Medals in Career; reputation and biodiversity everywhere else
In Career mode your accreditation tier rises with the medals you earn in scenario zoos and Wildlife Reserves. In Franchise and Sandbox it rises when your zoos have a high Zoo Reputation and your reserves a high Biodiversity Rating. Each mode keeps its own tier. A higher tier unlocks more species in Animal Trading, better marketing, new Research Network types and more animal storage, and Update 1.0.6 (23 October 2026) lowered the zoo and reserve requirements for tiers 3, 4 and 5.
What a higher accreditation tier unlocks
Animal TradingMore species
MarketingUp to 9 campaigns
Research NetworksNew types
Animal StorageMore space
Animal Trading: new species to adopt. Frontier's tips guide calls this unlocking more animals in Trading. The six Deluxe Edition species also need the Deluxe Edition or its upgrade pack.
Marketing: more campaign slots, up to 9 campaigns, and access to higher campaign tiers. A campaign is Bronze, Silver or Gold (Gold is level 3); higher tiers cost more and raise the animal's appeal more.
Research Networks: new types of network for your Wildlife Reserves, which raise their Research Rating.
Animal Storage: more capacity. Storage holds newly adopted and stored animals, and all your zoos share it.
How accreditation works in each game mode
How the accreditation tier rises, from Frontier's guides, checked 25 October 2026
Mode
The tier rises with
Worth knowing
Career
Medals (Bronze, Silver, Gold) from the objectives of each scenario zoo and Wildlife Reserve
Its tier counts only in Career.
Franchise
Zoos with a high Zoo Reputation and Wildlife Reserves with a high Biodiversity Rating
Online. Separate from Career and Sandbox.
Sandbox
Zoo Reputation and Biodiversity Rating, as in Franchise
The settings can also unlock every animal automatically.
On 14 October 2026 Frontier cleared up a common mix-up: accreditation is separate for each game mode. You do not need to play Career to raise your Franchise tier, and finishing more of Career will not advance it. Frontier describes each tier as a set of specific goals to complete, so work on whichever rating is furthest behind.
Accreditation requirements after Update 1.0.6
Frontier said on 14 October that it was looking into player feedback on the accreditation requirements. Update 1.0.6, released on 23 October 2026, lowered the zoo and Wildlife Reserve requirements for three tiers "to make for a smoother progression":
Tier 32-star reserve (was 3)
Tier 43-star reserves (was 4)
Tier 5One fewer zoo and reserve
Accreditation tier changes in Update 1.0.6 (23 October 2026)
Tier
Since 1.0.6
Before
3
A 2-star Wildlife Reserve
A 3-star Wildlife Reserve
4
3-star Wildlife Reserves
4-star Wildlife Reserves
5
One fewer zoo and one fewer Wildlife Reserve
2 zoos and 3 Wildlife Reserves
The same update moved some animals to a different accreditation tier, where their unlock level did not match how common or easy to keep they are. It mainly affects easy-to-keep exhibit animals and fish, and it adds more variety to the first tier. Frontier has not published the full list of goals for every tier. Every fix since launch is in our Planet Zoo 2 patch notes.
How to raise Zoo Reputation
The higher a zoo's reputation, the more guests visit, and in Franchise and Sandbox it is one of the two things that lift your tier. It is built from four ratings. Open the Overview screen in the Zoo Management tab, find the lowest of the four and work on that one first, then use the graphs under Management > Overview > Graph to see what moved.
The four Zoo Reputation ratings, from Frontier's Zoo Management and Tips and Tricks guides
Rating
What it measures
How to raise it
Animal Husbandry
The average welfare of all your animals, and having some of them Thriving.
Sort Management > Animals by welfare and fix the lowest first. Research a species to learn its Thriving requirements, then meet them.
Sustainability
How many sustainable power sources and recycling bins the zoo has.
Add recycling bins across the zoo and swap standard generators for wind turbines or solar panels. Frontier's tip: run the zoo on solar power only.
Guest Education
How educated your most educated guests are, and whether you have placed most of the education topics for your animals.
Place education boards and speakers, sell audio guides and run tours with Educators. Research unlocks more topics; Frontier suggests a board for each topic on every animal.
Guest Experience
Guest happiness, the zoo's Scenery rating and a varied collection of appealing species.
Meet guest needs (toilets, food and drink), decorate the least scenic areas and show a mix of species, including exhibit, flying bird and aquarium animals in view.
How to raise a Wildlife Reserve's Biodiversity Rating
A reserve's Biodiversity Rating, the other thing that lifts your tier outside Career, has two parts:
Ecosystem Rating: create Established and then Flourishing ecosystems, clear Environmental Pollution and Invasive Flora with the Demolish Brush, and raise Species Diversity by releasing more suitable species.
Research Rating: build a network of Observation Platforms, Camera Traps and Acoustic Monitors across the reserve.
Two of Frontier's tips speed up Species Diversity. You can release juveniles, so there is no need to wait for animals to grow up, and you can release animals you adopted from the Trading Centre for Conservation Credits. Which species each reserve accepts, and how to put a release group together, is in our Wildlife Reserves guide.
Accreditation in Career mode
Each Career scenario has objectives for a Bronze, Silver and Gold medal, and the medals you collect across the scenario zoos and Wildlife Reserves raise your Career tier. Update 1.0.4 (14 October) fixed a bug where later save slots copied the medal total of save slot 1, which unlocked Career levels too early in those slots.
Accreditation in Franchise mode
In Franchise mode all your zoos share one pool of Conservation Credits, and a higher tier adds species to the Animal Trading market you buy from and sell to other players on. Trading, credits and the online problems fixed so far are covered in our Franchise mode guide.
Common questions
How do you increase your accreditation tier in Planet Zoo 2?
In Career mode, earn medals in the scenario zoos and Wildlife Reserves. In Franchise and Sandbox modes, raise your zoos' Zoo Reputation and your Wildlife Reserves' Biodiversity Rating. Frontier describes each tier as a set of goals to complete.
Does Career mode raise Franchise accreditation?
No. Frontier said on 14 October 2026 that accreditation is kept separately for each game mode, so you do not need to play Career to raise your Franchise tier, and Career progress does not advance it.
What does a higher accreditation tier unlock?
New species in Animal Trading, better marketing (more campaign slots, up to 9 campaigns, and higher campaign tiers), new types of Research Network and more animal storage.
What changed for accreditation in Update 1.0.6?
On 23 October 2026 Frontier lowered the zoo and Wildlife Reserve requirements: tier 3 needs a 2-star reserve instead of 3-star, tier 4 needs 3-star reserves instead of 4-star, and tier 5 needs one fewer zoo and reserve than the 2 zoos and 3 reserves before. It also moved some easy-to-keep exhibit animals and fish to a different tier.
How many accreditation tiers are there?
Frontier has not said. Its Update 1.0.6 notes give requirements up to tier 5, and the Steam achievement Credit Where It's Due asks for the highest accreditation level in any non-Sandbox hub.
Can you unlock all animals in Sandbox mode?
Yes. Frontier says Sandbox settings can unlock every animal automatically, so you do not have to raise your tier first.
Frontier player guide, "Tips and Tricks": tiers are reached by completing goals; Sandbox can unlock all animals; tips for Sustainability, Biodiversity, Guest Experience and Guest Education
_-_Weltvogelpark_Walsrode_2010-10.jpg){kind=link}