A diploma maker is an online form that lays out a replica diploma from the details you type in. In ValidGrad’s version you work through five screens. You pick the country, document type, state, page size, layout style and seal, enter the degree and school, enter the graduate’s name and graduation date, place the signature lines, then preview the finished document, accept the terms and order it. Digital copies are available straight after checkout and a printed copy ships separately.
What comes out of that form is a novelty replica made for display. It is not a credential, it is not issued by a school, and it carries no record anywhere that an employer or registrar can check. If you need a document that will survive a verification request, the section on official reissues below is the part to read.
What a diploma maker actually is
Strip away the marketing and a diploma maker is a template engine. A designer has already set the typography, the border, the seal position and the conferral wording for each document type. The form collects the variable fields and drops them into that layout. Nothing is verified, because there is nothing to verify against. The maker has no access to any school’s records, and neither does any other vendor selling the same thing.
That has one consequence people are often surprised by. Replica makers do not reproduce a specific school’s own seal or its official colors. Our product pages say so directly, and it is the reason the seal you choose is one of thirteen generic designs instead of a copy of the crest on the original. A replica is a close cousin of the document you earned, not a duplicate of it.
The steps, in order
Below is every choice the form asks for, in the order it asks, with the options that were on the live maker in September 2026. The Canadian flow is a separate set of pages with its own provinces and wording.
| Screen | What you choose | Options on the form (Sept 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Diploma design | Country, document type, state, page size, layout style, seal | United States or Canada · college, high school, GED, university or home school · all 50 states and DC · 8.5 × 11 in (marked most popular) or 7.5 × 9.5 in · two to six layout styles depending on document type · 13 seal designs |
| 2. Degree information | Degree level, major, concentration | Associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s · 42 majors from accounting to theatre · free-text concentration, optional |
| 3. School information | Institution name, city, state | Free text, and you type the school exactly as it appears on the original |
| 4. Graduation information | Graduate’s name, graduation date | Free text for the name · month, day and year, with years from 1960 to the current year |
| 5. Signatures and finish | Signature layout, position titles, signature styles, order notes, agreements | Two, three or four signature lines · a position title for each (president, principal, superintendent and so on) · 30 stock signature styles, or a custom signature as a paid add-on · a free-text notes box · three required checkboxes |
Screen 1, the design
The document type sets everything downstream. Choosing “high school” swaps the degree screen for a simpler school-and-date screen, and changes the body wording to the completion language a high school uses rather than the conferral language a university uses. Size matters more than it looks. Most US diplomas are 8.5 × 11 in, but plenty of older ones are not, so measure the original before choosing. What a college diploma actually looks like covers the standard field layout, and diploma examples shows how much the wording varies between institutions.
Screens 2–4, the details
These are the fields that decide whether a replica reads as a faithful copy or as a generic certificate. School name, city and state are free text, so they are typed exactly as the original prints them, as “The University of Texas at Austin”, not “UT Austin”. The degree line is chosen from a list of 42 majors with an optional concentration, and the graduation date takes a month, day and year, with years going back to 1960. If the original phrases something differently, with an honors line, a Latin degree name or a second major, that goes in the notes box on the last screen instead of being forced into a field that does not fit.
Screen 5, signatures, notes and agreements
Real diplomas carry two to four signatures with printed position titles underneath, and the form mirrors that. Pick the layout, type each title, then pick a signature style from thirty or request a custom one as a paid add-on. Before the preview opens, three boxes have to be ticked, covering that the site will not be used for any illegal purpose, and that you have read the Fulfillment and Production Agreement and the terms and conditions and privacy policy. Those are not decoration. They are the conditions the order is accepted under.
Preview and checkout
The preview renders the document with your text in place, which is the point at which spelling, date format and the school’s exact name should be checked, because the file goes to print as it appears. We make digital copies available immediately after checkout, from the confirmation page and by email, and a printed copy ships separately with tracking. Current prices, paper and shipping options are on the pricing page and the product pages. Anything the form cannot express, such as an unusual layout, a document type that is not listed, or a second signature block, goes through the custom order route instead, where a designer works from what you send.
What the finished document is, and what it is not
It is a display piece: a replica you can frame, hang, keep as a spare, or give as a gift. Owning one is legal. What is not legal is using it to claim a credential.
The statutes are specific about the uses that cross the line. Washington’s, which is typical, makes it a gross misdemeanor to knowingly use a false academic credential, or to falsely claim a credential from an accredited institution, in a business advertisement or with intent to obtain employment, a license to practice a trade or profession, a promotion or raise, admission to an educational program, or a position of authority in government. Issuing one is a class C felony there. Other states word it differently and the exposure is not limited to criminal law: dismissal and a rescinded offer are the far more common outcomes. Lying about graduating goes through what actually happens, and three things to consider before you get a fake diploma is the honest version of the decision.
Credential checks are also almost never visual. When an employer verifies a degree it asks the registrar or a verification service for a record, and a replica produces no record, so the quality of the paper decides nothing. What to do when an employer asks for a copy of your diploma covers the request itself and what to send instead.
Making a faithful display copy of a diploma you earned
The most common legitimate use is replacing something that was lost, damaged or left behind. You earned the degree, the paper is gone, and you want a framed copy for the wall while the original is reordered or stays in storage. A few things make the difference between a copy that resembles the original and one that does not:
- Measure before you choose a size. 8.5 × 11 in is the common modern size. Older and smaller-format diplomas exist, and a mismatched size is the first thing that looks wrong in a frame.
- Copy the wording, not the gist. Institutions differ on nearly every line: “confers upon”, “has conferred”, “is entitled to all the rights, privileges and honors”, the Latin or English form of the degree. If you have a photograph of the original, work from it field by field.
- Match the date format. “the sixteenth day of December, nineteen hundred and seventy-nine” and “December 16, 1979” are both correct, depending on the school.
- Expect a generic seal. The school’s own crest and colors are not reproduced, so pick the closest of the thirteen seal designs and accept the difference. This is deliberate, and it is what keeps a replica a replica.
- Put the notes box to work. Honors lines, dual majors and unusual titles are handled there instead of jammed into a dropdown.
- Frame it properly. Sunlight and cheap backing board do more damage than anything else. Framing a diploma for display covers mounting, spacing and light.
If you need the real thing, order an official reissue
A replica cannot replace a lost diploma for any official purpose, but the issuing institution can, and the route depends on who granted the credential. Fees and timings below were read on the institutions’ own pages on September 13, 2026.
| Credential | Who reissues it | Example fee and wait (Sept 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| College or university diploma | The registrar of the school that granted the degree, usually through a diploma vendor | Penn State: $40.00 per undergraduate or graduate diploma ($50.00 for medical, J.D., LL.M. and S.J.D.), mailed about two weeks after the request is received |
| College or university diploma | As above, where the order runs through an external print vendor | UW-Madison: $60.00, with processing, printing and mailing taking up to six weeks, at 2–3 business days for review, 2–3 weeks with the vendor, then mailing, and expedited shipping is offered |
| High school diploma | The district or school that issued it, or the state records agency if the school has closed | Set locally, with some districts charging nothing and others a small records fee |
| GED or high school equivalency | The state you tested in, ordered through GED Testing Service’s transcript request page | Set by the state, and there is no single national process |
Replacing a lost diploma walks the whole sequence, including what to do when a school has closed or changed its name, and how long a degree takes is the hub for the timelines behind each credential.
Ordering a replica from ValidGrad
The form described above is our diploma maker, with dedicated versions for a replica high school diploma, a replica college diploma and a replica GED diploma. Matching records are made with the transcript maker. Anything the form cannot handle goes through a custom order. Current prices, paper and shipping options are on the pricing page and each product page.
These are novelty replicas made for display. A replica must never be used to claim a credential you did not earn, submitted to an employer, a school or a licensing body, or offered in answer to a verification request. That is set out in our terms and conditions, and it is the condition every order is accepted under. If you need a document that will pass a check, order a reissue from the institution that granted the credential.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make my own diploma?
Yes. Designing, printing or buying a replica of your own diploma is legal, and so is hanging it on a wall or giving one as a gift. The line is use. Presenting it as evidence of a credential, to an employer, a school, a licensing board or a government body, is what statutes such as Washington’s RCW 9A.60.070 prohibit, and what our terms forbid.
Can employers detect fake diplomas?
They rarely need to look at one. Verification is a records check, where the registrar, the state agency or a third-party service is asked whether the credential exists, and a replica returns nothing, which reads exactly like a failed check. Paper weight, seals and print quality do not enter into it.
Can a replica include my school’s real seal and colors?
No. Replica makers, ours included, do not reproduce an institution’s own seal or official colors, and you choose from generic seal designs instead. That difference is intentional and it is why a replica should be treated as a display copy rather than a duplicate.
Can AI generate a diploma?
An image model will happily render something diploma-shaped, and the results are usually obvious at full size: garbled lettering, invented Latin, a seal that dissolves under inspection, and a file at screen resolution instead of print resolution. More to the point, the legal position does not change with the tool. An AI-generated document used to claim a credential is treated the same as any other false credential.
Can I order a transcript to match?
Yes. The transcript maker works the same way, and the two documents are not interchangeable: a diploma states that a credential was awarded, a transcript lists the courses and grades behind it. Diploma vs transcript explains which one a given request is actually asking for.
Sources
- ValidGrad, Diploma Maker, Replica College Diploma and Replica High School Diploma, for the form screens, field lists and option counts described above, read September 13, 2026.
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 9A.60.070, False academic credentials, covering the prohibited uses, the gross misdemeanor for knowing use and the class C felony for issuance.
- Penn State Office of the University Registrar, Diplomas, for the $40.00 and $50.00 reissue fees and the approximately two-week mailing time.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of the Registrar, Diplomas, for the $60.00 duplicate diploma fee and the up-to-six-week processing, printing and mailing window.
- GED Testing Service, Request Transcripts. GED diplomas and transcripts are ordered through the state where the test was taken.
Product options, prices and shipping windows change. The ones described here were on the live product pages on September 13, 2026.