Bonafide Certificate: Format, Application & Documents

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.

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Meaning and Format

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:

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Purpose of a Bonafide Certificate

It is required for multiple usages. Let’s check them out:

• When applying for student concessions granted by public transportation organisations such as city buses, local trains, and metros, a student may be asked to present this certificate.
• It’s possible that the certificate will be required when applying for a passport.
• This certificate is occasionally required for visa applications, especially when a separate student visa is provided to students studying abroad or a work visa is issued to a corporate employee.
• Students can get low-interest loans from certain lending organisations. To access this advantage, the student may be required to present this certificate.
• A genuine certificate as extra ID evidence may be included in the papers submitted to various traffic authorities in order to apply for a driver’s license.

Types of Bonafide Certification

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 Certificate For Students

• Passport application and visa extension
• To apply for educational loans 
• To attend a seminar and workshops at other academic institutions
• To visit an industry for project work
• To avail travel concessions
• To join a public library

Bonafide Certificate For Employees

• To open a bank account
• To avail a bank loan
• To attend a conference or an official seminar

Also Read: Study Certificate Format

School Bonafide Certificate

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

Date

Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate

Respected Sir/Ma’am

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.

Thanking You,

Yours Sincerely
Name

Sample Bonafide Certificate Application for School

To,
The Principal
DAV School
Janakpuri, New Delhi

15th January 2022

Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate

Respected Sir/Ma’am

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.

Thanking You,

Yours Sincerely
Misha
Class IX
Roll No.: 18

Request Letter for Bonafide Certificate from School by Parents

To,
The Principal
School Name
Address
Date

Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate

Respected Sir/Ma’am

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

Sample Application for Bonafide Certificate by Parents

To,
The Principal
Bal Bharti Public School
Kirti Nagar, New Delhi

January 15, 2022

Subject: Application for Bonafide Certificate

Respected Sir/Ma’am

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. 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

Bonafide Certificate for College

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:

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Bonafide Certificate 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. 

Bonafide Student Application

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.

Requirements for Bonafide Student Application

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:

• Photocopy of your ID Card
• Application Form
• Fee Receipt

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.

Bonafide Application For Employees

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. The essential documents you need to present are as follows:

• Copy of Payslip
• Copy of Employee ID Card
• Date of Birth Certificate (optional)

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:

Bonafide Application for Passport

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. Here’s the application format you can follow to draft your application to ask one for a passport:

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Bonafide Application for Aadhar Card

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:

Application for Bonafide Certificate for Internship/Apprenticeship

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:

FAQs

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.