What is Bonafide Certificate?: Sample, Format & How to Apply

Bonafide certificate is an official proof of one’s association with a particular educational institution or organisation. It acts as a legal evidential document that is acceptable worldwide and generally required for different scholarships and internships. So, why Bonafide Certificate is important? It is a reliable and legitimate verification of an applicant’s identity at a university or workplace.

This Story also Contains

1. What is a Bonafide Certificate?
2. Types of Bonafide Certificates
3. What is the purpose of a Bonafide Certificate?
4. Who Demands a Bonafide Certificate?
5. How to apply for a bonafide certificate?
6. Documents Required To Apply for a Bonafide Certificate
7. Bonafide Certificate Application Fees
8. Bonafide Certificate Validity Period

There are two different types of Bonafide certificates as per the purpose of usage. These are either student bonafide certificates for scholarships, colleges, or school applications or employer bonafide certificates to validate their work experience or skill expertise. As per the preference, one needs to know how to apply bonafide certificates. Generally, students are required to contact the educational institution’s administration department for the certificate and job seekers are required to contact their current organisation’s human resource department to avail one.

Moreover, identity proof, fee receipts, course information documents, salary statements, university identity cards, etc are some of the documents required to apply for bonafide certificate. Read the article to learn more about what is bonafide certificate, its types, validity, who needs it, and more.

Also Read:

• LOR (Letter of Recommendation)

• Statement of Purpose (SOP)

What is a Bonafide Certificate?

A bonafide certificate is a legal document stating the equation between the aspirant and the associated organisation. It is a crucial element of the application for different purposes such as visas, admission, scholarships, and more. It is used by both professionals and students for different purposes like job application.

Types of Bonafide Certificates

There are different types of bonafide certificates that vary depending upon their uses and validity. So, the format and the authorizing authorities issuing a bonafide certificate for abroad studies is different from getting a certificate for work purposes. We have mentioned the categories of bonafide certificates.

Bonafide Certificates types:

What is the purpose of a Bonafide Certificate?

A bonafide certificate has many purposes. It is an important document for all students as well as other prospects. Understanding the key purposes of a bonafide certificate helps students to acquire the right kind of certificate. Here are the uses:

• Application for student visa: The immigration authorities where the candidate is planning to study abroad may require a bonafide certificate to validate the student’s admission to the educational institution. This is an important document as it serves as a proof that the student is entering the country for the intended course and not due to other illegitimate reasons.

• Renting accommodation: Students may require a bonafide certificate to prove that they are a student in a particular university. Many rental authorities ask for it before offering accommodation options.

• Education loans: Students need to demonstrate their student status to financial institutions such as banks or private lenders to successfully obtain a loan or financial assistance.

• Scholarships: To obtain a scholarship award or bursaries, many award granting authorities require a bonafide certificate to verify the admission of the student into a particular university or course.

• Transfer from one institution to another: It is important to provide a bonafide certificate when a student is transferring from one educational institution to another. Proof of studies in the previous college must be submitted to the college administration of the current university.

• Validate Work Experience: The organisation or the corporation may ask for a bonafide certificate from the job seeker to verify their previous work experience, skills, projects, and other related achievements.

Who Demands a Bonafide Certificate?

There are several institutional bodies and organisations that demands a bonafide certificate either from the candidate’s academic institution or the work structure. It is an important document for them to assess the prospect. A few of the entities that require a bonafide certificate include the following:

Individuals/entities who requires a bonafide certificate:

How to apply for a bonafide certificate?

To obtain a bonafide certificate, the candidate is required to contact the concerned authorities with an application form including all relevant documents and information. It must include the purpose of acquiring the certificate, who needs it, course information, job history, personal information, and more. The concerned authorities can be an educational institution or a corporate organisation as per the purpose. One can follow the following steps:

• Fill out an application form to the school/college head or the human resource of the organisation.

• Mention relevant details such as the purpose of bonafide certificate, usage, name, course, employee identity, contact, and more.

• Gather the relevant documents required with the application such as residence proof, identity card, academic mark sheets, fee slips, job experience letters, pay slips, and more. (whichever is required as per the reason of obtaining the certificate.

• Submit the application form with the documents and pay the necessary processing fees.

Note: Bonafide Certificate application fees may or may not be charged by the organisation.

Documents Required To Apply for a Bonafide Certificate

The document requirement of the aspirant may vary as per the type of bonafide certificate. These documents help in the verification of the candidate’s connection with the firm/university/corporation. A list of specific documents required to apply for a bonafide certificate are:

Bonafide Certificate for Students

The common document checklist for obtaining the bonafide certificate for student based purposes such as admission applications, visa processes, accommodation needs, and more are mentioned below:

• Photograph

• A student ID Card

• Admission letter

• Residence proof (Passport/Aadhaar card)

• Completed application form

• Academic transcripts

• Fee Slips

• Any specific academic record asked by the authorities

Bonafide Certificate for Employees

As an employee, another organisation may ask for a bonafide certificate while applying for events such as work visas, new jobs, financial assistance, employee benefits, and more. The common list of required documents for an employee bonafide certificate are:

• Photograph

• Company employee ID

• Appointment letter

• Address proof (Passport/Aadhaar card)

• Completed application form

• Salary slips

• Work experience letter

• Employment contracts

Bonafide Certificate Application Fees

To obtain a bonafide certificate, there may or may not be some kind of application processing fee associated with it. The Bonafide Certificate application fees may vary depending upon the institute policies. It can range from Rs 50, Rs 100 to Rs 200 as per the type.

Bonafide Certificate Validity Period

The validity of a bonafide Certificate depends upon the type of certificate as well as the purpose behind its issuance. So, permanent bonafide certificates generally have a longer period of validity. On the other hand, temporary bonafide certificates have short validity.