Transfer Certificate Application

What is a Transfer Certificate Application?

A transfer certificate application (TC application) asks a school or college to issue the leaving document the next institution will ask for, confirming the student was enrolled, the class last completed, the date of leaving and that dues are clear. Most schools will not admit a child without it. Ask late, or ask with the name spelled differently from the admission register, and the new admission waits while two offices exchange letters.

Parents write it when a family moves city, changes board, or moves a child between schools mid-year. Students write it themselves when leaving a college, and employees relocating on transfer often request several at once for different children. It is commonly asked for alongside a bonafide certificate, a conduct or character certificate, the last marksheet and, for a change of board or university, a migration certificate. The receiving institution normally states which of these it wants in its admission letter.

The transfer certificate as a named document is standard across Indian schooling, where CBSE, ICSE and state boards each set the format, and an out-of-state move may need the certificate countersigned by a district education officer. Elsewhere the equivalents differ: schools in England pass a common transfer file electronically between them, US districts transfer education records directly under federal and state record rules, and Australian and Canadian schools generally work through the receiving school. Check what your board, district or new school actually requires before assuming a TC is the document.

The request is an application, not an entitlement, and the certificate itself proves only enrolment and leaving. It is not a marksheet, not a character certificate and not a migration certificate — those are separate documents with separate applications. It does not clear outstanding fees or library books either. What a school may withhold while dues are unpaid is governed by your local education rules and the board's own circulars, so check those rather than assuming the answer in either direction.

What to put in a Transfer Certificate Application

These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.

How to write a Transfer Certificate Application

1. Address the head of the institution

   Write to the Principal or Headmaster by title, with the school name and address as they appear on the letterhead, and put a one-line subject: request for transfer certificate. Schools file by class and section, so put those in the subject too. A letter addressed to the office with no class named goes into the general tray and moves at the speed of the general tray.

2. Give every identifier from the register

   Full name of the student exactly as recorded at admission, admission number, class and section, date of birth, and the parents' names as entered. If the name on the register differs from the name on the new school's form — an initial expanded, a surname added — say so, and say which version you want on the certificate, because the office cannot make that decision for you.

3. State the reason and the leaving date

   Give the reason in one line: transfer of employment to another city, relocation, change of board, admission secured elsewhere. Then give the last date the student will attend, not the date you are writing. Attach the new school's admission or provisional admission letter if you have it, because most offices move faster against a document than against a plan.

4. Confirm dues, books and property returned

   Say in the letter that fees are settled to a stated month, library books returned, the identity card and bus pass surrendered, and any laboratory or sports equipment given back. Naming the items forces you to check them, and it removes the most common reason a request sits unactioned: a single unreturned book that nobody thought to mention.

5. Say who will collect it and when

   Name the person collecting, their relationship to the student, and a phone number and email the office can confirm on. If someone other than a parent is collecting, say so and expect to send them with an authorisation letter and identification. Ask what the school's usual issuing time is, and ask whether a countersignature from the education authority is needed for your destination.

Common mistakes

• Spelling the student's name differently from the admission register, which produces a certificate the new school will not accept and a correction that takes longer than the original.
• Applying without stating the last date of attendance, so the certificate is issued with a leaving date that does not match the new school's admission date.
• Leaving fees, library books or a bus pass outstanding, which stops the file at the accounts desk without anyone telling you why.
• Assuming the TC covers everything and discovering at admission that a migration or character certificate was also required.
• Requesting it days before the new school's deadline, when schools commonly need a fortnight and any countersignature adds more.

Frequently asked questions

This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.

Related templates

All templates · Administration templates