The certificate cannot be reissued if the candidate loses the certificate due to personal reasons.

The HSK certificate is like a "diploma": once you receive it, it becomes your property and it is permanently valid. However, if you wish to use your HSK scores to apply for admission to a college or university in China, your scores are good for two years only from the date you take the test.

All HSK certificates are issued by the National Commission for the Chinese Proficiency Test, which is under the Ministry of Education of China.

The HSK certificate(s) can serve the following purposes:

1) To certify that you have obtained the required Chinese proficiency to enter a college or university in China as an undergraduate or graduate student; to certify that you have obtained the required Chinese proficiency and thus, you may be exempted from taking certain Chinese language courses in your institution (if your institution agrees to grant you admission);

2) To serve as a reference when you apply for a job position that requires a certain level of Chinese competency;

3) To win scholarships to study in China;

4) To test your Chinese proficiency if you are learning the language.

(China.org.cn January 14, 2008)