Genuine vs Novelty Degree Certificates: What You Are Buying

03
MAR

“Genuine fake degree certificate” is a contradiction, and it is worth untangling before you spend anything. A genuine degree certificate is issued by a school and recorded in its files. A novelty degree certificate is a replica of that document, made for display, gifts and props. A template download is a generic layout with no particular school behind it. On this site the replica is the Perfect Match Diploma; this page explains which of the three a seller is actually offering, and what “best price” means for each.

Three documents that get called the same thing

1. A genuine certificate: issued and recorded

The school prints it, signs it, and keeps the record that stands behind it. That record is what employers, licensing boards and other schools check — through the institution or the National Student Clearinghouse — and no seller can create it. Any offer of a “genuine” or “accredited” certificate for a fee is the scam the Federal Trade Commission describes in the Sources below.

2. A novelty replica: the real design, your details

A Perfect Match Diploma is built from the school's real design — exact wording, fonts, spacing, leading and kerning — from a library of thousands of college and university designs, with your personal information embedded. The seal is color, gold-foil or embossed, the signatures are made-up in-house signatures or left blank, the size is 8.5×11, 11×14 or A4, and a free digital proof comes before printing. It is a display document: Is this a real diploma? No. It looks real, but it is a novelty replica for display, gifts and props; the maker is not affiliated with any institution and does not make documents intended for misrepresentation. Only the school can issue the document itself.

3. A template download: no school behind it

A downloadable file is one layout for every school. It is the cheapest route and the least like any real diploma; downloadable fake degrees vs made-to-order replicas compares the two. Between the download and the school-matched replica sit the Standard In-House Templates: ready-made designs based on real diplomas, a little less individualized than the Perfect Match option, with the same proof and print process.

What “best price” means here

The listed prices are USD 69 for a novelty high school diploma, USD 190 for a Perfect Match Diploma at any level, USD 109 to 190 for transcripts by level and USD 289 to 349 for a diploma-and-transcripts package; shipping is quoted in the cart before you pay, and a PDF by digital delivery has no shipping. Novelty degree certificate cost sets out what each price includes. The cheapest certificate is the download; the one that matches a school is the replica; the genuine one is not for sale at any price.

How to tell which one a seller is offering

Ask three questions. Does the seller show a proof before printing? Does it list what it will not make — medical, aviation and maritime degrees, excluded schools, places it does not ship to, as on Things We Can't Do? And does it describe the document as a novelty replica rather than something that will “pass”? A yes to all three is a replica maker. A promise of verification is the warning sign. Six checks for choosing a novelty degree or diploma goes through the rest.

What the replica includes, in one list

School-matched layout from the design on file; your name, degree title, major and graduation date as entered; honors line if chosen; seal in color, gold-foil or embossed; made-up in-house signatures or blank lines; 8.5×11, 11×14 or A4 on diploma-quality paper; a free digital proof with free changes; 3 business days standard or 1 business day rush; UPS shipping quoted in the cart, or a PDF by digital delivery; and a rework guarantee on the finished document.