Accreditation is one of Planet Zoo 2's main progression systems, controlling which animals and other features become available as you expand beyond your first zoo. It applies across the wider Planet Hub rather than being something you can simply grind inside a single enclosure, which is why players can find large parts of Animal Trading locked even after their first zoo is already doing well.

Jump To Section:
How Accreditation Works
How to Increase Accreditation
All Accreditation Tier Requirements
Fastest Route to Tier 5
Why Animals Are Locked
Accreditation in Career Mode
Accreditation Not Increasing

How Accreditation Works in Planet Zoo 2

Planet Zoo 2 Accreditation is a shared progression system that unlocks additional species, better Marketing options, new Research Network types, and more animal storage as your collection of zoos and Wildlife Reserves becomes more established.

In Franchise Mode, you raise Accreditation by reaching specific Zoo Reputation milestones in multiple zoos and Biodiversity Rating milestones in multiple Wildlife Reserves. This is the important part: you cannot reach the highest Accreditation Tier by building one enormous zoo. The system deliberately pushes you to develop several locations through the Planet Hub.

The requirements also become cumulative. Once you have a zoo or reserve that satisfies a required milestone, it can continue counting toward the higher tiers. You are expanding the number of qualifying locations rather than starting the Accreditation process over every time you advance.

How to Increase Accreditation in Planet Zoo 2

To increase your Accreditation Tier in Franchise Mode, build additional zoos and Wildlife Reserves and raise their relevant ratings to at least three stars. Zoos contribute through Zoo Reputation, while Wildlife Reserves contribute through Biodiversity Rating.

You initially need a successful zoo, but later tiers require a mixture of both location types. By the time you reach the maximum Accreditation Tier, your Franchise needs two zoos with at least three Reputation Stars and three Wildlife Reserves with at least three Biodiversity Stars.

Raise Zoo Reputation to at least three stars.
Create more than one zoo as higher tiers require multiple locations.
Establish Wildlife Reserves through your Franchise.
Raise each required reserve to at least three Biodiversity Stars.
Meet the total zoo and reserve requirement for the next Accreditation Tier.

This means Accreditation is better viewed as account-wide Franchise development than as a conventional experience bar. There is no benefit to endlessly improving the same zoo if the next tier specifically requires another qualifying zoo or reserve.

All Planet Zoo 2 Accreditation Tier Requirements

Planet Zoo 2 has five Accreditation Tiers, with increasingly demanding requirements as you move through them.

Tier 1
Starting tier with no additional requirement.

Tier 2
One zoo with at least 3 Reputation Stars.

Tier 3
Two zoos with at least 3 Reputation Stars and one Wildlife Reserve with at least 3 Biodiversity Stars.

Tier 4
Two zoos with at least 3 Reputation Stars and two Wildlife Reserves with at least 3 Biodiversity Stars.

Tier 5
Two zoos with at least 3 Reputation Stars and three Wildlife Reserves with at least 3 Biodiversity Stars.

The jump from Tier 2 to Tier 3 is the biggest structural change because that is where simply developing another traditional zoo stops being enough. From that point onward, Wildlife Reserves become mandatory for Accreditation advancement.

What Each Accreditation Tier Unlocks

Accreditation matters because a large portion of the animal roster and several management features are deliberately held behind higher tiers. Reaching a new level expands the selection available through Animal Trading while also improving other parts of your network.

Tier 1 begins with 32 species along with the Observation Platform and a Bronze Marketing slot. Tier 2 adds another 33 species, the Camera Trap, and two more Bronze Marketing slots.

Tier 3 adds 31 species and unlocks the Acoustic Monitor, alongside additional Bronze and Silver Marketing capacity. Tier 4 adds another 30 species, more Marketing slots, and 50 additional Animal Storage spaces.

Tier 5 finishes the Accreditation track with another 10 species along with an additional Silver Marketing slot and a Gold Marketing slot. Some major species, including animals such as lions and elephants, are among those reserved for the highest level.

Fastest Route to Accreditation Tier 5

The most efficient way to reach Tier 5 is to build specifically around the requirements instead of continuing to expand one location long after it has already qualified.

Get your first zoo to three Reputation Stars, then establish a second zoo and do the same. Once both zoos qualify, further improvements to their Reputation are useful for their own success but are no longer what blocks your Accreditation advancement.

At that point, shift your attention to Wildlife Reserves. You need three separate reserves at three Biodiversity Stars for Tier 5, so getting one reserve far beyond that threshold does not substitute for the others.

Get Zoo #1 to 3 Reputation Stars for Tier 2.
Build Zoo #2 and raise it to 3 Reputation Stars.
Build Wildlife Reserve #1 and reach 3 Biodiversity Stars for Tier 3.
Raise Wildlife Reserve #2 to 3 Biodiversity Stars for Tier 4.
Raise Wildlife Reserve #3 to 3 Biodiversity Stars for Tier 5.

This route avoids spending time chasing five-star ratings when Accreditation only needs three stars from the relevant locations. You can always continue developing them afterward, but the fastest Accreditation strategy is to satisfy each threshold and then put resources into the next location the system requires.

Which Wildlife Reserves Should You Use?

You do not need a particular named Wildlife Reserve for the Accreditation system itself. What matters is having enough separate reserves reach the required Biodiversity Rating.

However, choosing reserves that can use some of the same releasable species can make the overall process easier. That allows your Franchise zoos to support multiple reserves without requiring completely separate breeding programs for every stage of the Accreditation climb.

This is especially useful once you already have two qualifying zoos. Instead of continuing to expand the animal roster purely for Zoo Reputation, you can begin breeding and releasing animals that directly support the three reserves needed for Tier 5.

Why Are Animals Locked Behind Accreditation?

If Animal Trading shows species that you cannot obtain because of your Accreditation level, that is intentional. Planet Zoo 2 does not make the full species roster available to a new Franchise immediately.

Your current Accreditation Tier determines which species can become available through Trading. Raising the tier adds additional groups of animals until the complete Accreditation-based roster has been opened.

This is separate from simply having enough Cash or Conservation Credits. You can have the currency required for an animal and still be unable to obtain that species if your Franchise has not reached the necessary Accreditation Tier.

Availability within Animal Trading can also depend on the online market itself. If Franchise is failing to connect or the market is unavailable, that is a server issue rather than an Accreditation problem. The Planet Zoo 2 Franchise Mode server error guide covers what to check when the mode itself is offline or refusing to connect.

Zoo Reputation vs Biodiversity Rating

Accreditation uses two different measurements because Planet Zoo 2 treats zoos and Wildlife Reserves as distinct parts of the same network.

Traditional zoos contribute to Accreditation through Zoo Reputation. Wildlife Reserves instead use Biodiversity Rating. A three-star zoo does not count as a three-star Wildlife Reserve, and building additional zoos cannot replace the reserve requirements at the higher tiers.

This distinction is particularly important at Tier 3. You may already have two successful zoos and still see no Accreditation increase because the next requirement is a Wildlife Reserve with three Biodiversity Stars.

How Accreditation Works in Career Mode

Career Mode handles Accreditation differently from Franchise. Instead of raising it through Zoo Reputation and Wildlife Reserve Biodiversity across your own Franchise network, Career Accreditation increases as you earn medals from Career Scenario zoos and Wildlife Reserves.

Career scenarios can award Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals by completing their objectives, and those medals feed into Career's Accreditation progression.

This distinction explains why two players can describe apparently different ways of increasing Accreditation and both be correct. Franchise uses the performance of the zoos and reserves you create, while Career uses scenario medals.

Accreditation Unlocks More Than Animals

The animal roster is the most visible reason to increase Accreditation, but it is not the only one. Higher tiers also expand Marketing, unlock additional Research Network options, and increase animal storage capacity.

Tier 4 is particularly useful for larger Franchises because it adds 50 Animal Storage spaces. Tier 5 introduces a Gold Marketing slot in addition to its final group of species, giving the system a management benefit even after the animals you wanted have already been unlocked.

That makes Accreditation relevant throughout a Franchise rather than functioning purely as an early-game gate on the Trading screen.

Why Is My Accreditation Not Increasing?

If your Accreditation seems stuck, check the requirement for your next tier rather than continuing to improve your current zoo. The most common reason is that the next level requires an additional location rather than more stars at an existing one.

For example, reaching Tier 3 requires two qualifying zoos and one qualifying Wildlife Reserve. A single five-star zoo does not satisfy the two-zoo requirement, and having two strong zoos without a three-star Biodiversity Reserve still leaves the Tier 3 condition incomplete.

Check whether you need another zoo rather than more Reputation.
Check whether the next tier requires another Wildlife Reserve.
Make sure qualifying zoos have at least 3 Reputation Stars.
Make sure qualifying reserves have at least 3 Biodiversity Stars.
In Career Mode, focus on earning scenario medals instead.

Once you understand that Accreditation measures the development of your overall network, the progression path becomes much clearer: establish successful zoos first, branch into Wildlife Reserves, and continue expanding until the full set of locations needed for Tier 5 has reached three stars.

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