Bonafide certificate application

What a bonafide certificate proves, and what it does not

A bonafide certificate answers one narrow question: is this person genuinely what they claim to be within this institution. It confirms enrolment or employment, the period, and usually the course or role. That is all.

It is not a character certificate, which speaks to conduct. It is not a marksheet, which speaks to performance. It is not an experience letter, which describes what you did. Institutions issue all of these from the same office, which is why people ask for the wrong one and discover the mistake at the counter where it was needed.

The reason it exists is that a great many transactions in India need proof of current status rather than proof of history — a student bank account, a concession, a visa where the consulate wants to know you have a reason to come back, a passport where the address needs corroborating. Each of those readers wants slightly different facts stated, which is why the application has to say what they are.

What the application has to contain

The fourth item deserves its own paragraph, because it is the difference between a certificate that works and one that has to be re-issued.

An institution's default bonafide certificate is short: it says the person is a bona fide student of a named course and nothing more. If your bank needs the course duration, or your consulate needs the expected completion date, and the application did not ask for them, you will get the default version. Writing one sentence — "the certificate is required to state that I am a bona fide full-time student, the course duration, and my expected date of completion" — is what avoids that.

1. 1Who you are: name, class or course, and your roll number or employee ID. The office files by that reference.
2. 2How long you have been there. It appears on the certificate and saves the clerk looking it up.
3. 3The purpose, named specifically — including the receiving authority, not just the reason.
4. 4The wording required. This is the field people leave blank, and it is the one that prevents a second trip.
5. 5The number of copies, and the date by which you need them.
6. 6A note that a copy of your identity card is enclosed and the fee will be paid at the counter.

For students — school, college and university

For a school student, the application is usually written by a parent up to the middle years and by the student from senior school onwards. Either is accepted; what matters is that the class, section and admission number are correct.

For college and university students, the request goes to the principal, the registrar or the examination section depending on the institution's structure, and it is worth finding out which before you submit — an application sitting in the wrong office is the most common cause of delay.

Two practical habits make a large difference. Ask for two copies rather than one: the receiving authority will keep the original and you will need another the next time. And ask for the office seal explicitly. Many institutions issue a signed but unsealed certificate as their default, and a great many banks and consulates will not accept one.

• Find out which office issues it — principal, registrar, examination section or the student desk.
• Quote the roll number or admission number exactly as it appears in the institution's records.
• Ask for two copies, on letterhead, with the office seal.
• Where a fee is prescribed, pay it at the counter and keep the receipt.
• Give a realistic date you need it by, and allow at least a week.

For employees

The employee version is more often called an employment certificate or an employment verification letter, and asking for a "bonafide certificate" at some HR departments produces a blank look. Use both terms in the application so it is understood.

What it confirms is your designation, your date of joining and that you are currently in service. Some employers include the salary; most will not unless you ask, and whether you want them to depends on the reader — a bank considering a loan wants it, a landlord probably does not need it.

Ask for it on letterhead with the signatory's name and designation printed underneath. Verification teams routinely call the number on the letter, and a certificate signed only "for the company" cannot be verified. If your employer has an internal request form, ask for it in the same email rather than waiting to be told about it.

For a passport and for a visa — the two most exacting readers

These two reject more bonafide certificates than everyone else combined, and for opposite reasons.

The passport authority is checking consistency. The address on the certificate has to match the address on your application, and if the institution has an old address on file, the certificate will carry it and the mismatch will hold up your file. Ask the office to record the address you have used in the application, and confirm before it is printed that they have.

A consulate is checking whether you will come back. The single most useful line on a student certificate for a visa is the expected date of completion, because it establishes that you have an ongoing commitment in India that ends after the proposed travel. A certificate confirming enrolment without saying when the course ends does far less work. For employees, the equivalent is a statement that you are expected to resume duties, which belongs on an employer NOC rather than on the bonafide certificate itself.

For both, ask for a contact number on the certificate. Verification calls are routine, and a certificate with no way to verify it is treated with suspicion.

Why applications get delayed, and how to avoid it

1. 1The application went to the wrong office. Find out who issues it before you submit.
2. 2The required wording was not stated, so the default certificate was issued and did not meet the requirement.
3. 3Only one copy was requested, and the receiving authority kept it.
4. 4No seal, because the application did not ask for one and the office default is unsealed.
5. 5The roll number or employee ID was wrong or omitted, so the record could not be located.
6. 6The prescribed fee was not paid, and nobody told the applicant there was one.
7. 7It was asked for two days before it was needed. Allow a week, more in an examination period.
8. 8The address on the certificate did not match the address on the passport application.

Worked examples