Your results envelope will contain a letter from the Chief Examining Officer and your results certificate, which shows:

• all of your qualifications to date
• your grades
• when you achieved each qualification
• the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level of each qualification.

You can find more information about your certificate here.

Who do I contact if I have any questions about my results?

Talk to your school, college or training provider if you have questions about your results. If you’re concerned about your grades, you can use our free appeals service.

Why haven't I got my results by text or email?

We send texts and emails from 8 am on results day. Check your spam or junk folder if you haven’t received your email.

If you’re abroad you’ll only get your results by text if your phone is set up to work outside the UK and you have enough credit.

I have results missing from my certificate. What should I do?

Talk to your school, college or training provider. They'll look into this for you.

If you have any other questions, we may have answered it on our frequently asked questions page.

Around 7,700 experienced teachers and lecturers mark the exams and coursework. They use their knowledge of course requirements and national standards to work out your final mark.

We carry out many checks across all courses and levels to make sure the marking is accurate and consistent. This is known as quality assurance.

Can I see my marked exam papers?

Sorry, no. We don't offer this service.

How many marks do I need for each grade?

The minimum marks needed for each grade (A to D) aren't fixed.

If an exam was easier or harder than planned, we adjust the minimum marks needed to make sure grades are fair from year to year. We call this ‘setting grade boundaries’.

How we mark exams and decide grades.

You can appeal if you're concerned about a National 5, Higher or Advanced Higher grade and you think there may have been a mistake in the marking.

If you appeal, a senior marker will review your answers in your marked assessments. This includes question papers and assignments. They’ll check that:

• the marks have been given in line with the marking standards
• all parts of your assessments have been marked
• the marks have been added up correctly
• the correct result has been entered on our system.

After the review, your grade could stay the same, go up or go down.

Things to think about before you appeal

• Is your grade in line with your estimated grade?
• Have you talked to your teacher, lecturer or course leader about your grade?
• Is your grade unexpected?

You won't be able to appeal your grade if:

• your course award has been cancelled due to malpractice(rule breaking)
• your grade was awarded through the Examination Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service
• you received a grade A.

Can I ask for a priority appeal?

We can prioritise your appeal if you have a conditional offer for university, college or training this year, or a job offer that depends on your grade.

Priority appeals must be approved by your school, college or training provider. Tell them if you have a conditional offer that depends on your grade. You’ll need to provide the name of the educational institution or employer for the appeal to be treated as a priority.

How do I appeal?

Appeal through our appeals service (opens on results day) or ask your school, college or training provider to submit an appeal for you.

You’ll need to provide your:

• name
• email address
• date of birth
• Scottish Candidate Number (shown on your certificate).

You need to register for the learner direct appeals service separately from My Qualifications Scotland. If you prefer, you can ask your parent or carer to do this for you.

Parents and carers

If you are appealing for your child, please remember:

• you must get their permission first
• you'll need to use a different email address for each child
• you should make sure your child understands their grades can stay the same, go up or go down
• your child cannot appeal separately if you do it for them.

• Tuesday 4 August – results day. The appeals service opens at 9 am.
• Tuesday 11 August – the last day you, or your parent or carer, can ask for a priority appeal.
• Thursday 20 August – the last day your school, college or training provider can ask for a priority appeal for you.
• Tuesday 25 August – the last day you, or your parent or carer, can appeal.
• Friday 28 August – the last day your school, college or training provider can appeal for you.
• Monday 31 August – the is the day we send priority appeal decisions to schools, colleges and training providers. They'll let you know your result. If you applied for a place on a course through Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), we'll also send your result to them. UCAS will then tell the relevant university or college. If you need to share your result with another organisation (such as an employer), it's up to you or your school, college or training provider to do this.
• October 2026 – the month we send decisions on all other appeals. We may need to send decisions later than this, depending on how many appeals we receive. We’ll tell your school, college or training provider if this applies.

If your grade changes, you’ll get a new certificate in November. Your grade on My Qualifications Scotland will be updated after that.

Appeals decisions are final and you cannot appeal your grade again.

Visit appeals service for more information.

Thinking about Higher National Qualifications?

Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) are developed in partnership with colleges, universities and industry.

There are HNC and HND courses in a huge range of subjects, from Accounting to Video Production. These courses develop the practical skills and knowledge you need to do a job.

Find out more about Higher National Qualifications.

UCAS Clearing

If you don’t have a university or college offer, you can apply through UCAS Clearing for courses with available places.

Visit the UCAS website for information on clearing or to search courses.

Support websites

For more help with your next steps and options, you can visit the following websites.

• E-sgoil
• Mind Yer Time
• My World of Work
• My World of Work - School Leavers Toolkit
• UCAS
• Who Cares Scotland
• Young Scot

We’re asking learners to take part in surveys and other research. Signing up gives you the opportunity to have your say on a range of issues. If you’re interested, visit Have your ay.