Exam certificates

Find out when we'll send certificates to your centre and what you need to do with them.

This applies to exam centres only. If you’re a student or employer, please visit our certificate services page.

• When certificates will be sent
• What to do with the certificates
• Early certificates
• Missing certificates
• Correct a certificate
• Replace a certificate
• How long it will take to correct or replace a certificate

When certificates will be sent

We send certificates to schools about three months after results day. They show the final, confirmed results. The table below shows the dates that certificates will be sent by for each exam series.

Please note that these dates and the delivery times of certificates may be affected by school and college holidays, such as Easter and half term.

What to do with the certificates

• check that you have all the certificates you expected
• give them to students without delay – using secure post if sending by mail
• keep a record of what you've issued.

Any unclaimed certificates must be stored securely for at least 12 months, then destroyed confidentially or sent back to us. You must keep a record for four years from the date of destruction.

Sending certificates to students by post

Make sure that you:

• have up-to-date address details for them
• use secure post
• include a return address which will be used if the certificates are undeliverable for any reason.

Return address

This could be your centre address or the following AQA address:

Results team
AQA
Devas Street
Manchester
M15 6EX

Early certificates

The request window for early certificates for the summer 2024 exam series has opened and will close on Friday 23 August 2024.

For early speech day or prize-giving events, you can request that your certificates are dispatched earlier to arrive at your school or college from Monday 9 September 2024.

Make your request

To make your request, please use our early release of certificates form.

Important information

Requests will be confirmed by return email within two working days.

All certificates for all candidates and qualification types will be printed and dispatched for the exam series you select.

Requests cannot be made for specific candidates or qualification types.

Requests must be submitted by the centre or college Head, Principal or Exams Officer.

If any incorrect details are present on any certificate you receive then please review our Correct a certificate guidance.

Missing certificates

If a certificate is missing, check that you've entered an award code for the student – see more details on entries.

If that doesn't seem to be the reason for the missing certificate, email centrecertificates@aqa.org.uk

Correct a certificate

If you’re a past student who needs an original certificate amending, please see our page on amendments to original certificates.

Grade change

If a student's grade has changed, you can get a corrected version for free.

If a student's grade has gone down, you must return their original certificate to AQA. We can't process your request until we've received the original certificate in the post.

Use recorded delivery to send the incorrect certificate and tell us what needs correcting on centre headed paper to:

Results team (Centre correction)
AQA
Devas Street
Manchester
M15 6EX

If a student's grade has increased, you'll need to securely destroy their original certificate.

Please email centrecertificates@aqa.org.uk with the following information:

• your centre number
• candidate name(s) and number(s)
• qualification type (eg GCSE or AS/A-level)
• qualification year and series (eg summer 2023)
• the date you destroyed the certificate(s).

You must keep a record of any certificates you destroy for four years from the date of destruction.

All other corrections

If you need a correction for any other reason than a grade change, certificates will need to be destroyed securely. There’s a fee of £43 per student and you’ll be invoiced for this.

You’ll need to send the following to centrecertificates@aqa.org.uk:

• centre and student details
• tell us what needs correcting
• let us know which certificates have been destroyed and the date of destruction.

Replace a certificate

If a student's certificate is lost then you can request a certified statement of results to replace the lost certificate.

Only the entering centre where the student took the exam(s) and received the result(s) can apply for this service. There's fee of £43 per student and you’ll be invoiced for this.

You’ll need to send the following to centrecertificates@aqa.org.uk:

• centre details (centre number and address, including postcode)
• student details (candidate number, candidate name, candidate UCI/ULN number)
• year and session of the qualification (eg 2023 summer)
• qualification type (eg GCSE)
• confirmation that you will pay an invoice of £43 per student for this service once completed.

If you’re a past student who needs a replacement certificate due to loss or damage, please see our page on past results and lost certificates.

How long it will take to correct or replace a certificate

We aim to provide the corrected certificate or replacement certified statement of results within 20 working days of receiving your request.

We’ll only begin to process your request once we’ve received either the original certificate via post or the information we need via email, as outlined above.

We’ll be in touch if we have any questions about the information that you’ve given us.