Confirming your student status

If you wish to obtain a copy of your academic transcript or a confirmation of studies letter, please 'Log an enquiry' or complete the appropriate application form below.

You may need to pay a fee. Please refer to our information on fees. A fee is not applicable for third party requests from other educational institutions or employers and any requests coming directly from the third party should be sent to the Student Service Centre.

Please read the Policy on Management of Transcripts and Confirmation of Studies carefully before proceeding with any requests. All academic transcript and confirmation of studies letter requests should be directed to the appropriate Student Service Centre depending on your location.

We can process a confirmation letter or transcript for you, however due to the current Covid-19 situation we are continuing to work remotely from home, therefore we will produce an official PDF with the HWU logo, colour stamped and signed.

Academic transcript & confirmation of studies letters

An academic transcript is an official letter providing you or a third party with your final grades and any award details. A confirmation of studies letter is a letter to you or a third party to confirm your period of enrolment at the University and any award and award date; no other data will be provided.

Current students

if you are a current student, there is a quick and easy way to request a transcript, or a confirmation letter. Please ‘Log an enquiry’ via the Ask HWU tile in your student portal.

Type transcript or confirmation in to the search box, click on the question shown and this will lead you to an online request form for a transcript and/or confirmation letter. Click on the 'Log an Enquiry' button to fill in the online request form.

Please state on the online request form should you wish term/vacation dates stated. Please be aware that the term dates will state the official term dates NOT the date of your last exam as this is not the end of term and Tier 4 working restrictions apply.

WES requests

Please state your WES Reference Number on your request.  

The Student Service Centre team will process your request within the timeframe stated on the online request form.  Once processed, WES will communicate with you regarding your application.

Please note all applications to WES will be issued electronically using the approved secure file transfer protocol.  WES will issue confirmation to you regarding your application.

Former students

If you are a former student, please complete either the Academic Transcript Request Form or the Confirmation of Studies Letter Request Form.

WES requests

Please state your WES Reference Number on your request.

The Student Service Centre team will process your request within the timeframe stated on the request form.  Once processed, WES will communicate with you regarding your application.

Please note all applications to WES will be issued electronically using the approved secure file transfer protocol.

Third party requests

Third party requests for data on students require written consent from the student/graduate concerned. 

If the requested document(s) need to be emailed onto a third party, we can do this directly for you if you include the third party email address on the online form.

Disclaimer

The University will endeavour to provide a full academic transcript including confirmation of all module/course results, details of the award attained and the date of conferment. However, it should be noted that module/course records created prior to 2004 may no longer be held by the University. In this instance, the University will confirm details of the award attained and date of conferment only. For more information about your rights to access your personal data under the Data Protection Act (1998) please see our Data Protection Policy.

We are pleased to announce the implementation of the Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD) online verification service for employers and agencies to verify Heriot-Watt University awards. Please note that this service is only for third parties. Click here to register.

For information on how to get certain University documents legalised, including your award certificate, please see the UK Government 'Get your documents legalised' webpage.

Heriot-Watt University can only offer a replacement original certificate if the original is damaged or officially confirmed as lost. Damaged certificates must be returned as evidence if a replacement certificate is required. A copy certificate will be issued unless the original can be returned; a copy certificate is printed on the same parchment as the original but does not include the University embossed seal nor the signatures of the Vice-Chancellor, Secretary or Head of School/Institute (or Dean of Faculty for certificates awarded prior to 2003), but will contain an officially stamped and signed statement of authenticity on the reverse.

A charge of £45 will be applicable in these circumstances. Please allow 4-6 weeks for a copy/replacement certificate to be issued following payment. Please complete our online copy certificate request form.

You will have been issued a Heriot-Watt University student ID card when you first enrolled at the University. Requests for replacement cards should be made to the Student Service Centre. If you require a replacement, there is an administrative charge of £10.

Find out more about our data protection procedures.

Heriot-Watt University will provide a list of full-time registered students to the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Borders Council at the beginning of the Academic Year. However, an exemption may not automatically be granted based on the list alone, you should contact the relevant council tax department and inform them of your name and Student ID number.

For the application form and further information on student dicounts and exemptions, please visit the City of Edinburgh Council website.

If for any reason you are not on the list sent to the council or you live out with Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, please request and complete an application form for student exemption and take it to the Student Service Centre to be stamped.

Postgraduate Research students

Following a period of full-time study, the University will confirm student status if a postgraduate research student becomes affiliated to the University, continuing on a full-time basis, for a maximum of 12 months, in order to fulfil the requirements for the award. Students within the qualifying period must complete the ‘Council Tax Exemption Form' for Postgraduate Research Students.

Please note that the exemption will cease once the thesis has been submitted for examination.