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Certificates


Services / Academic Registry / Certificates
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Certificates

Graduates are provided with one original certificate following completion of their course and confirmation of their award by the examination board. 

At the time of issue all financial obligations to the University must have been met, otherwise the certificate will be withheld until the outstanding fees have been paid. Once the debt has been paid, please contact certificates@sunderland.ac.uk

Please note:

The next certificate print run will be April 2023. 

We will be printing certificates on a Tuesday only.  (This is subject to change)

We are not able to send digital / e-copies of a certificate, only hard copies.

Certificates are issued by one of the  following methods:  

  • posted to a graduate's 'home address' as detailed on their student record (this is not your term time or correspondence address).  Please note, it is the graduates' responsibility to ensure their current address is correcton eVision.  
  • You will not be able to collect your certificate in person.
  • For students at overseas study centres; your parchment will be available to collect from your study centre directly. 

PLEASE NOTE:  You will receive an email when your certificate is due to be printed , this will give you the opportunity to do the following:

  • check your address and change it if necessary
  • select to have your certificate posted by DHL (tracked post) using the link provided in the email. 

Unless DHL posting has been selected all certificates are sent via 2nd class post (which can take up to 14 working days to be delivered in the UK) or normal airmail. Please note post to overseas addresses can take over 12 weeks to arrive from the date they are posted if normal airmail posting is used.

Obtaining a verified photocopy of your original certificate 

Graduates can only have one original certificate, however you can request a verified copy which will be sent to you via email.

To do this you must scan a copy of your certificate to certificates@sunderland.ac.uk and pay £5 via the online store.  

Notarisation, Legalisation and the Apostille stamp

This is for students who are studying at selected overseas Study Centres with agreement with the University and the Study Centre. 

Notarisation is the legal form of certification, to certify that a document or signature is authentic.

Legalisation is the process by which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office attaches an apostille (certificate) to a UK public document.  Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a public document is genuine.  It does not authenticate the content of the document.  Legalisation is usually required by foreign authorities before they will allow a UK document to be used for official purposes in their country.  The UK does not require any documents to be legalised for use within the UK. 

For further information please download (word) Notarisation, legalisation and the apostille stamp.

Replacement Certificates

Please be aware that we are currently migrating our certificate printing functionality to a new piece of software to improve the service we provide.  This is a significant piece of work that will result in temporary delays to the provision of printed certificates.  We apologise for any inconvenience that this causes but would like to thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.

Following recent government announcements providing guidelines on social distancing, as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the university has asked that all staff work from home where possible.   We are now in a position to print replacement certificates and verify certificates one day a week.  Once payment is made, printing will be done on Tuesday every week.  Please can payment be made by 4pm on a Monday * (see note below)  Thank you

Graduates of the University of Sunderland are provided with one original certificate following completion of their course.  

A replacement certificate can only be issued if the original has been lost or damaged. The replacement will be issued in the name that appeared on the original. The University will only re-issue parchments in a different name if the applicant meets the conditions set out in the following policy  re-issue of parchment with a change of name.

Please note: 
The University does not retain spare copies of older style certificates and it is therefore necessary to issue duplicates on the current style of degree certificate.  

Graduates still in possession of their original certificate can request  a 'verified photocopy'.  This is a scanned version and will not be posted to you.  You must email a copy of your original certificate so we can proceed with this option.  The cost is £5.00  Verification of Certificate   

Requesting a Replacement Certificate - (for awards obtained from 1993 to present day)

To apply for a replacement certificate (£35.00) and/or a leather bound Parchment Tube (from £7.50) -  please go to the University Online Store using the link below.  Information regarding processing times will be sent to you once you have completed and paid  via the online store:

Request a replacement certificate

THE NEXT CERTFICATE PRINT RUN WILL BE APRIL 2023

If you are requesting a replacement certificate at your address is overseas, your certificate could take over 12 weeks to arrive.  You can pay for DHL tracking which is on the link with the replacement certificates. 

Requesting a Replacement or Verification of your Certificate. For all results information  -  (for awards obtained before 1993) 

  • and your award was validated by CNAA (Council for National Academic Awards) (e.g. Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degrees), you will need to visit the Open University website to complete the relevant forms, to do this please click HERE