Adoption of the Nataji platform for issuing digital certificates and eliminating paper certificates
The Saudi Ministry of Education announced a historic step in the digital transformation of the education sector, completely ending the era of paper-based transactions for issuing academic certificates. In its new examination guide for the academic year 1447 AH (2025 CE), the Ministry launched the comprehensive "digital document" phase, adopting the "My Results" platform and other approved platforms as the sole channels for issuing and authenticating certificates electronically, thus eliminating the need for physical seals and traditional manual authentications.
The context of digital transformation and Vision 2030
This strategic decision aligns with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which prioritizes digital transformation to improve the quality of government services and enhance performance efficiency. This step is part of a comprehensive e-government system aimed at facilitating the lives of citizens and residents. With this measure, the Ministry of Education joins the ranks of government sectors that have fully digitized their services, reflecting the rapid technological advancements in the Kingdom's digital infrastructure.
Features of the new system and the cancellation of "lost item replacement"
The Ministry has launched a new era, enabling all students and graduates to obtain their general education certificates electronically and instantly. This eliminates the ordeal of long queues and visits to education departments to obtain certified copies. One of the most significant changes in the new regulations is the elimination of the terms "replacement for lost" or "replacement for damaged" from newly issued certificates. Instead, the new issue date is sufficient to grant the document official status as a certified original. This step aims to alleviate the social and psychological embarrassment for students and their parents, providing them with modern documents free of any discriminatory markings.
Security and reliability via QR code
To ensure the highest security standards, the Ministry has implemented an advanced technological protection system that replaces traditional seals with a QR code printed on each certificate. This technology enables official bodies, universities, and employers in both the public and private sectors to verify the accuracy and reliability of data instantly. This digital system completely eliminates any attempts at forgery or grade manipulation, as the QR code allows direct access to the Ministry's central system to match the data on the document with the official records.
Data correction mechanisms and general format controls
Regarding data correction, the instructions established a precise mechanism to differentiate between current students and graduates, assigning schools the task of directly updating their current student data to ensure swift completion. The Ministry also launched an online channel through the "My Results" portal for graduates and those who have discontinued their studies to submit requests for name or civil registration changes, with the added feature of instant automatic updating of all the student's previous academic records in the central system.
The ministry concluded its instructions by prohibiting the printing of students' personal photos on academic certificates, in order to standardize the overall appearance of government documents and ensure the privacy of personal data. It also emphasized the prohibition of both private and public schools from adding any promotional or commercial logos or commemorative images to official certificates, stressing the necessity of adhering to the unified visual identity of educational documents, which reinforces the official and sovereign nature of certificates issued by educational institutions in the Kingdom.
