Vocational certification
This page describes the different types of documentation for vocational qualifications, what they're used for, and how to amend or replace certificates.
Types of documentation
The award documentation will show the month and year in which a programme was completed. The month will be printed on all award documents unless you request otherwise.
| Certificates | Certificates are issued to centres weekly. They're normally sent by recorded delivery or courier.
We reserve the right to withhold certification if fees are outstanding at the time of dispatch. |
| Course Assessment Report (CAR) | This is a hard copy list of grades reported for all learners, produced weekly, showing the current status of the learner.
This report is for reference purposes only. No action is needed - we'll query any problems separately. |
| Evidence of achievement | Where a learner doesn't fully complete all the elements of a programme, and doesn't claim the final award, a unit certificate will be issued if requested. It will list all units successfully completed.
This document gives evidence of unit completion so that successfully completed units can be used as credits in the future. It allows learners to retake or add units under the same registration free of charge while registration is still valid. |
| Notification of performance / Certificate of Unit Credit | When we receive interim or final results for your programmes, we'll issue all your learners with individual Notifications of Performance or Certificates of Unit Credit.
These will list all units achieved to date, at all centres attended; the title and details of each unit studied at each centre; and the learner's current status.
Learners can use these as evidence of achievement for entry to a further programme, for employment purposes or for transfer to another centre. |
| Certificate of Unit Achievement / Fallback Certificate of Unit Credit | Learners who are registered on a programme of study that doesn't lead to a full award, or who don't get the qualification they were registered for, may claim a Certificate of Unit Achievement or Fallback Certificate of Unit Credit.
This document is a cumulative record of success to date, but doesn't state the title of the programme for which the learner was originally entered. |
| Award lists | On the Monday of A level results week each August, we'll issue an award list for each programme listing all learners that have been certificated.
If you're claiming certification at another time of year, the award list won't be produced automatically. If you need one, please email eprocessing@pearson.com.
Award lists for full qualifications have been agreed by the DfE and DCSF as proof of learner achievement, and are acceptable as evidence for funding applications. |
When you receive your certificates, please check them for accuracy. We’ll issue Certificate Checklists (SA16 forms) with the awards which you can use to report any errors on certification. Return your completed form to Account Services.
We’ll need to receive your requests for amended certificates within a month of us issuing the certificates, or duplicate certificate fees will apply.
When you register a learner, you must ensure you report their name correctly, as this will be printed on the final award document. We can issue amended certificates where learners’ names have been misspelt. However, you’ll need to return the original document to us first.
If we receive your amendment request a month or more after the certificate was issued, a replacement certificate fee will apply.
If a learner changes their name after we’ve issued their final certificate, we can’t amend it. Please ensure your learners are aware of this policy.
Let us know as soon as possible. We can’t accept the responsibility for missing award documents unless you tell us within a month of the award issue.
If learners don’t collect their certificates, it’s your responsibility to keep them for a minimum of 12 months. They can then be confidentially destroyed. Please don’t return uncollected certificates to us.
The certificates are, and remain at all times, the property of Pearson. Where a learner has an outstanding financial obligation to a centre, the centre must always seek our consent if it is considering not releasing the learner’s certificate. We reserve the right not to permit you to withhold the certificate(s).
Where a certificate has been claimed in error for a unit or qualification that the learner didn’t actually complete, please return it to Customer Services with a letter explaining:
- how the error occurred
- the nature of the error
- steps taken to prevent a recurrence of the error.
If you need to return any documents to us, please use recorded delivery or get proof of posting from the Post Office. Either will be accepted as evidence of posting.
If you misplace award documents in your centre, you can apply in writing to us giving full details of the loss. We’ll charge a duplicate certificate fee per learner for each replacement.
We can’t accept responsibility for the loss or damage of documents between your centre and the learner.
If you receive any damaged documents, please return them to us immediately and we’ll issue a replacement.
