We have recently been looking at ways to reduce our environmental impact as an organisation and one change we are looking at is the introduction of digital certificates. As well as bringing environmental benefits, this will mean that candidates receive a secure, digital certificate much sooner, at the same time as their results, and can then order a paper certificate if they want one.

We are introducing digital certificates gradually, starting in August and September this year with a pilot in Indonesia and Thailand. Other countries will follow from October 2023 onwards.

What will happen in the pilot?

Candidates in Thailand and Indonesia who receive their results from 1 August to 30 September will receive a secure digital certificate at the same time as their results and digital mark form. This applies for candidates passing Practical Grades, Performance Grades, ARSM Performance diplomas and Music Theory Grades.

Once the digital certificate is available, you can order a paper certificate through your account if you want to. There will be a charge for this of US$4 for each certificate. You can check the certificate details before you place your order and request small corrections if needed.

If you need to order an additional reprint of a certificate, the charge for this will be US$25.

What else do you need to know?

Digital certificates will be available as PDFs which you can download and print. The person who booked the exam will have access to the digital certificate through their ABRSM account. Candidates with an account will have access to their certificate, along with their results, seven days later.

Once the digital certificate is available, you will be able to check it. If there are any small spelling mistakes, you can contact us and we will make the corrections and issue an updated digital certificate.

Digital certificates will also become available for any previous exams booked using our current online service.

New security features

Our new digital certificates will be extremely secure. Each digital certificate will include a unique QR security code. Scanning the code will take you to an online validation page that confirms the candidate and qualification details.

The online validation page will also be available for previous paper certificates, for exams booked with our current online service.

We value your feedback

As this is a pilot, we will be inviting everyone who receives a digital certificate in Thailand and Indonesia to take part in a short survey. Please look out for the survey and share your feedback with us.