Transfer certificate format, as CBSE lays it out.

When a TC is needed

CBSE's Examination Bye-Laws make the TC the gate into a new school. Under bye-law 8(iii), a student coming from another school can't be entered in the Admission Register until an authenticated copy of the TC, in the Annexure-I format, is produced. Bye-law 8(iv) adds that no student can be admitted to a class higher than the one the TC entitles them to.

When a student leaves, bye-law 8(vi) says they "shall on payment of all dues, receive an authenticated copy of the Transfer certificate up to date". If the original is lost and the head of school is satisfied of that, a duplicate can be issued, but it must always be marked as a duplicate.

Moves in the middle of secondary school need it too. CBSE's 2019 procedure for changing school in Class IX or XI asks a student whose parent has been transferred for the previous school's TC, the report card of the previous class and an attested copy of the parent's transfer order, along with other papers.

The 23 fields, in order

CBSE's 2018 circular says the format of a TC should be strictly as per the proforma, so keep the numbering and the order. The template uses the official wording, lightly modernised.

Header, numbers and signatures

Above the fields, Annexure-I asks for:

• The school's name and full address, as recorded with CBSE's Affiliation Branch, with the school seal.
• Affiliation No. and School Code. CBSE's 2014 circular also asks for a line below the school's name and address saying it's affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, with the affiliation number. The template prints that line, with the school code, in the letterhead.
• Book No., Sl. No. and Admission No. for the TC itself. Keep a numbered office copy of every TC in the same order, so any certificate can be traced back.

At the foot, three people sign: the class teacher, the person who checked it (with full name and designation), and the principal, with the date and the school seal.

Uploading TCs, and no countersignature

The old note under Annexure-I had TCs countersigned by an officer of the state or UT education department or, between CBSE schools, by a CBSE Regional Officer or another officer it listed. That has been dropped in stages, and the current position is simple.

• 26 November 2014. Countersignature of TCs from one CBSE school to another was done away with. Schools were told to upload scanned copies of the TCs they issue on their official website.
• 1 October 2018. CBSE made it mandatory to upload TCs on the school's official website immediately, said the format must be strictly as per the proforma, and asked admitting schools to check a TC on the previous school's website before admission, especially in Classes X and XII.
• 31 October 2025. A reminder circular says there is "no need of countersignature of any transfer certificate" and repeats that all such certificates are to be uploaded on the school's own website. Where a countersignature is ever required, schools follow the procedure in CBSE's circular of 4 February 2020.

So the TC you issue is complete once it's signed and sealed, and the scan goes on your website. The 2018 circular was issued because schools weren't uploading TCs, which delayed CBSE's processing of direct admissions to Classes X and XII.

Fees and the TC

Bye-law 8(vi) ties the TC to "payment of all dues". The Affiliation Bye-Laws limit what those dues can be. Clause 7.4 says that, unless the appropriate government has provided otherwise, when a student leaves or moves to another school, "dues shall be collected only up to the month of discontinuance or migration and not up to the month in which the transfer certificate is applied for". It applies to every head of fee.

A student who stops coming at the end of October owes fees up to October, even if the parent applies for the TC in December. Once the dues up to October are paid, field 13 can read October.

We didn't find a CBSE clause that expressly forbids holding back a TC over unpaid fees. For Classes 1 to 8, the Right to Education Act is firmer. When a child moves school under section 5, the head teacher of the school where the child was last admitted "shall immediately issue the transfer certificate". A delay in producing it can't be a ground for delaying or denying admission in the new school, and a head teacher who delays it is liable to disciplinary action under their service rules.

How to fill in the TC

1. Work from the admission register. Copy the name, parents' names and date of birth from the Admission and Withdrawal Register, not from the application or memory.
2. Write figures and words. Fields 4, 8 and 12 ask for figures and words. Writing both makes a later change obvious.
3. Settle dues to the month of leaving. Field 13 is the month up to which dues are paid. Clause 7.4 of the Affiliation Bye-Laws caps dues at the month the student left.
4. Count the days. Fill in fields 15 and 16 from the attendance register for the session.
5. Sign, check and seal. The class teacher fills it in, a second person checks it and signs with full name and designation, and the principal signs with the date and seal.
6. Upload the scan. Put a scanned copy on the school's website, as CBSE's circulars require.

Sources

We read each of these on 21 October 2026. Rules change, so check the latest circular before you rely on a detail.

1. Examination Bye-Laws (updated to January 2013), Bye-Law 8 and Annexure-I, Format of Transfer Certificate, CBSE.
2. Affiliation Bye-Laws 2018, Chapter 7, clause 7.4, Refund of Fees, CBSE.
3. Circular on countersignature and uploading of transfer certificates (in the 2025 reminder's annexures), CBSE, COORD/EC-30.7/2014, 26 November 2014.
4. Mandatory uploading of scanned copy of Transfer Certificates on official website of school, CBSE, CBSE/T.C Uploading/2018, 1 October 2018.
5. Admission to Class IX or Class XI on account of change of school, CBSE, Coord/ROs/Admission-IX-XI/2019, 18 July 2019.
6. Reminder of the practice of countersigning of the Transfer Certificates and mandatory uploading of scanned copy of T.C., CBSE, CBSE/Coord/Countersignature/2025, 31 October 2025.
7. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, section 5, Gazette of India (copy hosted by NCPCR), Act No. 35 of 2009.