Leaving Cert. for Overseas Students

If you are an adult learner, repeat student or still in school, be sure to have a look at our full Leaving Cert Courses.

If you wish to sit the leaving certificate as an overseas candidate, there a number of steps to consider.

Registering to sit the Leaving Certificate 2025 - External Candidate Application

If you want to sit the Leaving Certificate as an external candidate, you must apply through the State Examinations board.

The State Examinations Commission is now accepting applications from external candidates to enter for their 2025 Leaving Certificate examinations. There are no Fees for 2025 Examinations.

The External Candidate Application Service will open at 4PM on Friday 11th October 2024 and close at 5pm on Friday 25th October 2024. Late applications will not be accepted.

Before applying as an External Candidate you must first download the School request form and present it to the Principal of the school you wish to sit your exams in.

Once this form is complete, you should retain it and bring it to your examination centre on the 1st day of examination.

YOU MUST ALSO PRESENT PHOTO I.D. AT YOUR ORAL / PRACTICAL / WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS. i.e. Public Services Card, Passport, Driving License.

How to apply

You can either apply and pay online or get a form from the Entries section via the State Examinations Commission website External candidates who hold a current medical card do not have to pay the fee but are still liable for late fees if they apply after the deadline.

Fees

There are no Fees for 2025 Examinations.

You can find further information about Leaving Certificate fees on the State Examinations Commission website.

Reasonable Accommodations

The State Examinations Commission operates a Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations for candidates with special needs at the state examinations. For further details on the scheme of Reasonable Accommodations and how to apply, please click here and select relevant form from the Reasonable Accommodations dropdown menu. The range of accommodations for the examinations has also been extended to include provision for the use of bilingual translation dictionaries by candidates whose first language is not English or Irish.

Leaving Certificate Examination Timetable

You can view the current SEC exam timetable here

Any Leaving Certificate oral examinations are typically held around Easter and the aural and written examinations are held in June of each year.

Contact Details

Entries Section
State Examinations Commission
Cornamaddy
Athlone
Co. Westmeath
N37 TP65
Telephone: 090-6442890, 6442703, 6442706
E-mail: entries@examinations.ie

Homepage: http://www.examinations.ie

Make sure you cover the entire syllabus

You can check that you are covering the entire Leaving Certificate Syllabus by visiting the Department of Education leaving cert syllabus list.

All Kilroy's College Leaving Cert Courses cover the entire syllabus.

For further information on leaving cert and adult education in general, you can visit AONTAS (the National Association of Adult Education) or Careers Portal.