How are Degree Certificates Verified?

Prospective employers face a constant challenge when being presented with degree certificates; how is it possible to tell which degree certificates are authentic? There are an alarming number of websites purporting to offer ‘novelty degree certificates'. Employing somebody based on the veneer of credibility they have from their degree can be troublesome when the degree is not authentic and this person is not qualified for the role they have been given. It is, therefore, imperative that there are means to verify the legitimacy of higher educational qualifications.

We are tasked each day with verifying, solicitor certifying and legalising degree certificates. There are a number of methods available to verify these documents.

Universities will employ many security features when issuing degree certificates to minimise the risk of forgeries. These include, but are not limited to, embedded holographic seals, micro-printing, a general high print quality, heat marks, embossed University crests and more. If you know what security features to expect from a given University these features can provide a level of confidence in the veracity of the document. This is one of the, but not the only, ways we use when verifying degree certificates presented to us.

During recent years there has been considerable growth in the trend for employees to work from home and a lot of work can be completed remotely online. Employers and agents like ourselves may not be presented with the physical degree certificate which removes the viability of checking the security features outlined above. Fortunately, there are also means to verify degree certificates provided digitally. Here are a few examples of how we achieve this.

For degree certificates sent to us digitally we have to verify the documents are legitimate with the issuing university. There are 3 options for doing this as follows:

Option 1 – The graduate can arrange for someone at the university to email us directly with a confirmation of the qualifications (this could be a tutor or the records/admin office).

Option 2 – Some universities allow students to share their documents or qualifications with third parties via a website/portal. If a document is shared with us in this way we can trust the legitimacy of the document.

Option 3 – We ask for a £50 verification fee and a completed consent form. We will then try and verify the qualification with the university ourselves directly. This may take time to do. More information on this can be found here.

If you need verification of your UK degree certificate or an employer that wants to verify a potential employee's qualification please get in touch. We can reliably verify any recognised UK higher educational document. Contact us today