Losing a school certificate is rarely just about the piece of paper. Employers and admissions offices want to see it, not hear about it.
Why schools and employers ask for a sworn affidavit
A sworn affidavit gives an institution something on record, in your own words, about when and how the certificate went missing.
It does not recreate the certificate. It supports your later request for a replacement or a certified copy, by showing you have accounted for the original.
What the affidavit should say
Name the school, university or exam body exactly as it appears on the certificate, along with the subject or course and the year you finished.
Describe the loss itself: where it was kept, when you noticed it gone, and whether it was misplaced, damaged or stolen.
A commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a judge of the Federal High Court or a higher court takes the oath and stamps the affidavit. Keep the sealed original safe; you will likely need to show it more than once.
Getting a certified true copy afterwards
Most schools, universities and exam bodies issue a certified true copy once you apply to them directly, usually with your affidavit, an old result slip if you have one, and a fee the institution sets itself.
Processing time varies a great deal by institution. Older records held on paper, rather than a digital system, tend to take longer to trace.
See affidavit of loss: cost in Nigeria for how the stamp duty and any service fee are typically broken down, separate from whatever the school itself charges for the copy.
If you need the certificate abroad
A foreign university or employer may ask for more than a certified copy.
Nigeria is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so it cannot issue a single apostille stamp. Instead, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authenticates documents for use abroad, and the receiving country may add its own step after that.
Check what the receiving institution actually wants before you start, since requirements differ by country and by institution. Build in extra time for this step; it sits outside the school's own process entirely.
If you have lost more than one certificate
Losing a bag or a box of documents at once is common, and each certificate inside it is a separate loss in the eyes of the institution that issued it.
Name every certificate you are missing, even if one affidavit covers the whole incident, so nothing is read as an afterthought.
Common mistakes
- Applying for a certified true copy before the affidavit is ready. Most institutions want to see both.
- Leaving out the exact department, faculty or exam year, which slows the school's own search.
- Assuming a photocopy of the affidavit will do. Institutions generally want the sealed original or a certified copy of it.
- Leaving authentication for abroad until the last week before a deadline. It is a separate step, not something the school does for you.
For where to swear this affidavit and what a straightforward affidavit of loss costs, see our affidavit guides, starting with affidavit of loss: where, how and how much.