Certificates are issued to the centre weekly as necessary. They are normally sent by recorded delivery or by courier service. Results must be reported immediately after programme completion so that certificates can be issued as soon as possible. 

Where certificates are normally distributed by the centre at an award ceremony, sympathetic consideration should be given to learners who require awards earlier for employment purposes. Centres are requested to issue awards to learners as soon as possible after receipt from us. 

Edexcel reserves the right to withhold certificates if fees are outstanding at the time of despatch. Certification can be deferred, pending an external verifier or external examiner reporting that national standards are being met and that certification can take place.

Centres should allow approximately 10 working days for the receipt of certificates where the claims have been made on Edexcel Online. Where claims have been made using the SRF, certificates will take approximately 15 working days to reach centres.

For details of the QCA accreditation numbers that appear on documentation, please refer to chapter 20, section 10 (p536) of the information manual. This chapter is available for download from this page if you prefer to view it online.