Applications for a recheck of examination results are accepted only from schools in the case of school candidates and the school authority must certify that the result is substantially at variance with what the school expected. Candidates who do not attend a recognised school and who enter for the examination as external candidates may apply direct to the Department for a recheck.
The application must be made by a specified closing date and is subject to a fee of £25 per subject in the case of the leaving certificate or £20 per subject in the case of the junior certificate. The fee is refunded in the event of an upgrade.
Upon receipt of the application for recheck, the candidate's script is fully remarked. With the exception of a small number of subjects (Italian, Hebrew and Greek) where the numbers of candidates are very few, this remarking is performed by a different examiner.
Where subsequent to the remarking the candidate's new total is greater than the original total to the extent that an upgrade may be warranted, the script is further examined by the chief examiner for the subject who is almost invariably an inspector. An upgrade is approved where the chief examiner and the recheck examiner are both in agreement.