Planet Zoo 2 accreditation: how to level up & all 5 tiers

Open your Franchise’s Planet Hub → Accreditation and read the next tier’s requirements. Improve each named location’s own rating, then return to that panel to check which conditions it recognises. Career medals do not raise your Franchise accreditation.

Check the stars as well as the number of locations. Tier 2 needs one zoo at three Reputation stars. Tier 3 needs two zoos and one reserve at three stars each. For Tier 4, both zoos and two reserves need four stars; for Tier 5, both zoos and three reserves need five stars. Zoo Reputation and reserve Biodiversity are separate ratings.

23 October correction: our earlier table kept the three-star threshold for Tiers 4 and 5. Recent player progression records, a separate Tier 5 report and the community Wiki agree on four and five stars respectively. The corrected table is a source-based reference for Franchise; your current game panel takes precedence if an update changes it.

For Tier 3 in Franchise, you need two separate zoos with at least three Zoo Reputation stars each and one Wildlife Reserve with at least three Biodiversity stars. A single five-star zoo does not count twice. Mark only the locations whose current ratings you have checked; this checklist does not read your save.

Start with the animal finder, search the animal’s name and read its Franchise tier badge. You can combine an exact tier with an enclosure category and edition, then copy the filtered link to keep your shortlist. Tier 1 contains the starting animals; reaching a higher tier keeps earlier animals available.

For example, Aardvark starts at Tier 1, Greater Flamingo unlocks at Tier 2, Binturong at Tier 3, Red Panda at Tier 4, and African Savannah Elephant at Tier 5. If your first-zoo plan centres on an elephant, choose a starting animal now and save that enclosure project for later.

Our 136-species list uses official Zoopedia records, cross-checked against xellixor89’s Franchise animal list. The counts include six Deluxe species. A tier unlock does not grant ownership of Deluxe, and buying Deluxe does not bypass Franchise progression.

Unlocking also does not guarantee an animal is currently listed for sale. Treat these as three checks: your edition includes it, your Franchise has unlocked it, and the market has stock. A blank market is not, by itself, proof that your accreditation failed.

Frontier’s 14 October clarification explicitly separates the two modes. Career accreditation increases through medals earned in scenario zoos and Wildlife Reserves. Franchise uses the reputation of your zoos and the biodiversity of your reserves.

You do not need to finish Career to advance Franchise. Equally, earning more Career medals will not fix a locked animal in your Franchise. Before following an upgrade table, check which mode it describes. The location requirements above apply to Franchise only.

This distinction answers a recurring player question about needing Career for Franchise unlocks. Career can help you learn the interface, but it is not a shared accreditation account.

1. Tier 1 to 2: raise your first zoo to three Reputation stars. Open its management overview and inspect the rating breakdown to find the weakest category.
2. Tier 2 to 3: create a second zoo and one Wildlife Reserve from Planet Hub. Both zoos need three Reputation stars, and the reserve needs three Biodiversity stars. Use the three-condition checklist above.
3. Tier 3 to 4: raise both zoos to four Reputation stars and have two reserves at four Biodiversity stars each. Adding a second three-star reserve alone is not enough.
4. Tier 4 to 5: raise both zoos to five Reputation stars and have three reserves at five Biodiversity stars each. You need two qualifying zoos in total, not two new zoos for every tier.

If your zoo’s Reputation is too low

Open the zoo management overview and inspect Animal Welfare, Sustainability, Education and Guest Experience. Follow the game’s breakdown for the category that is lagging. Recent Tier 5 player guidance highlights animal research and thriving welfare, education provision, renewable power and guest needs. These are areas to inspect, not a guaranteed build recipe or a tested fastest route.

If a reserve’s Biodiversity is too low

Open that reserve’s overview and inspect its ecosystem and research ratings. Check its eligible species, release-group conditions and research requirements before breeding or releasing more animals. Work on what the reserve’s panel says is missing, then check the Accreditation panel again. Do not substitute Zoo Reputation for a reserve’s Biodiversity rating.

1. Confirm the mode. Career medals and Franchise ratings are independent.
2. Inspect the actual next-tier requirements. A three-star first zoo is enough for Tier 2; it is not enough for Tier 3. Check the number of qualifying locations as well as each location’s star rating: Tier 4 needs four stars and Tier 5 needs five stars at each required location.
3. Distinguish the two star ratings. Zoos need Reputation; reserves need Biodiversity. Read each location’s current panel rather than adding stars across parks.
4. Return to the Planet Hub. Inspect the Accreditation panel and any claim or confirmation prompt it actually presents. If the panel does not respond, record that separately from an unmet requirement.
5. Check game updates and online service notices. Franchise is an online feature. Frontier’s 16 October update 1.0.5 includes Franchise loading and connection improvements. Check your installed version and current service notices; those fixes do not guarantee that every stalled upgrade is resolved.
6. Report a reproducible mismatch. If every requirement is satisfied but progress stays locked, send the mode, platform, game version and screenshots of the requirements and location ratings to Frontier’s issue tracker.

Keep your existing save. Deleting a zoo or starting a new Franchise is not a verified recovery method in this guide. If the tier is correct but a species is absent, check the animal’s edition and market availability before treating it as an upgrade bug.

Unlocked tier, but the animal still looks unavailable?

• Check your edition. Accreditation does not grant the six Deluxe animals.
• Check the Zoopedia label and game version. Update 1.0.5 fixes DLC animals incorrectly being marked inaccessible for owners. An incorrect label is a different issue from an unmet Franchise tier.
• Check market stock. The update also adjusts the male/female balance of cash-market animals and births. It does not promise that a particular species or sex is immediately for sale.
• Separate connection trouble from progression. The update extends the login window and improves Franchise loading. If you cannot connect, check Frontier’s service information or support before rebuilding a qualifying zoo.

The 1.0.5 notes do not announce changed accreditation location counts. Use the corrected tier table above as a reference and confirm the requirements in your current Planet Hub panel.

Franchise star requirements rechecked on 23 October 2026 against Chelman76’s progression guide, AlexHektor’s Tier 5 account and the community Wiki’s tier table. These sources correct the Tier 4 and Tier 5 star thresholds in our earlier guide; this is not an announcement that a patch changed them.

The animal roster and first-unlock tiers remain checked on 15 October against the official Zoopedia and the linked player list. Animal counts include Deluxe species. The Frontier mode clarification explains Career versus Franchise progression. Patch troubleshooting was checked on 19 October against the 16 October 1.0.5 notes; it is not a claim that 1.0.5 is the latest version.

This independent guide uses published sources. We have not played or benchmarked the released game. Check your installed version and current Accreditation panel if requirements differ. For a specific animal, follow its official source link in the animal list, then check its requirements in your game.