A Bonafide Certificate is a document issued as proof that you belong to a particular educational institute or an organisation. For a student, it is a certificate of evidence showcasing that an individual belongs to a particular class and course in the institution for a specific time period. It is generally required for varied purposes such as visa applications, while seeking employment or applying for an educational loan, amongst others.
Derived from a Latin word, ‘bonafide’ means ‘in good faith’. It is defined as a formal certificate that you might have stumbled across during the admission process. Its format can differ as per the purpose for which you need it. Thus, it varies for students and employees as both of them require the document to fulfil different purposes. Here is the format for students as well as for employees:
It plays a crucial role in an array of documentation purposes, be it applying for education loans to study abroad, seeking a new job or availing benefits of governmental schemes. Now that you know its meaning, let’s understand what purposes it is usually asked for:
Bonafide student refers to an individual enrolled in a recognised school, college or university or a student of a state-operated technical college or institute in a sufficient duration as well as a certain number of classes and subjects in an academic institution in order to be deemed as a full-time regular student by the institution. A bonafide student can also be a student of an off-campus college work-study course or academic program in a proprietary institution of higher education as specified in Section 102 (b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
Moreover, a bonafide student can also be less than a full-time student if they are working as a full-time employee at a recognised organisation. Also, any bonafide student is allowed to be so during breaks which can happen between the academic sessions, such as summer breaks. Further, universities and colleges are also allowed to employ their own full-time students as well as part-time students as bonafide students.
Students might be required to obtain one from school for various purposes like for Aadhaar Card, to open a bank account, applying for a passport and other reasons. Here is an application or request letter:
To,
The Principal
School Name
Address
Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate
I, ______ (name), student of Class __ at ____ (School Name) need a bonafide certificate to _____ (apply for Aadhar card/open a bank account or any other reason). Kindly issue me one at the earliest. I shall be very grateful to you.
To,
The Principal
DAV School
Janakpuri, New Delhi
15th January 2022
Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate
I, Misha, a student of Class IX at DAV School, New Delhi require a bonafide certificate in order to open a bank account at Bank of Maharashtra. Thus, I humbly request you to issue me one at the earliest. I shall be very grateful to you.
Yours Sincerely
Misha
Class IX
Roll No.: 18
To,
The Principal
School Name
Address
Date
Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate
My son/daughter, ______ (name) is a bonafide student of Class __ at your school and has been studying since Class ____ for ____ years. I need a bonafide certificate to _____ (apply for an Aadhar card/open a bank account or any other reason).
I would like to humbly request you to issue me one at the earliest. I shall be very grateful to you.
Thanking You,
Yours Sincerely
Name
To,
The Principal
Bal Bharti Public School
Kirti Nagar, New Delhi
January 15, 2022
Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate
My son, Harry D’souza is a bonafide student of Class XI at Bal Bharti Public School and has been studying here for the last 4 years. Therefore, I urgently require a bonafide certificate to apply for his passport as we are going outside India to meet his grandparents in Canada.
I would like to humbly request you to issue me one at the earliest. I shall be very grateful to you.
Thanking You,
Yours Sincerely
Mark D’Souza
If you are applying for one from your college, you can either ask your university to provide you with an application form or follow a general application format. Here is the application format:
Here’s everything you need to know about the NOC Format & Samples!
While applying for an internship or apprenticeship, students might also need a bonafide certificate to validate the college or institution they are studying at. Here’s the application:
Now that you are aware of its meaning and when it is required, let us understand its content and application process. To begin, you must first make an application to the head of the institution/organisation you want this certificate from. Though the essentials of an application for a Bonafide Certificate may vary as per the purpose, some places already have a prescribed format and in cases where there is no application form, the individual is generally asked to write a letter instead.
To get a student Bonafide certificate, you need to contact the administrative department of your institution. You will have to apply in writing to the head of the institution, requesting them to issue you the certificate. For the submission of the application, you will be required to enclose the following documents:
While every institution may have its own format for this certificate, it mainly contains particulars like the institution’s name printed on the letterhead, the date of issue, the applicant’s details and the signature of the head of the institution. Thus, the following format has been provided as an example of what the application would look like:
Note: If you are a college student currently in the first or the second year and applying directly to another institution, you will also have to attach a leaving certificate with your application form. In case you are seeking a loan, it should also mention the fee structure of the organization.
In case, this certificate is issued to an employee, it should contain the contact information of the prospective individual, their job profile and the details of the employer. In some cases, the date of birth of the employee might also be provided in the certificate based on the nature of the document and its requirement. Whatsoever, the essential documents you need to present are as follows:
To get this certificate issued from the company, you need to send a letter addressed to the head of your department or the organization. Here is a sample:
While applying for a passport, you might be required to show proof that you are studying/have studied at a particular institution or are an employee of an organisation. Furthermore, here’s the application format you can follow to draft your application to ask one for a passport:
While applying for an Aadhar card, it might also be required as residence proof or student ID. In order to write an application for a bonafide certificate for Aadhar card, the first and foremost thing is that it is usually written by the student requesting the principal or the director of their college to issue them this certificate. So, take a look at the application format to obtain one for your child’s Aadhar card application:
It is required for multiple usages. Let’s check them out:
It is an official document that acts as proof that an individual belongs to a particular educational institute or an organisation. For students, it mainly specifies that an individual belongs to a specific class and course at an institution for a particular time period. While for employees, this document elucidates that the concerned person is a part of a certain company/organisation working under a specific job profile.
How long is a Bonafide Certificate valid for?It is generally valid for a duration of three months and is issued on a letterhead of the educational institution or the company with a duly signature and official seal.
Who issues a Bonafide Certificate?Mainly, for a student, the head of the administrative department/the academic institution issues this certificate while for an employee, the manager of their concerned department/organisation gives their final seal of approval.
Thus, we hope that through this blog you have gained clarity about what is a bonafide certificate, how it is written and where you might need it. The importance of certifications and documents is paramount whether you are joining a new organisation or applying for admissions at universities abroad. Supplementing your admission application, the documents are an inseparable component of the whole process.
If you need assistance at any step of the application process of your chosen course, reach out to our experts at Leverage Edu and we will guide you throughout the admission procedure, helping you with writing engrossing SOP, LORs and essays that can get you successfully shortlisted.
