In brief, the state licensing board licenses non-public postsecondary institutions. Licensing is required. Accreditation is voluntary. There are national accreditation bodies such as ACCET or COE and there is regional accreditation. There are certain requirements in order to be accredited by each type of accrediting board. There is also programmatic accreditation. This means the program has met rigorous guidelines and has been granted accreditation status. If yours is an acupuncture institution, for example, it may be accredited by the board that accredits acupuncture programs.