Exams Administration

Information and resources for exams officers to plan ahead and stay on track throughout the whole exams lifecycle, from entries to results day.

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.

On this page:

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.

Exam series

When certificates will be sent by

June 2024

7 November 2024

November 2024

28 February 2025

March 2025

31 May 2025

January 2025

31 May 2025

What to do with the certificates

You’ll need to:

  • 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

Request for release of early certificates is only available for the summer exam series.
The request window for early certificates for the summer 2024 exam series has closed.
The request window for early certificates for the summer 2025 exam series will open in May 2025 and this page will be updated.

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.