Degree certificates and letters
Once your degree has been conferred at a degree ceremony, either in person or in absentia, you will automatically receive a degree certificate. This will be presented to you by your college on the day of your graduation ceremony or posted to you after the event.
For guidance on accessing eDocuments including degree confirmation letters and ecertificates please see the eDocuments help page.
Students who have completed an award bearing non-matriculated course (certificate or diploma) with the Department for Continuing Education will receive an award certificate from the Department.
For reasons of security and data protection, all certificate requests must be made by graduates themselves; requests on their behalf cannot be accepted from third parties.
Initial/First certificates
Certificates are sent out after degree ceremonies take place. For all ceremonies, if you have not received your degree certificate within three months of the date of your ceremony and you fail to notify your college of this within that period, you will be charged for a replacement certificate. It is your responsibility to check that your home address is correctly recorded before your ceremony takes place.
If you completed your course prior to February 2010 and did not receive a degree certificate, please email documents@admin.ox.ac.uk so that we can check your record before you order. If you have not had a degree ceremony then a certificate cannot be issued. If you were not issued with a certificate but did have a ceremony before 2010 then you will now have to order a replacement certificate, as free certificates are no longer available.
If your ceremony was held in the last three months please do not place an order but email degree.ceremonies@admin.ox.ac.uk for advice. Otherwise please place your order for certificates with the University online shop. These incur a fee of £50 per certificate. Certificates ordered for delivery to the UK will be sent by Royal Mail first class post at no further cost, or by tracked and signed-for courier service courier at a cost of £15 – please make sure you select your desired option when ordering. Orders for overseas locations will be sent by a tracked and signed-for courier service at a cost of £15 for European addresses and £20 for the rest of the world.
Replacement certificates
Please place your order for certificates with the University online shop. Replacements incur a fee of £50 per certificate. Certificates ordered for delivery to the UK will be sent by Royal Mail first class post at no further cost, or by tracked and signed-for courier service courier at a cost of £15 – please make sure you select your desired option correctly when ordering. Orders for overseas locations will be sent by a tracked and signed-for courier service at a cost of £15 for European addresses and £20 for the rest of the world. We may ask you to explain what has happened to your previous copy, as you are not permitted to have multiple copies of your degree certificate.
Digital degree confirmation letters
As an alternative to certificates, you may be eligible for a digital Degree Confirmation Letter (dDCL). If you have passed your examinations and have not had your degree conferred at a degree ceremony, or if you have attended a ceremony but require proof of your award to present to a third party, you can have a digital degree confirmation letter. The letter will confirm that you have successfully completed your course at the University of Oxford, the dates of attendance and the classification you received. If you have not yet completed your course a letter cannot be issued.
The University’s eDocuments Service enables you to share the dDCL with others such as future employers online. Once your letter is ready it will be hosted on the University’s eDocuments service and you will receive an email to let you know that it is ready. You can then choose to share these documents with third parties from within the e-document portal itself. Documents shared in this way are sent from the University of Oxford and therefore are considered official secure documents for application purposes. Please see https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation/faqs and https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation/edocuments for more information.
Name changes
The name which you held when you completed your degree (granted 'leave to supplicate') will be the name on your degree certificate and degree confirmation letter. The only retrospective changes that can be made are where an administrative error has occurred or where the University is required to make a retrospective change under the provisions of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
If you have changed your name following completion of your course of study, (for example, through marriage, or by Deed Poll), and wish to demonstrate to a prospective employer or education institution that your degree certificate or confirmation letter belongs to you, supporting documentation showing the name change should accompany the certificate. Visit your student record.
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