The online database was established in 2012, but these days with corona it’s of even higher value as students often have to wait longer to receive their diploma. As soon as the university has informed DUO that the student graduated, he or she can already download his or her diploma.

The fact that more and more people know about the diploma register, is nothing new: in 2019 more than twice as many diplomas were downloaded as in the year before. But according to DUO, it is the first time that the number of downloads exceeds a million in one year: a total of more than 1.4 million diplomas were downloaded in 2020.

Peak

A peak was seen in the month of June when twice as many diplomas were downloaded as in the same month in 2019. According to DUO, this may be because pupils normally receive their diploma in this month. Due to the corona measures, many could not immediately collect their diploma on paper. “It seems that many of them then found an alternative by downloading their diploma,” DUO reports. In this year of corona, the register was also used more often by people who had to show a diploma for a job application.

Fraud

The online diploma register is primarily intended to prevent fraud. After all, a paper certificate can be copied relatively easily. The register allows employers and educational institutions to check whether someone's diploma is genuine. The register is also useful in the event of loss or theft of a diploma. Graduates can then easily demonstrate that they have actually completed a particular study program.