Study in the UK

The British Council's verification service is provided to individuals who are UK educational qualification holders.

We verify all education, training, and professional awards, including certificates, degrees, and diplomas, at all levels issued by any accredited UK institution or organisation.

Verification is a confirmation that a photocopy (Black and white) is a true copy of an original document.

The British Council reserves the right to reject certification of any document if the programme or institution is not recognised by the UK education board, if the document is found to be too old, altered, or defaced in any way or if there is any question regarding the originality of the document 

We do not stamp:

  • passports
  • ID cards
  • birth certificates
  • testimonials
  • marriage certificates
  • membership certificates
  • University of London Certificates
  • other documents required by an educational institution or employer.

To have your documents verified:

Visit our office in Colombo or Kandy along with the following;

  • Original document
  • Verification from awarding body/institute
  • Authorization letter (if not certificate holder)* 
  • Copy of identification document

Choose the service

There are two services for you to choose from;

Normal service - Submit the original certificates and/or transcripts before 4.00 pm and collect them on the next working day after 9.00am. (Documents submitted after 4.00 p.m can be collected after 10.30 am on the next working day).

Same day service - Submit the original certificates and/or transcripts before 10.30am and collect them by 12.30pm (time frame for this service may vary as per the signatories availability)

Payment method

Cash or credit card (at the time of collection)

Normal Service: Rs. 3,000 per verified copy

Same day Service: Rs. 4,500 per verified copy

Note: fees are per stamp/signature regardless of a document (i.e. transcripts) having more than one page.

Working hours

Colombo – Monday to Friday 09.00 a.m. to 05.30 p.m.

*Please note that our verification services will no longer be offered at our Kandy office with effect from 01 April 2018.

Terms and Conditions

  1. British Council verifies only UK qualifications for academic purposes or overseas employment.
  2. If a local qualification is required to be verified by us for UK education purposes, we require evidence showing that the candidate is enrolling for a UK qualification. This could be an offer letter from an accredited UK university or a completed admission form which states the requirement for verification from British Council along with a confirmation from the awarding body (local institution). 
  3. British Council verifies certificates as ‘true copy of the original’ only.
  4. Original certificates given for verification MUST be collected within 5 working days. British Council will not be liable for any loss or damage of documents after this period.
  5. Verification service is provided ONLY to the certificate owner. Please note 3rd party requests such as Student consulting firms, Overseas Education Guide/ Helper, Private/ Public universities / Institutions are NOT ACCEPTED.

    If the certificate holder is unable to personally visit British Council, a duly authorised (Family member) may submit/collect the documents. However, an authorization letter signed by the certificate holder, containing the certificate holder’s full name, document(s) they wish to verify, the full name of the authorised person and NIC/Passport no should be produced. 

  6. British Council reserves the right to take appropriate action if any forged documents are found.
  7. Please note that the acceptance of your documents does not guarantee verification.

Please Read Our Fair Collection Notice

The British Council will require your original documents to provide this service. We will hold these securely until the service is complete and the documents can be returned to you. We will record your name, type of document, the date of transaction, and any other relevant details for our records. This will be kept securely and will not be provided to any other parties unless we are legally required to do so.

Guidelines for customers

    1. Original certificates and transcripts must be handed over for verification as photocopies/ scanned copies will not be accepted.
    2. The certificate holder should be present to submit/collect documents. Please bring along your NIC or Passport.
    3. Verification service is provided ONLY to the certificate owner. Please note 3rd party requests such as Student consulting firms, Overseas Education Guide/ Helper, Private/ Public universities / Institutions are NOT ACCEPTED.

      If the certificate holder is unable to personally visit British Council, a duly authorised (Family member) may submit/collect the documents. However, an authorization letter signed by the certificate holder, containing the certificate holder’s full name, document(s) they wish to verify, the full name of the authorised person and NIC/Passport no should be produced.

    4. A confirmation from the awarding body or the relevant institution must be provided in either of the following forms.
      *Hard copy confirmation: A copy of the certificate stamped and signed with the name, designation and date by an authorised person in the institution.
      *E-mail confirmation: An e-mail verification from the official e-mail address of the university including the e-mail signature

1. Please note that the details included in the confirmation provided by the institution/ university should match with the information on your certificate.

2. Certificates issued by the British Council (Teaching Centre students) will be verified only if they have been issued within the last 7 years. 

3. All IELTS certificates must be valid (issued within the last 2 years) in order to be verified.

4. Edexcel/ Cambridge O/L and A/L certificates will be verified if the examination centre is registered with British Council provided that the certificates have been issued in or after 2013. If not, a confirmation from either of the following bodies must be produced along with the original certificates.

5. Cambridge English Language Assessment (CELA) Certificates issued by the British Council, Sri Lanka will be verified only if they have been issued within last 2 years (2016 onwards). If not, please contact the awarding body (Cambridge)

For all the other centre certificates, please provide a verified copy from the issuing centre along with the originals. 

6. Please note that the Qatar verification process has been changed since Nov 2015. The embassy of State of Qatar in Sri Lanka and MOFA now requires, irrespective of the university or institution, a letter of authenticity in a preferred format as given on the below link: http://bit.ly/2gXdbTm