Application for transfer certificate: 8 samples
Ready-to-copy TC application letters for parents and students: changing city, after Class 10, for a new school, urgent requests, by email and in Hindi.
By Scoolin teamSilverThink Technologies
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The new school wants the transfer certificate before it confirms admission, and the old school’s office says the same thing every time: “Give an application first.” A letter without the admission number or a reason for leaving can come back, and days are lost.
An application for a transfer certificate is a short, formal letter to the principal asking the school to issue a TC. It gives the student’s name, class, section and admission number, the reason for leaving, and the date you need the TC by. A parent usually writes it; a student who has finished Class 10 or 12 can write their own.
Below are the format, eight sample letters, and what the RTE Act says when a TC is late.
Transfer certificate application format
A TC application is a one-page letter in the usual school-letter format, with one clear request. The office needs the student’s details and a date, not a long story. A parent signs off “Yours sincerely”; a student writing their own letter uses “Yours obediently”.
Here is the blank format. Fill in the brackets and delete what doesn’t apply.
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Application for transfer certificate Respected Sir/Madam, I am the [father/mother] of [student’s name], a student of Class [class], Section [section] of your school. [One line on why the child is leaving.] I request you to kindly issue [his/her] transfer certificate by [date]. All fees have been paid up to [month], and all library books have been returned. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, [Parent’s name] Parent of [student’s name], Class [class]-[section] Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] Phone: [mobile number]
What to sort out before you apply
Sort out the dues before you write, not after. In most schools the office checks with the accounts desk and the library before the principal signs, and CBSE’s bye-laws give a leaving student the TC “on a payment of all dues”.1
- Pay the fees up to the month of leaving, and keep the receipt.
- Return library books, and anything else the school lent: an ID card, sports kit, a tablet.
- Find the admission number on the ID card, a fee receipt or the report card.
- Check the name and date of birth the school has on record. The TC copies them.
- Ask the new school what else it wants with the TC, such as a report card or a character certificate.
Sample applications for a transfer certificate
Pick the letter closest to your situation and change the names and brackets. Each one follows the format above.
Parent moving city on a job transfer
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Application for transfer certificate due to job transfer Respected Sir/Madam, My son, Aarav Sharma, studies in Class 6-B of your school. I have been transferred by my employer from Lucknow to Pune, and our family moves on [date]. I request you to kindly issue his transfer certificate by [date], along with a copy of his last report card attested by you. All fees have been paid up to [month], and his library books have been returned. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, Rajesh Sharma Father of Aarav Sharma, Class 6-B Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] Phone: [mobile number]
If your child is joining Class 9 or 11 of a CBSE school mid-session because of a transfer, the new school will also ask for an attested copy of the transfer order and a letter from your new office with your local address.2
Student after Class 10, for Class 11 elsewhere
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Application for transfer certificate after Class 10 Respected Sir/Madam, I am Sneha Iyer, a student of Class 10-A of your school. I have passed the Class 10 board examination of [year] and have been offered admission to Class 11 (Science) at [new school name]. I request you to kindly issue my transfer certificate and character certificate by [date]. All my fees are paid, and I have returned my library books and ID card. Thanking you. Yours obediently, Sneha Iyer Class 10-A, Roll No. [roll number] Admission No. [admission number] Parent: Ramesh Iyer, Phone: [mobile number]
If both schools are CBSE schools, this move needs no permission from the board; the new school admits under its own rules.2 If the new school is under another board, ask what it needs besides the TC.
Admission in a new school mid-session
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Application for transfer certificate in the middle of the session Respected Sir/Madam, My daughter, Zoya Qureshi, studies in Class 4-C of your school. We have moved to [new area], and the journey to school now takes over an hour each way. [New school name], near our new home, has offered her admission from [date]. I request you to kindly issue her transfer certificate by [date], so that she does not miss classes. Her fees have been paid up to [month]. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, Imran Qureshi Father of Zoya Qureshi, Class 4-C Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] Phone: [mobile number]
Urgent TC
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Urgent request for transfer certificate Respected Sir/Madam, My son, Arjun Reddy, studies in Class 8-A of your school. [New school name] has offered him a seat, but the admission must be completed with the TC by [date]. A copy of their letter is attached. I request you to kindly issue his transfer certificate within two working days. I cleared all dues today, and the receipt is attached. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, Kavita Reddy Mother of Arjun Reddy, Class 8-A Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] Phone: [mobile number]
“Urgent” with no reason is easy to put aside. Give the new school’s last date, and attach proof.
TC request by email
To: [school office email] Subject: Transfer certificate for Rohan Verma, Class 7-A, Adm. No. [admission number] Respected Sir/Madam, My son, Rohan Verma, studies in Class 7-A of your school (Roll No. [roll number]). We are moving to Jaipur this month, and he will join a school there from [date]. I request you to kindly issue his transfer certificate by [date]. The receipt for fees paid up to [month] is attached. Please let me know when I can collect the original from the office. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, Sunita Verma Mother of Rohan Verma, Class 7-A Phone: [mobile number]
Put the name, class and admission number in the subject line, so the office can find the record without opening the mail.
Reminder when the TC is late
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Reminder: transfer certificate not yet issued Respected Sir/Madam, On [date of first application], I applied for the transfer certificate of my daughter, Meera Joshi, Class 5-B. A copy of that application is attached. All dues were cleared on [date], but the TC has not been issued yet, and her admission at [new school name] is waiting for it. I request you to kindly issue it by [date]. For a child in Classes 1 to 8, Section 5(3) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 asks the head teacher to issue the transfer certificate immediately. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, Deepak Joshi Father of Meera Joshi, Class 5-B Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] Phone: [mobile number]
Keep the last sentence only for Classes 1 to 8. Hand the reminder in at the office, and ask for your copy to be stamped as received.
For a younger child, or two children
To, The Principal, [School name], [School address] Date: [date] Subject: Application for transfer certificates of my two children Respected Sir/Madam, My two children study in your school: 1. Neha Gupta, Class 9-A, Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] 2. Kabir Gupta, Class 2-B, Roll No. [roll number], Admission No. [admission number] We are moving to Bhopal on [date] because of my job. I request you to kindly issue a separate transfer certificate for each child by [date]. Fees for both have been paid up to [month], and their library books have been returned. Thanking you. Yours sincerely, Anil Gupta Father of Neha Gupta (Class 9-A) and Kabir Gupta (Class 2-B) Phone: [mobile number]
Ask for one TC per child: each new school keeps the original. If only the younger child is leaving, drop the other line.
Short application in Hindi
सेवा में,
प्रधानाचार्य महोदय/महोदया,
[विद्यालय का नाम],
[विद्यालय का पता]
दिनांक: [दिनांक]
विषय: स्थानांतरण प्रमाण पत्र (टीसी) के लिए प्रार्थना पत्र
महोदय/महोदया,
सविनय निवेदन है कि मेरी पुत्री अनन्या मिश्रा आपके विद्यालय में कक्षा 7-ब में पढ़ती है। मेरा तबादला [नए शहर का नाम] हो गया है, इसलिए वह अब इस विद्यालय में नहीं पढ़ पाएगी।
अतः आपसे प्रार्थना है कि उसका स्थानांतरण प्रमाण पत्र [दिनांक] तक जारी करने की कृपा करें। सारी फीस जमा कर दी गई है और पुस्तकालय की पुस्तकें लौटा दी गई हैं।
धन्यवाद।
भवदीय,
सुरेश मिश्रा
(अनन्या मिश्रा के पिता, कक्षा 7-ब, प्रवेश संख्या [प्रवेश संख्या])
मोबाइल: [मोबाइल नंबर]
For a longer Hindi letter and the TC format row by row, see our guide to the transfer certificate in Hindi.
How long does a school take to issue a TC?
Usually a few working days to a week. That is practice, not a rule: we found no national rule that sets a number of days for Classes 9 to 12. Most offices issue the TC once the accounts desk and the library have signed off. Around results in March and April, when many students leave together, it can take longer.
Three things keep it moving:
- Write the date you need the TC by in the letter itself.
- Ask the office to stamp or sign your copy as received.
- Ask who handles TCs, and when to come back.
For Classes 1 to 8 the law is stricter, as the next section shows.
Classes 1 to 8: what the RTE Act says
For a child in Classes 1 to 8, the school must issue the TC at once, and a late TC can’t hold up admission in the next school. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 covers children aged 6 to 14, and defines elementary education as Classes 1 to 8.3 Section 5(3) says:
A further proviso makes a head teacher who delays the TC liable to disciplinary action under their service rules.
The right to move in Section 5 is written for moves to government and aided schools; the Act leaves out unaided private schools and “specified category” schools such as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas.3 Departments still apply the proviso: Delhi’s Directorate of Education quoted it in October 2024 when it told district officers to admit children given EWS seats in private schools.4
After you get the TC
Check the TC at the counter, give the original to the new school, and keep copies. A wrong date of birth is easier to fix the same day than from another city.
Read every row: the name, the date of birth in figures and in words, the class last studied, whether the student was promoted, the date of leaving and the reason. Scoolin’s free transfer certificate format shows the 23 rows most Indian TCs carry, and prints on A4 or as a blank PDF, so you know what to look for.
Countersignature. Between two CBSE schools, none is needed. CBSE dropped the practice in 2014, and in October 2025 reminded schools that no TC needs one; instead the old school uploads a scanned copy of the TC on its website, where the new school can check it.5 A TC from a school under another board is different: for admission to Classes 9 and 11, CBSE asks for it to be countersigned by that board’s education authorities.2 If the new school is under a state board, ask it before you leave whether it needs a countersignature, and get it done while you are still near the old school.
UDISE+. Ask the old school to release your child on the UDISE+ portal when it issues the TC. Its TC module moves the student to a “dropbox”, from where the new school imports the record using the PEN and date of birth.6 Our guide to the PEN number for students explains the rest.
A lost TC. Ask the old school for a duplicate. CBSE’s bye-laws allow one when the head of the school is satisfied the original is lost, and it is always marked as a duplicate.1
Common mistakes
Most delays start with a small gap in the letter.
- No admission number. The office finds the record by it, not by name.
- A name spelt differently from school records. The TC copies the admission register, and a mismatch raises questions at the new school.
- No date. “At the earliest” gives the office no deadline; “by 15 April” does.
- Applying before clearing dues. The letter waits until fees are paid and books are back.
- Handing over the only copy. Keep a scan of the TC and of your application.
Common questions
Who should write the TC application, the parent or the student?
A parent or guardian usually writes it, since the school is releasing the child to them. A student who has finished Class 10 or 12 can write their own, and many schools then ask a parent to sign it as well.
Can I apply for a TC by email?
Many schools accept an email to the official school address. Put the student’s name, class and admission number in the subject line, and attach the fee receipt. You will usually still collect the original TC from the office.
How many days does a school take to issue a TC?
Usually a few working days to a week once fees are paid and books are returned, and longer in March and April. For Classes 1 to 8, Section 5 of the RTE Act says the head teacher must issue it immediately.
Do I have to give a reason for leaving?
Yes, but one line is enough: a job transfer, a move to a new area, or a stream the school doesn’t offer after Class 10. Most TCs have a row for the reason for leaving, and the office fills it in from your letter.
What if the TC is lost?
Ask the old school for a duplicate, with a short application saying how the original was lost. Under CBSE’s bye-laws a duplicate is always marked as one. Other boards and schools have their own process, so ask the office.
Notes
- CBSE, Examination Bye-Laws: admission of students to a school, transfer and migration of students, bye-law 8. Back to the text
- CBSE, circular on admission to Class IX or XI on account of change of school, Coord/ROs/Admission-IX-XI/2019, 18 July 2019. Back to the text
- The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, India Code: section 2(c), (f), (n) and (p), and section 5. Back to the text
- Directorate of Education, Delhi, circular on EWS admissions from Class 2 onwards, October 2024, which quotes sections 4 and 5 of the Act in full. Back to the text
- CBSE, reminder on countersigning transfer certificates and uploading them, 31 October 2025, with the circulars of 26 November 2014 and 1 October 2018 attached. Back to the text
- UDISE+, Functionality Guide: School Login (SDMS), the Transfer Certificate Module and Import Module. Back to the text
How we wrote this
Every letter in this guide was written for it, in the format Indian schools expect. The rules come from the RTE Act, CBSE’s bye-laws and circulars, and the UDISE+ guide for schools, all linked in the notes. How long a school takes to issue a TC is what schools usually do, not a rule; state boards and schools can set their own. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Found it useful? Send it to another school.
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