Unless indicated otherwise, requests to defer assessments must be accompanied by appropriate evidence, in English. Wherever possible, when required, you should provide evidence at the same time that you submit the request, however if this is not possible then you can submit the request and provide the evidence later. 

The sections below provide guidance on when to submit your evidence, what type of evidence is appropriate, the technical requirements, and how you can get documents translated. There is also advice around requesting deferrals for longer term conditions or circumstances. 

When to submit your evidence 

You must submit deferral requests no later than 23:59 on the day before an exam is due to take place/assessment is due (which can include an agreed extension deadline). Deferral requests received on the day of an exam/when an assessment is due will not be considered. . Wherever possible, when required, you should provide your evidence at the same time that you submit your request. If your evidence is not ready then you should wait until it is ready before submitting your request, so long as you can still meet the deadline.

If evidence is required but you cannot supply your evidence by the deadline you should submit your request without evidence (the request to defer assessments form will give you the option to make your request without evidence). You will then need to supply your evidence within 14 days of submitting your request. It's worth noting that we will not consider your request until your evidence arrives - your request will have met the deadline but you will not receive a decision until we have received the evidence. 

Supporting evidence

Unless specified below, we expect deferral requests be accompanied by evidence which meets the requirements laid out in the Standards of Evidence document. 

You should always aim to provide evidence which explains the impact on your ability to undertake the specific assessments listed in the form. 

Aside from the specified examples set out in the next section below, we understand that, in some other cases, it can be difficult to obtain appropriate evidence for very sudden circumstances and aim to be flexible where we can. For example, if you suddenly injure yourself, it may be difficult to obtain a letter from your GP explaining the impact on your studies in time and so we may accept a discharge note from A&E instead. In some cases, we can be more flexible around the evidence for deferrals than may be the case for other processes such as Exceptional Circumstances (ECs). We would expect the evidence for an EC submission to be more compelling than the evidence for a deferral. 

In some cases a statement from an LSE member of staff (for example your Academic Mentor, a Student Counsellor, a Mental Health Adviser, or a Disability Adviser) may be acceptable. The types of circumstances where a staff supporting letter can be accepted is set out on page two of the Standards of Evidence document.

The Student Wellbeing Service have a medical pro forma which you may find helpful if you're requesting evidence from a medical professional. 

Circumstances where evidence is not required when making a deferral request

The School recognises some circumstances where it may be very difficult to obtain evidence. Only in the instances listed below is evidence not required to support your deferral request: 

• Assault​
• Bereavement​
• Harassment​
• Humanitarian crisis​
• Sexual violence
• A sudden deterioration of a long term health condition for which you are already receiving My Adjustments

You do not need to explain the specific details of these circumstances, but you will need to explain in your supporting statement how your circumstances have likely impacted your ability to undertake formal assessment and/or study.

Longer term conditions and deferrals

Generally speaking, My Adjustments (MAs) are designed to remove barriers to studying without the need for deferrals, but we understand that you may experience a sudden or unforeseen deterioration of a long term condition or circumstances.

In these instances, you can select “long-term physical or mental health conditions” as your reason for requesting a deferral. If you currently receive MAs, the deferral form will ask you to confirm if you are requesting a deferral because of a sudden deterioration of a long-term health condition covered by your MAs. Where the answer is yes, you do not need to provide any further supporting evidence as we already have this on file, though you will need to provide a brief statement to explain why you are unable to attempt your assessment(s). 

If the answer to this question is no, because it is for a different condition than that for which you are receiving MAs, you will need to provide supporting evidence as set out in the ‘Short-term physical illness’ section of the Standards of Evidence policy. You will need to provide evidence of the impact on you of your circumstances at the time of the assessment(s) is required. If you have been advised not to seek medical attention in the case of sudden deteriorations, you should explain this and provide what evidence you can to confirm it.

If you need advice or support with longer term health conditions the Student Wellbeing Service have a range of support available. 

Students returning from interruption in January

If you are returning from interruption at the start of Winter Term and need to defer exams that are taking place in the January exam period (or other assessments that are due just before the start of Winter Term) then confirmation of your interruption will meet the evidence requirement for deferral. You should note that you were on interruption in the form itself and attach a PDF version of the email confirming your interruption (or the email confirming your return). Any other evidence you can supply will also be helpful. 

Technical requirements

The deferral request form will allow you to upload evidence in a range of file formats. 

The maximum file size is 2GB, if you upload files larger than this the submission of your form may fail. You can upload more than one document but please try to keep this to a minimum. If you upload more than five files the submission of your form may fail. 

You can submit files in the formats listed below, however, we expect most files to be PDFs, Word documents or images. 

• Portable Document Format (.pdf)
• Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
• Image files (gif, .jpe, .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, .png, .tif, .tiff)
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx, .pps, .ppt)
• Microsoft Excel (.xlsx, .xls)

Video and sound files cannot be submitted as evidence to support deferral requests.

We cannot accept HEIC files (photographs taken using Apple devices), if you have HEIC files please convert them to JPEG files before uploading. There are lots of free conversion tools available online.

Translating evidence

All evidence must be signed, dated, and written in English. If your evidence is not written in English, you will need to provide a certified translation.

The LSE Centre for Language Studies are able to translate documents from languages that they teach. There is a fee for this service and requires at least 72 hours. Visit Centre for Language Studies Additional Services for more information.

Alternatively, you can use an external translation agency. You should contact your embassy for a list of authorised agencies.

When you provide translated evidence, the original (untranslated) document must also be provided.