Students can gain certificate endorsements and course endorsements.

An NCEA certificate can be endorsed with Excellence or Merit. These endorsements are available at Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

An Excellence endorsement will be awarded when a student gains 50 or more Excellence credits at or above the level of the certificate.

A Merit endorsement will be awarded when a student gains 50 or more Merit credits at or above the level of the certificate. If a student gains less than 50 Excellence and less than 50 Merit credits but together the Excellence and Merit credits add up to 50 or more, a Merit endorsement will be awarded. 

Credits for an endorsed certificate can be gained over more than one year but a student may be awarded only one endorsed NCEA certificate per year ie a Level 1, a Level 2 or a Level 3 endorsed certificate. This means that students may have an NCEA certificate from a previous level endorsed with Merit or Excellence if they do not gain an endorsement for their current NCEA level. Any certificate endorsements awarded will be for the highest NCEA level. For example, in Year 13, a student may meet the requirements for Level 1 endorsed with Excellence and Level 2 endorsed with Merit - NCEA will only award Level 2 endorsed with Merit.

Course endorsements show high achievement in specific courses. 

An Excellence endorsement will be awarded when a student gains 14 or more Excellence credits in a single year. Apart from Physical Education, Religious Studies and Level 3 Visual Arts, three of these Excellence credits must come from an external standard.

A Merit endorsement will be awarded when a student gains 14 or more Merit (or a mix of Merit and Excellence) credits in a single year. Apart from Physical Education, Religious Studies and Level 3 Visual Arts, three of these Merit credits must come from an external standard.