Migration Certificate
A migration certificate is issued by an education board (such as CBSE) to a student who has passed a public examination, allowing them to seek admission under a different board or university. It certifies that the board has no objection to the student continuing their studies elsewhere. It is commonly required at the point of college admission.
A board-issued document allowing a student to move from one board or university to another after Class 12.
Why it matters
Families discover a missing migration certificate in August, at a college admission counter, with hours to spare. It is issued by the examination board and not by the school, so the office cannot fix it late. What the school can control is upstream: that the student's name, date of birth and parentage in board records are correct long before Class 12 results.
In practice
- It is issued by the examination board after a public examination; the school issues the transfer certificate, which is a different document.
- CBSE now delivers the migration certificate digitally to the candidate's DigiLocker account after results, rather than as a routine hard copy.
- A physical copy can be requested from CBSE through its duplicate academic document system when an institution insists on paper.
- Colleges and universities ask for it at admission when a student moves to a different board or university.
- CISCE and state boards run their own issuance processes — check that board's portal rather than assuming CBSE's practice applies.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the school issues it — parents arrive at the office and the office genuinely cannot help.
- Name or date-of-birth mismatches between school and board records surfacing only at the college admission counter.
Common questions
Does CBSE still issue a hard-copy migration certificate?
Not as standard. From the 2025 examinations CBSE stopped issuing hard-copy migration certificates for Classes X and XII and delivers them digitally through DigiLocker, with the digital copy intended to be accepted by higher education institutions. A physical copy can still be requested through the board's duplicate academic document system.
What is the difference between a transfer certificate and a migration certificate?
A transfer certificate is issued by the school when a student leaves it, recording admission number, class and date of leaving. A migration certificate is issued by the examination board after a public examination and permits the student to join a different board or university. Colleges commonly ask for both.
Who applies for the migration certificate — the school or the student?
The student. For CBSE the certificate is made available in the candidate's own DigiLocker account after results are declared, and any hard copy is requested from the board directly. The school is not the issuing authority, though the office often helps families locate or download it.
Schools on Edutris keep the admission register, student records and certificates in one system — documents generate from the record instead of being retyped.
Related terms
Transfer Certificate (TC)
The official certificate a school issues when a student leaves, required to admit them to another school.
School Leaving Certificate (SLC)
A certificate confirming a student has left the school, often used interchangeably with the Transfer Certificate.
Board Examination
The external, board-conducted exams (typically Class 10 and 12) whose results are certified by the education board.
Character Certificate
A statement from the school attesting to a student’s conduct and behaviour during their time there.
Run your school on Edutris
Admissions, attendance, fees, report cards and a parent app — simple tiers from ₹2,999/month, no per-student add-ons.
Book a Demo