To be considered for a Washington state honors award, a student must have earned, during grades nine through twelve, at least seventy-five percent of the credits required for graduation from his or her high school including a minimum of ten credits in the academic core subjects of English, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and foreign language.

Each participating high school principal shall verify, on forms provided by the superintendent of public instruction, that each candidate has completed at least seventy-five percent of the school's total graduation credit requirements. The superintendent of public instruction shall require each student's high school transcript to be verified to assure that each student has earned the minimum credits in each of the academic core subjects. All participating high schools shall make available the grades nine through twelve transcripts for all participating students on or before the date provided annually by the superintendent of public instruction.