Mitigating Circumstances at UK Universities: Evidence Requirements Explained
Most UK universities allow students to declare that illness or personal circumstances have affected their academic performance. Most ask for medical evidence, but what counts as acceptable, what the letter must say, and how to submit it varies between institutions. This guide explains what most universities ask for and how to get evidence quickly. A letter supports your application. The panel, not the letter, decides the outcome. You can get a student mitigating circumstances letter from MedicalCert, same day, GMC-registered UK doctor, from £49.
First: what does your university call it?
UK universities use four different terms for the same underlying process.
| Term Used | Common At | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Mitigating Circumstances | Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Warwick, UCL, KCL, most post-92s | The most common term. Covers illness, bereavement, and unforeseen events affecting assessments. |
| Extenuating Circumstances | Imperial, LSE, Queen Mary, Exeter, Bath, Southampton, Cardiff | Functionally identical. Check your specific faculty handbook for the forms and process. |
| Special / Exceptional Circumstances | Edinburgh, some post-92s, Open University | Less common framing, same evidence requirements apply. |
| Good Cause / Impaired Performance | Loughborough (Impaired Performance); Glasgow used Good Cause until recently | Older terminology. Glasgow has since moved to an Extenuating Circumstances policy. Evidence requirements are broadly similar. |
Key insight: Whatever term your university uses, most ask for broadly the same thing, a letter from a GMC-registered doctor confirming the nature of the illness, the dates affected, and the impact on your ability to study or sit assessments. Requirements and deadlines are still set institution by institution, so check your own university's published policy.
Tier 1: Russell Group universities
Evidence requirements at 20 of the 24 Russell Group universities, summarised from each institution's own published guidance. Policies change, so check your own university's current policy before you rely on any row.
| University | Term | Letter Required? | Self-Cert? | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | Mitigating | Yes | No | A mitigating circumstances notice to examiners goes through your college, normally by noon the day before the examiners' final meeting. |
| Cambridge | Mitigating | Yes | No | Via College Tutor to the exam board. Self-certification is not generally used for illness claims, so check your College. |
| Imperial | Extenuating | Yes | Short only | Department-specific process. Letter must confirm dates and impact. |
| UCL | Extenuating | Yes | Some faculties | Via Portico with evidence uploaded alongside the form. |
| LSE | Extenuating | Yes | No | Evidence required at point of submission. Dates and condition must be stated. |
| Edinburgh | Special | Yes | Limited | Submit via MyEd before or shortly after the affected assessment. |
| Manchester | Mitigating | Yes | Available but weak | Self-declaration permitted but medical evidence significantly strengthens claims. |
| King's College London | Mitigating | Yes | Limited exceptions | Request normally within five working days, evidence within ten. Requests are not accepted once results are published. |
| Bristol | Exceptional | Yes | Very limited | Submit promptly, late retrospective claims are harder to approve. |
| Warwick | Mitigating | Yes | Minor cases | Well-documented MC process. Medical evidence expected for illness. |
| Glasgow | Extenuating | Yes | DAPs only | Claims go in within five working days of the assessment date. Three Delayed Assessment Permits a year each give a five working day coursework extension with no evidence. |
| Durham | Mitigating | Yes | Some cases | Processed at faculty level, timelines vary. Check your faculty guidance. |
| Leeds | Mitigating | Yes | Available | Business school (LUBS) has its own "Additional Consideration" process with specific deadlines. |
| Sheffield | Extenuating | Yes | Varies by department | Tell your department at the time. Sheffield does not accept wanting to await your results as a reason for a late appeal. |
| Newcastle | Mitigating | Yes | 7 days or fewer | Self-cert accepted for short absences at some schools only. |
| Queen Mary | Mitigating | Yes | No | Letter must be from a GMC-registered doctor. Submit via MySIS. |
| Southampton | Extenuating | Yes | Limited | EC panels review evidence before decisions. Submit via SUSSED promptly. |
| Cardiff | Mitigating | Yes | Minor cases | Processed via school-level committees. Submit before or after affected assessment. |
| Nottingham | Mitigating | Yes | Short periods | Medical evidence required for health claims. Submit as soon as possible. |
| Birmingham | Exceptional | Yes | No | Evidence must accompany the claim. A practitioner's letter is expected on headed paper and written at the time of the illness. |
Tier 2: High-volume non-Russell Group
| University | Term | Letter Required? | Self-Cert? | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open University | Special | Recommended | Some cases | Flexible given distance-learning model. Medical evidence strengthens claims significantly. |
| Manchester Met | Mitigating | Yes | Limited | Evidence must accompany the claim at point of submission. |
| Coventry | Extenuating | Yes | Minor cases | Medical evidence required for health-related EC claims via student portal. |
| Northumbria | Extenuating | Yes | Limited | Submit via eLP portal with supporting documentation attached. |
| Westminster | Extenuating | Yes | No | Medical letter required. Evidence uploaded at the same time as the form. |
| Bournemouth | Mitigating | Yes | Short absences | Medical evidence expected for illness-based MC claims. |
| Hertfordshire | Extenuating | Yes | Limited | Submit within the specified deadline after the assessment. |
| Leeds Beckett | Mitigating | Yes | Minor cases | Medical letter required for illness affecting assessments or exams. |
| Plymouth | Mitigating | Yes | Limited | Submit via DLE (Moodle). Contact student support for timeline guidance. |
| Liverpool JMU | Exceptional | Yes | Very short only | Submit via student portal with evidence attached. |
| Anglia Ruskin | Extenuating | Yes | No | Evidence must be submitted alongside the EC form via ARU portal. |
| Brunel | Mitigating | Yes | Limited | Claims submitted via the Brunel student portal. |
| Middlesex | Extenuating | Yes | Short absences | Submit via UniHub student portal. |
| Salford | Mitigating | Yes | Limited | Contact Student Services for deadline guidance before submitting. |
| De Montfort | Mitigating | Yes | Minor cases | Submit via the DMU student portal. |
Summarised from the universities' own published guidance. Requirements vary within institutions, so always check your specific school or faculty handbook, and the current version of your university's policy.
What must a mitigating circumstances medical letter include?
The letter must state the dates you were affected, the nature of the condition, and a professional assessment of how it impaired your studies or assessments. Claims are commonly rejected where a letter only says the patient was unwell, or omits dates, or comes from a practitioner who is not GMC-registered.
A vague or incomplete letter is a common reason for a claim to be turned down.
| Required Element | Why Universities Need It | In MedicalCert Letters |
|---|---|---|
| Your full name and student details | Identifies the claim as belonging to you specifically | Yes |
| Nature of the condition or illness | Must establish a genuine medical issue, vague "unwell" letters are often insufficient | Yes |
| Dates affected (onset and duration) | Must correlate with the assessment or exam period in question | Yes |
| Impact on ability to study or sit assessments | The clinical assessment of how the condition affected academic performance, the core of the letter | Yes |
| Whether ongoing or resolved | Relevant if claiming ongoing impact or requesting longer extensions | Yes |
| Doctor's name, GMC number, signature | Verifies the letter is from a qualified clinician, universities increasingly check GMC registration | Yes, GMC number included |
| Date of issue | Shows when the assessment was made. Some universities ask for a letter written at the time of the illness, so a retrospective letter is not always enough on its own. | Yes |
What gets claims rejected: A letter that only says "the patient was unwell" without specifying dates, impact, or condition. A letter from a non-GMC-registered practitioner. Evidence in a language other than English without a certified translation.
What counts as acceptable medical evidence?
Acceptable medical evidence is a dated letter from a GMC-registered doctor confirming the nature of the illness, the dates it affected you, and its impact on your ability to study. Most universities accept digitally issued letters provided they carry a verifiable GMC number.
What universities typically ask a doctor to confirm
UK universities typically require a letter from a GMC-registered doctor confirming the nature of the illness, the dates it affected the student, and a professional assessment of how the condition impacted their ability to study or sit assessments. The letter does not need to reveal a precise diagnosis if the student has requested confidentiality, but it must go beyond vague language.
Most UK universities now accept digitally issued letters, provided they include a verifiable GMC number. A retrospective letter issued after the assessment is accepted at some universities and not at others. King's College London will not accept a mitigating circumstances request once results have been published, provisionally or formally, and several institutions ask for a letter written at the time of the illness.
A counselling service letter can support a mental health claim, but most universities require a doctor's letter alongside it, counselling letters alone are rarely sufficient as primary evidence.
When requesting a letter, tell the doctor: the specific assessment affected, the dates of the relevant period, and the nature of the impact on your studies. This allows the doctor to address your university's criteria directly rather than producing a generic document.
When to submit, and what if you miss the deadline
Best practice
- Submit during or immediately after the affected assessment period
- If too unwell to submit, notify your department by email as soon as possible
- Do not wait until results are published. Some universities will not accept a claim at all once results are out, and Sheffield does not treat wanting to see your results first as a valid reason for a late appeal
- Keep copies of all evidence submitted
If you miss the deadline
- Most universities have a late submission process, contact student support immediately
- You will usually need to explain why the claim was not submitted on time
- If results are already published, you may need to use the academic appeals process instead. Appeal windows are short and vary, University College London allows 10 working days and Sheffield 15 for taught students
- Medical evidence showing you were too unwell to submit on time strengthens a late claim
Deadlines are short and they vary: Glasgow asks for an Extenuating Circumstances claim within five working days of the assessment date. King's College London normally asks for the request within five working days and the evidence within ten. There is no common UK deadline, so check the one your own university publishes and get your evidence early.
Frequently asked questions
Sources: Each university's own published guidance. Checked directly for this page: University of Glasgow extenuating circumstances policy, King's College London mitigating circumstances policy, effective 1 September 2024, and University of Sheffield appeals procedures. Other rows summarise the guidance published by the institution named. Policies change, so verify against your own university's current documentation before you apply.
