NERD is collectively owned by all post-secondary institutions in Nigeria, regulatory authorities (NUC, NBTE, NCCE, NLN), and the Federal Ministry of Education. Each institution maintains a NERD Support Desk for streamlined access.

NERD offers multiple services including: National Students Clearing House, Education Depository, Credential Verification, Plagiarism Detection, Academic Publications Indexing, Library Integration Servicess, Dissertation Evaluation, Lecture Note Depository, and Term Paper Registration.

NERD provides institutions with a perpetual academic records archive, plagiarism detection system, collaborative hub for educational materials, quality assurance system to curb academic fraud, and national-level indexing for research work.

NERD's National Credential Verification Service (NCVS) allows third-party verification of certificates, diplomas, and transcripts. It generates FrameQR codes for document authentication and helps report academic fraud. Institutions and employers can access this service through the NERD platform.