How To Collect Original WAEC Certificate: Steps Involved

Following successful completion of the West African Examination Council, the next step is to get the original WAEC certificate. The original West African Examination Council certificate is a document signed and issued by the West African Examination Council (the most popular examination body in West Africa).

The original WAEC certificate is an official document issued by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) that contains information about a specific candidate such as academic performance, date of birth, passport, examination year, and examination center.

The WAEC certificate is the sole document recognized by international and local organizations, whereas the WAEC result print-out is not an official document to be relied on for official purposes.

While internal candidates, i.e. Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), can approach their school of examination to collect their original WAEC certificate, the same cannot be said for GCE candidates. Internal candidates can approach their school of examination to collect their original WAEC certificate, but the same narrative does not apply to GCE candidates.

PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTING ORIGINAL WAEC CERTIFICATE FOR INTERNAL CANDIDATES

Internal candidates can receive their WAEC certificate by completing the steps outlined below:

• Original WAEC certificates are usually only available one to two years after the examination.
• Your school will be notified once your actual WAEC certificate is ready. The school is the sole authorized organization to collect the certificate from the council for internal examinations. It will not be given to anyone other than the individual’s registered school.
• Approach your school of examination for your genuine WAEC certificate; if it is ready for collection, it will be given to you.

It is important to note that the WAEC result print-out is not the same as the genuine WAEC certificate and cannot be used in place of it.

PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTING ORIGINAL WAEC CERTIFICATE FOR GCE (EXTERNAL) CANDIDATES

External candidates were formerly needed to attend the WAEC office of the state of their examination, but students who wrote their external exams in recent years can now easily collect their original WAEC certificate in their state of home.

The West African Examination Council’s Electronic Certificate Management System (e-CertMan) is an online platform developed for Private applicants who want to acquire their original WAEC certificate.

The site offers an automated method of collecting certificates, from the commencement of certificate collection by application until the pick-up stage. In addition, the portal provides a tracking feature to track the status of the certificate’s delivery to the appropriate state office.

The procedure for obtaining the original WAEC certificate is outlined below:

• Visit the e-CertMan website of the Council.
• Input your WAEC GCE registration number (seven digits for the center and three digits for the candidate). 5251011001, for example.
• Choose your examination year.
• Proceed to payment by selecting one of the three available payment methods.
• After you’ve made a successful payment, click the “request original certificate” button.
• Select the preferred state of pick-up.
• Certificates are delivered to the relevant state office for pick-up within ten working days.
• You may always utilize the tracking tool to monitor the progress of your original WAEC certificate delivery.
• When the candidate is ready, he or she must present a legitimate form of identification, such as a driver’s license, international passport, or voter card, at the designated site of collection.

Candidates who sat for the 2019 WAEC GCE (second series) and above are eligible for this option; candidates who sat for the 2019 GCE (first series) and below must utilize the method outlined below for collecting.

PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTING ORIGINAL WAEC CERTIFICATE FOR GCE (EXTERNAL) CANDIDATES (2019 DOWNWARD)

The new way of collecting the original WAEC certificate for GCE candidates was devised for the benefit of candidates and the decongestion of other state departments. While it is simpler, it is not available to GCE 2019 first series and lower applicants.

Candidates in the aforementioned categories must travel to the state office of the state where they took the exam.

If you wish to obtain your original WAEC certificate from the WAEC state office where you took your exam, you must supply the following information before you can be awarded your original WAEC certificate.

The following items are required:

• Your examination photocard
• Photograph for Passport
• N3,550 is payable at the WAEC state headquarters.
• For certifications held with the Council for four years or more, there is a “Custody Fee.”

CUSTODY FEE FOR COLLECTING ORIGINAL WAEC CERTIFICATE

The council has emphasized that candidates who fail to retrieve their original WAEC certificate after four years will be assessed a custody cost.

The following are the custody fees:

• 0-4 years are to pay ₦3,550.
• 5-9 years are to pay the collection fee in addition to the custody fee totaling ₦8,550.
• 10-14 years are to pay the collection fee in addition to the custody fee totaling ₦13,550.
• 15-19 years are to pay the collection fee in addition to the custody fee totaling ₦18,550.
• For 20 years and above, the fee is ₦23,550.

The custody fee is both a cost for maintaining candidates’ original WAEC certificates and a sort of penalty.

PAYMENT METHODS FOR COLLECTING ORIGINAL WAEC CERTIFICATE

On the e-Certman website, there are three payment options available:

• Banks-in-branch on the portal (the simplest)
• Payments via all Branches of Banks.
• Debit Cards (MasterCard, Visa, and Verve)
• USSD

COLLECTION FEE FOR ORIGINAL WAEC CERTIFICATE

As a certificate collection fee, the council charges ₦4,700. This does not include the service fee charged by the online payment merchant.

CONCLUSION

Please keep in mind that after receiving your Original WAEC Certificate, you must keep it safe because the test board does not give certificates twice. Insects and rodents are notorious for damaging them. Keep it away from areas where it is likely to be mutilated. And also, do not laminate your certificate!