions was organized to develop program standards and to improve accrediting procedures for vocational programs. Although accreditation is called "voluntary," it is necessary for federal funding. The problems in accreditation--high costs and inefficient procedures--can be lessened by joint scheduling of on-site visits, development of a single self-study guide, and further research regarding the accreditation process. This paper explores the general accreditation process and its application to vocational education; it also profiles the accreditating agencies and their standards. (KC)