Irish Leaving Certificate Exams (1985-2027) INFORMATION SHEET
Making an application to the CAO on the basis of Irish Leaving Certificate Examinations (1985-2027)
If you are presenting Irish Leaving Certificate Examinations (1985-2027), you must tick category 1 in the Qualifications and Assessment Summary.
You must also enter your school name, address, start year and finish year in the Secondary Level Schools Attended section of the online application.
Please note: Leaving Certificate Applied or pre-1985 Leaving Certificate Examinations should be recorded under category 4 ‘Other School Leaving Exams’.
I am a current year Leaving Certificate Applicant, how do I supply my exam number?
If you are a current year Leaving Certificate candidate, you must tick the box provided to indicate you are completing Leaving Certificate in the current year. You cannot enter your current year examination number at this time.
In March, the State Examinations Commission will provide 2027 Leaving Certificate Examination candidate data to CAO, and at a later date you will be asked to confirm your Leaving Certificate Examination number when you receive the Check and Confirm email in May.
In some cases, we will email applicants in March and April to ask you to input your examination number manually into your CAO account – this is usually where we were unable to match your CAO application to a Leaving Certificate Examination number supplied to CAO by the State Examinations Commission. Please check the Correspondence section of your application carefully for correspondence from CAO.
I sat my Leaving Certificate in a prior year, how do I supply my exam number?
If you have previously sat the Leaving Certificate you must provide your examination number(s) and the year(s) in which you sat your examination(s) in the space provided in the Qualifications and Assessment section. If you do not know your Leaving Certificate Examination number you may contact your school or the State Examinations Commission to access your details.
How does CAO obtain Leaving Certificate Examination results?
CAO will use the exam number you supplied/confirmed to access your Leaving Certificate Examination results.
You must have supplied your correct Leaving Certificate Examination year and exam number in your online application.
How will my Leaving Certificate Examination results be assessed?