Important Information for Leaving Cert. Students

Leaving Certificate Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP)

In 2021, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) as part of its digital strategy, introduced a facility to allow Leaving Certificate candidates to confirm their subject and level entry details online (including adding or withdrawing from subjects), replacing the previous system of using individual Leaving Certificate candidate (E7) entry forms. The use of the online system, the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP) will continue for the 2024 Leaving Certificate.

The portal will open tomorrow Wednesday 17th of January 2024 at 1p.m for candidates to register and activate their account and confirm their subject entries and levels. It will remain open for this purpose until 5pm Friday 02 February 2024.

During this time Leaving Certificate (excluding Leaving Certificate Applied) candidates will be required to complete the following:

Step 1: Register and create their portal account

Step 2: Activate their account by selecting the link sent to the email that they registered on the portal

Step 3: Confirm their subject and level entry details, and add or delete subjects from the records presented to them. If applicable, amend any inaccuracy in their name and/or date of birth.

Reviewing and Confirming Subjects and Levels.

The portal will be pre-populated with the data entered by schools through the PPOD October returns process (i.e. Names, Date of Births, Subjects & Levels). This means that only those subjects which candidates have been studying in schools will be displayed on the portal.

Candidates should be advised by their teachers to select the level at which they are currently studying each subject. The SEC will use this information for planning purposes. We will also provide this information to schools through a turnaround document for review. Candidates will be permitted to change levels in the written examinations on the day of the examination, as in previous years.

Candidates will have the opportunity to add any subjects that they are studying outside of school or to delete subjects if they are no longer intending to present for examinations in particular subjects.

It is extremely important that candidates take the time to ensure that their examination entries are correct on the portal before they submit. Once a candidate has confirmed their subjects and levels on the portal they will not be able to log back into the portal to update their data. Candidates will receive a confirmation email outlining the subjects and levels they are entered for. If a candidate notices an error on their confirmation email they must contact the school in relation to the error.

Reviewing and Confirming Name and Date of Birth

For 2024, a new feature has been added to the CSSP. If the prepopulated name and date of birth is incorrect, candidates will have an opportunity to update their record on the CSSP during the registration process. Once they have completed the registration process they will not be able to log back in to update.

Access to the Portal Leaving Certificate candidates will access the portal at www.examinations.ie from Wednesday 17th of January 2024 at 1.p.m. A "CSSP Before You Start Guide 2023" is available here and candidates should read this before commencing the process. To access the portal, candidates will need the following:

• their examination number (The SEC provided these to schools before Christmas)

• Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN will be the first 4 digits of the candidate’s Personal Public Services Number (PPS number). In the event that a candidate does not have a PPS number or a PPS was not recorded a unique PIN will be created and issued to the school prior to the portal opening.

• an email address and mobile phone number to which the candidate will have regular access to over the coming months.

Examination Fees 2024

There are no examination fees for 2024 exams.

DATA PRIVACY - GDPR

GDPR lays out responsibilities for organisations to ensure the privacy and protection of personal data. Data Protection is an EU fundamental right for all individuals. All organisations that collect, control or process personal data are required under law to make sure that the data they collect is obtained fairly, stored securely and retained for no longer than is necessary. Therefore, you have a responsibility in how you manage personal data and must ensure that all documentation that contains personal data is stored securely and only used for the purpose it was obtained. Access to all documentation should be restricted to authorised staff only