Discover which award documents you get when you graduate – and how to replace documents or confirm study.
Types of award document
We provide different types of official documents based on your award and the date it was issued. This includes:
- degree certificate: an official document confirming your award – also known as a diploma
- certified certificate: a certified paper copy of your degree certificate you can send to organisations instead of your original – only available if you were awarded before June 2022
- transcript: a detailed record of your study, including module titles, credits and marks for each academic year, as well as your award date and final classification
- award letter: an official letter confirming your course name, study dates, study location, mode and language of study, award date and final classification
Please note that these documents are not academic references.
If you need an enhanced transcript, such as a Diploma Supplement, please contact us using the Student Centre live chat.
What to expect
You’ll only receive your award documents after you complete your course.
If you need to verify your study but you haven’t completed your course yet, you can get a Confirmation of Enrolment or other self-service letter.
Once you complete your studies, you’ll get an email letting you know electronic documents are available about 10 working days after results are released.
We’ll send your original documents to the name and home address you have listed in My Student Record.
For more information, including timescales, see below.
If you left the University without a confirmed award, we're unable to provide a certificate or transcript.
However, you may be able to verify your period of study with a Confirmation of Studies document. For help, contact us using the Student Centre live chat.
If you completed an exchange or study abroad programme at Westminster, you’ll receive an official transcript. To learn more, contact us using the Student Centre live chat.
What you'll receive when you graduate
Your original documents
You won't receive your degree certificate or documents at graduation. Instead, we’ll post the following, free of charge, to the home address you have listed in My Student Record.
- Undergraduate and postgraduate students: degree certificate and transcript
- Postgraduate research students: degree certificate
Electronic versions
Around ten working days after your results are released, you'll receive an email to register for our online verification portal, where you can securely access validated electronic versions of your documents.
These may include your certificate, transcript and Confirmation of Award letter.
When you'll receive your hard copies
The total time to process and deliver your documents is subject to local postal services, but generally:
- for UK addresses, you should receive your documents 4–6 weeks after your award date
- for overseas addresses, you should receive your documents 6–10 weeks after your award date
There are some key points you should note.
- If your documents haven’t arrived within the above estimates, contact us using the Student Centre live chat
- Don't order replacements while waiting for your originals, as this will invalidate the original free documents we send to you
- If you don't report missing documents within 12 months of your award date, you'll need to pay a fee to order replacements
- If there are delivery issues due to incorrect details, we’ll charge a replacement fee. Make sure you update your name and address as soon as possible in My Student Record
Outstanding course fees
We’re unable to produce any award documentation until all debts are resolved, as outlined in our Student Fees and Other Charges Policy.
If you have any outstanding tuition fee debts to the University, please contact the Credit Control team via the Student Centre live chat.
Your degree classification
For full official details, check your graduation year's Handbook of Academic Regulations:
- Undergraduate students: part 5, section 17
- Postgraduate students: part 5, section 18
Changing your name on your award documents
We can’t make any changes to the name on your award documents once they’ve been issued. Make sure they’re correct as soon as possible using My Student Record.
There are some exceptions, such as a change in gender identity, public safety grounds or University error. Learn more in the 'degree certificate and academic transcripts' section on our Changing your personal details page.
Requesting replacements as a former student
You can order replacements or additional documents through various methods, depending on when you graduated:
- Award documents for students who graduated after June 2022
- Award documents for students who graduated between 1994 and May 2022
- Award documents for students who graduated before 1993
Verifying your study and third-party requests
We offer a service to verify that you studied with us for employers and third-party organisations. This service can also be directly used by third parties. Learn more about our education verification service.
Contact us
Still have questions or need further advice? Get in touch using the Student Centre live chat.