Official university degree certificate

The official degree certificate is the document issued by the University to accredit the successful completion of an official programme of academic study.

The government, through the application of the corresponding royal decrees, establishes the programmes of study that lead to the award of official university degrees, which are valid throughout Spain. These degrees have full academic effects and qualify students for professional practice where applicable, according to current regulations.

Universities issue certificates for all degree studies completed since January 1988, with the exception of doctoral degrees, which are managed by universities for all doctoral thesis read after August 1989. Degrees completed after these dates, as well as duplicates are issued by the Ministry of Universities and requested at the secretary's offices for students and teaching staff of the faculty where the studies were taken.

Request for the degree certificate for studies completed within the European Higher Education Area

To request the degree certificate it is necessary to pass the requirements of the syllabus (university bachelor's or master's degree) or the defence of the doctoral thesis (doctoral studies).

The Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff of the faculty at which the studies were completed verifies compliance with the requirements to obtain the qualification and notifies you that the request can be sent via your personal user area (Món UB).

Once you have accessed the application, you can check the list of subjects in your academic record or the details of your doctoral thesis defence. If all the details are correct, continue with the request. If you find any errors, you should contact the Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff.

You can review and amend the personal details that appear on the certificate, which must match those on your valid ID document. Once the request is has been completed, payment can be made online or in person using the payment slip provided.

Once the request has been submitted, you will be given a list of the documents that must be submitted to the Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff of the issuing faculty. If you have authorized electronic verification, you do not need to submit paper copies of the documents.

You will then be sent an email containing the receipt of payment of the fee for the issue of your certificate, which can be verified via the corresponding secure verification code (SVC).

Request for certificates for studies completed under regulations prior to the introduction of the European Higher Education Area

To be eligible to request the issue of the certificate you must have satisfied the requirements of the course syllabus (pre-EHEA degree/diploma, technical engineering degree, teaching degree, engineering degree or doctoral degree).

All requests and queries should be addressed to the Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff of the faculty at which the studies were taken.

Administrative procedure

1. Documentation

The following documents are required to request the issue of the certificate:

• Valid identity document.*
  
  * As indicated by the Ministry of Universities, students should provide their DNI if they are Spanish nationals or their NIE if they are foreign nationals, so that the qualification can be consulted and verified in the National Register of Official Qualifications. The consultation of official university qualifications is a service offered by the Ministry for consulting the qualifications issued to an individual and authorizing interested parties, organizations, companies and universities in Spain and abroad to verify the studies they have completed.
  
  Passports and other national identity documents are also accepted but must be translated if they were not issued in Spanish or English.
  
• Documentation demonstrating eligibility for total or partial exemption of the payment of public fees, if applicable.Documentación acreditativa de la exención total o parcial de la tasa del precio público, en su caso.

If you authorize electronic verification of your documents (DNI/NIE, large family or certified disability card) you do not need to submit them to the Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff.

2. Price

A fee is payable for the issue of the certificate, as set in the decree on public fees of the Government of Catalonia. This decree establishes on an annual basis the fees for academic services and auxiliary services pertaining to courses of study leading to the award of official academic qualifications.

Exemptions
Large family (special category)	full exemption
Large family (general category)	exemption from payment of 50%
People with a certified disability of 33% or greater	full exemption
Victims of terrorist acts	full exemption
Victims of gender-based violence	full exemption

 

Membership of a single-parent family does not exempt students from the payment of publicly set fees.

3. Certificate or receipt of payment of the fee for the issue of the degree certificate

The certificate or receipt of payment is the document that certifies completion of studies leading to the award of an official qualification and payment of the fee for the issue of the certificate.

This is the document containing the secure verification code, obtained at the end of the request for the issue of the certificate. It displays your personal details, the studies completed, and the date of payment of the fee for the issue of the certificate.

This document has no legal effect outside Spain or before certain government institutions.

4. Provisional degree certificate

The provisional degree certificate contains the same information as the official certificate. As an official document bearing the signature of the Dean or Director of the corresponding faculty or school, the receipt can be legalized and submitted to the relevant public bodies and authorities.

The provisional degree certificate has the same validity as the official certificate degree until the official document is issued.

It has the same legal effects as the official certificate throughout Spain.

No additional fee is charged for this certificate. It can be requested from the Secretary's Office for Students of the faculty.

The certificate must be legalized in order to be valid outside Spain. Legalization procedures vary by country.

5.Notification of availability of the degree certificate

The faculty notifies students in writing when their certificate is ready to be collected.

6. Delivery of the degree certificate

The degree certificate should be collected from the Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff of the issuing faculty by the student concerned, who must provide a valid form of ID.

If this is not possible, three options are available:

• Ask the faculty to send the certificate to
  
  
  • the government representation, education inspectorate or consular office closest to their place of residence.
  • o la oficina consular más cercana al lugar de residencia.
    
    This service is subject to the payment of a handling fee.
• Authorize another person to collect the certificate via power of attorney. In this case, the authorized person must provide the original power of attorney and a photocopy of their valid identity document.
  
  If the power of attorney was formalized before a notary outside Spain, the document must be legalized via the appropriate diplomatic channels and, if the country is a signatory of the Hague Convention of 1961, the corresponding Apostille affixed.
  
  Power of attorney to collect the certificate can also be obtained from a Spanish consul, who is authorized to perform notarial functions. No additional administrative procedures are required.
  
  The power of attorney must be written in Spanish or accompanied by a translation into Spanish carried out by a sworn translator recognized by the Spanish government or a legalized translation.
  
  If the person authorized to collect the certificate will also carry out the legalization procedure, they must be in possession of the corresponding power of attorney.
  
  
• Authorize another person to collect the certificate via a private document validated by a authenticated by a notary. In this case, the authorized person must the notarized document and the original and a photocopy of their valid identity document. If the power of attorney was formalized before a notary outside Spain, the document must be legalized via the appropriate diplomatic channels and, if the country is a signatory of the Hague Convention of 1961, the corresponding Apostille affixed.
  
  This private document must be written in Spanish or accompanied by a translation into Spanish carried out by a sworn translator recognized by the Spanish government or a legalized translation.
  
  
• Grant power of attorney by recording apud acta representation in the Representa service.
  
  

• Grant power of attorney by recording apud acta representation in the Apodera service.

Certificates can be collected up to five years from the date of issue.

7. Duplicates or modifications

Graduates can request the issue of a duplicate certificate if it is necessary to amend or correct the information displayed in the original document. Supporting documentation must be provided in all cases and the corresponding fee paid, where applicable.

If changes are required for reasons attributable to the interested party, a fee will be charged for the issuing of a duplicate certificate.

The most reasons for requesting a duplicate are as follows:

1. Change of name, surname(s) or personal information.
2. Addition of an extraordinary award (only for degrees issued prior to the introduction of the EHEA) or of a second specialization or minor.
3. Change of nationality.
4. Loss
5. Damage.

When a duplicate is issued, the original certificate must be destroyed. Students should ensure that they bring the original certificate when they collect the duplicate.

If the original certificate has been lost, two fees are payable: the fee for the issue of the duplicate, and the fee for publication of the notification in the Official State Gazette.

The fee for the duplicate certificate can be paid three working days after publication.

While the duplicate is being issued, the qualification can be validated with the provisional degree certificate, as explained in the corresponding section.

The instructions for collecting the duplicate are given in the section on delivery of the degree certificate.

Other reasons for requesting a duplicate or amend of the original certificate

If the duplicate is requested to reflect a change of name for the purpose of gender recognition, no fee is charged.

Graduates who have included the conjunction (i or y) between their surnames in their diploma but whose DNI does not display it should contact the Secretary's Office for Students and Teaching Staff if they are having difficulties obtaining recognition of their qualifications in institutional platforms.