When graduating from a university in the UK you are often conferred with an award before the graduation ceremony. I am therefore seeking clarification as to what date should be written on documents such as job application forms.
You should use the date conferred. Universities will have an official date where all degrees for the term are conferred on everyone. This is usually not the same date as the graduation ceremony as there can be multiple graduation ceremonies across multiple days, but trying to keep track of all of them would be confusing. It's much simpler to just pick one day after all the ceremonies and say all degrees are official as of that date.
That being said, I've never heard of an employer (or anyone) who really cares about the particular date as long as it's clear that you've already met all of the requirements of graduation.
In both the UK and US, you are entitled to use the title "Doctor" after you pass your viva. So I think in most situations you would be OK using that date if it would be useful. But I agree it will be simpler for verification to go with whatever's on your certificate. Which personally I hadn't even noticed I didn't have until a decade later when the EU's ERC asked for the documentation. (I'd gone to a hooding ceremony but blown off the main ceremony with the undergraduates, not realising that meant I hadn't picked up my diploma! The hood seemed cooler :-)
