Guide

Transfer certificate format for school and how to issue a TC

The fields a school TC usually carries, the steps from application to register entry, and a TC register you can copy. Check your board's current format before you print.

By the Premeena team · Updated October 6, 2026 · More guides

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What is a transfer certificate?

A transfer certificate (TC) is the document a school issues when a student leaves. It confirms the student's identity and date of birth, the class they last studied in, whether they qualified for promotion, how far their fees were paid, and their conduct. The next school normally asks for it before confirming admission.

Many states and boards call the same document a school leaving certificate (SLC or LC). Whatever the name, treat it as a permanent record: the date of birth on it is often relied on later, so an error copied onto a TC can follow a student for years.

Transfer certificate format: the fields

The fields below are the ones commonly included in an Indian school TC. Boards set their own formats; CBSE, for example, specifies a TC format for affiliated schools in its affiliation bye-laws, and state boards publish their own. Use this list to check your layout, then match the order and wording to your board's current version.

At the top of the certificate: school name and address, affiliation number and school code (for board-affiliated schools), UDISE+ code, TC serial number and the student's admission number.

No.	Field	What to write
1	Name of the student	As in the admission register, usually in capitals
2	Mother's name	As in the admission register
3	Father's or guardian's name	As in the admission register
4	Nationality	For example, Indian
5	Category	SC, ST, OBC or General, only if your board's format asks for it
6	Date of birth, in figures and in words	Exactly as in the admission register, e.g. 05/03/2013 (Fifth March Two Thousand Thirteen)
7	Date of first admission, with class	e.g. 02/04/2018, Class I
8	Class in which the student last studied	In figures and words, e.g. VII (Seventh)
9	School or board examination last taken, with result	e.g. Annual examination, Class VII, passed
10	Whether failed; if so, once or twice in the same class	e.g. No
11	Subjects studied	All subjects in the last class, including languages
12	Whether qualified for promotion; if so, to which class	e.g. Yes, to Class VIII
13	Month up to which school dues have been paid	e.g. March 2026
14	Fee concession availed, if any	Nature of the concession, or None
15	Total working days in the session	From the attendance register
16	Total days present	From the attendance register
17	Whether NCC cadet, Scout or Guide	Give details if yes
18	Games played or extra-curricular activities	Name them, with any level reached
19	General conduct	A factual word such as Good
20	Date of application for the certificate	Date the parent's application was received
21	Date of issue	Date the TC is handed over
22	Reason for leaving	e.g. Change of residence, parent's transfer
23	Any other remarks	Anything the board format or school policy requires
24	Signatures	Prepared by (class teacher), checked by (name and designation), and principal with the school seal

How to issue a transfer certificate

Take a written application. The parent or guardian gives the reason for leaving and the leaving date. Note the date received; it goes on the TC.
Run the clearance check. Fees, library books, lab and sports equipment, the ID card. Many schools use a no-dues form signed by each department; if fees are kept in fee management software, the student's invoices show what is outstanding. Whether an outstanding fee can delay the TC depends on your state's rules; see the FAQ below.
Fill the TC from the records. Copy from the admission register, not from memory or the parent's form. The class teacher fills attendance, subjects, conduct and promotion status, using the year's exam results for the result and promotion lines.
Have a second person check it. Someone other than the person who wrote it compares every entry with the register and signs as the checker.
Get it signed and sealed. The principal signs and applies the seal. If your board or state requires a counter-signature for the TC to be accepted elsewhere, arrange it before handing over.
Enter it in the TC register and hand it over. Give the original to the parent against a signature and keep the office copy or counterfoil.
Update your records. Mark the student as left on your rolls and, in India, update UDISE+ so the next school can pick up the record.

TC register format

The TC register is the school's permanent record of every certificate issued. Keep it bound, and never reuse a TC number.

Column	What to record
TC no.	Serial number, matching the certificate
Date of issue	Date the TC was handed over
Admission no.	From the admission register
Student name	As on the certificate
Parent's or guardian's name	As on the certificate
Class last studied	With section
Date of leaving	Last day on the rolls
Reason for leaving	As on the certificate
Dues paid up to	Month, as on the certificate
Received by	Name, relation and signature of the person who collected it
Remarks	Duplicate issued, cancelled, or counter-signed, with date

Duplicate TC

If a TC is lost, the parent applies in writing to the school that issued it. Many schools ask for a declaration or affidavit of loss before issuing a copy. The duplicate is marked DUPLICATE clearly, carries the original TC number and date of issue, and is recorded against the original entry in the TC register. Keeping the original number, not a fresh one, leaves one certificate per student in the register.

Common mistakes

A date of birth that doesn't match the admission register, or one written in figures only.
Blank lines for promotion status or dues, which the next school will query.
Overwriting or correction fluid on the certificate. Issue a fresh one and record the cancelled number.
No register entry, so nobody can confirm later that the certificate is genuine.

Issuing certificates with Premeena

Premeena doesn't ship a ready-made, board-prescribed TC. What it has is a certificate template designer: you lay out your TC once to match your board's format, and Premeena fills in the student details already on file from admissions or a CSV import.

Merge fields from a menu: student's full name, admission number, date of birth, gender, grade, class and section; the primary guardian's name and relationship; the class teacher's name; the academic year; the school's name, address, phone and email; and the certificate's serial number and issue date.
Your layout: a rich-text body with numbered lists, the school logo and address in the header, signature and stamp images (a school-wide default or per template), A4, Letter or Legal paper, portrait or landscape, with a live PDF preview while you edit.
Versions: save drafts, publish, and restore an older version from the history if a change goes wrong.
Single or bulk issue: generate for one student, or for several at once by picking classes. Each certificate gets a unique issue ID (such as DOC-2026-00001) and lands in the generation log with who issued it and when.
Mistakes are voided, not deleted: a wrong certificate is voided with a reason and stays in the log, which works as a digital TC register.

What you still fill in yourself. There are no merge fields yet for date of birth in words, the mother's and father's names separately, date of first admission, working days and days present, exam result, conduct, dues or reason for leaving. Leave lines for these and complete them after printing; each issue also has an optional Purpose field for a short note. Attendance and results are already in Premeena's attendance and report card records, so nobody searches paper registers.

Storage. Downloadable PDF copies are kept when the school connects its own storage bucket (S3, R2, B2, Wasabi or MinIO); see storage settings. Without it, certificates are still issued and logged with their issue ID, but no PDF is kept. The core platform is free, and the live demo school needs no signup.

Frequently asked questions

What is a transfer certificate in school?

It is the certificate a school issues when a student leaves, confirming their identity, date of birth, last class, promotion status, dues and conduct. The next school usually asks for it at admission.

Is a TC required for admission in a new school?

Usually, yes: most schools ask for the previous school's TC before confirming admission. In India, for children in elementary classes (ages 6 to 14), the Right to Education Act says a delay in producing the TC should not delay or deny admission.

Can a school withhold a TC for unpaid fees?

Rules differ by state and board, so check the ones that apply to your school. Several state rules and court decisions have said a TC should not be withheld because of fee dues, and the Right to Education Act asks for immediate issue in elementary classes; schools can still pursue dues separately. This is general information, not legal advice.

How do I get a duplicate TC?

Apply in writing to the school that issued the original; many ask for a declaration or affidavit of loss. The duplicate is marked Duplicate, carries the original TC number and date, and is noted in the TC register.

What is the difference between a TC and a school leaving certificate?

In many states they are the same document under different names. Some schools reserve school leaving certificate for students finishing the final class.

What is the difference between a TC and a migration certificate?

A TC is issued by the school. A migration certificate is issued by a board or university, usually after a board exam, when a student moves to an institution under a different board or university.

Can Premeena generate a TC?

Yes, from a template you design to match your board's format. Premeena fills the student fields it holds, such as name, admission number, date of birth and class, plus a serial number and issue date; the school completes lines like attendance, conduct and dues.

Keep student records ready for the day they leave

Admissions, attendance, results and certificates live in one place in Premeena. The core platform is free for schools.

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