Migration Certificate: Meaning, When You Need It and How to Apply

A migration certificate is a document from your board or university saying it has no objection to you moving to another board or university to study further. You usually need it when you join an institution under a different board or university. CBSE now issues it digitally in DigiLocker. Every other board and university sets its own process and fee.

That last line matters more than anything else in this guide. There is no single national form and no single fee. Below you will see how CBSE, four state boards, Delhi University and IGNOU each handle it, as shown on their official sites in October 2026, so you know what to expect and what to ask.

Migration certificate meaning, and how it differs from a TC

Think of it as your release letter from one education system to another. It tells the new board or university that your old one has no claim on you. It carries your name, roll or enrolment number, the exam you passed and the year, and the issuing authority's seal.

Students often mix it up with three other documents. A transfer certificate (TC) comes from your school or college and records that you have left that institution. A provisional certificate is a temporary proof that you have passed, used until the degree is printed. A character certificate speaks to your conduct. This one is about the board or university, not the school or college.

When you need a migration certificate

The common situations are easy to spot. You passed Class 12 from CBSE, CISCE or a state board and are joining a university, especially one in another state. You finished a degree at one university and are starting a master's at another. You are leaving a university midway to continue somewhere else.

If you are staying inside the same board or the same university, you usually do not need one. Do not assume, though. The admission office of your new institution decides what it wants and by when. Ask them for the document list and the last date for submitting it, and keep that answer in writing, even a WhatsApp message or an email.

One more check before you start. Make sure the university you are migrating to is genuinely recognised. Search for it on our list of UGC recognised universities and confirm it is not on the UGC fake universities list. No certificate can fix an admission to an unrecognised institution.

CBSE migration certificate: now digital in DigiLocker

CBSE changed its system with a notification dated 4 September 2024. From the 2025 examinations onwards, the Board no longer issues a hard copy to Class 10 or Class 12 students. The digital copy in DigiLocker is the one you use for admission, and CBSE also stopped charging the fee it used to collect with the exam fee.

The same notification says the University Grants Commission has written to institutions of higher learning that digital copies of the Board's certificates will be accepted for admission. If a college insists on paper, show them this notice first. CBSE issues the certificate to every Class 12 student, and in Class 10 to students who ask for it.

Students of CBSE schools outside India can reach their digital documents through results.digilocker.gov.in or by raising a DigiLocker support ticket in the CBSE international student category, as the 2025 manual explains.

If a college still wants a CBSE hard copy

For the transition period, CBSE accepts hard copy requests only through its Duplicate Academic Document System (DADS) on cbseit.in. The DADS page was not loading when we checked in October 2026, so if you hit the same error, try again later or ask your school's exam in-charge for help. Do not pay any agent who offers to get it faster.

State boards: each one runs its own system

State boards differ in almost everything: online or offline, the fee, the documents, and whether you collect the certificate in person. Here is what four boards show on their official sites. If your board is not here, open your board's website and look for a certificates, records or duplicate documents section.

Notice how different these are. A Kolkata student may need to stand at a cash counter, while a Haryana student cannot apply at all without the family ID. Budget a week or two, and start the day your result is out rather than the day before admission closes.

University migration certificate: Delhi University and IGNOU

Universities issue them after you finish a programme or when you leave one midway. Again, each university has its own rules. Delhi University and IGNOU show two very different styles.

Delhi University

DU's forms page links to its online certificates system for migration and provisional certificates, run on the Samarth platform. You register, fill the form, upload your proof and ID, and pay online. Then you print the form and fee receipt, get the form certified by the principal of your college or head of your department, and send the hard copy to the University by hand or post with self-attested copies.

• Fee: DU's guidelines, still linked on its forms page, list ₹500 (US$50 if needed abroad) up to 10 years from your last exam, and ₹1,000 (US$100) after that. Confirm the amount on the payment screen.

• Proof of study: one of degree certificate, final year marksheet or provisional certificate.

• ID: one of voter ID, Aadhaar, driving licence, PAN or passport.

• Campus: choose North or South Campus according to your original enrolment.

• Leaving midway: upload your college leaving certificate and an undertaking that you surrender your result, countersigned by the principal or head of department.

• Name match: the details you enter must match your Class 10 certificate.

DU SOL students should start on SOL's own forms page, which lists a separate Migration Certificate Request Form. Our DU SOL page covers SOL courses and admission.

IGNOU

IGNOU handles migration through its regional centres, and you apply to the centre you were last attached to. The IGNOU Nagpur regional centre's student corner page sets out a simple flow: download the form, pay ₹500 through SBI Collect choosing Migration Certificate as the purpose, and email the filled form with your provisional or degree certificate, grade card, IGNOU ID card and the payment receipt. Nagpur says it sends the certificate by Speed Post within a week.

The Delhi-3 regional centre's form also accepts a demand draft, asks for your Class 10 certificate and an ID proof, and says it issues the certificate within three days of receiving the application. In the form you declare that you have not taken one from IGNOU before and are not enrolled in another IGNOU programme. Read more about the university on our IGNOU page.

Documents to keep ready before you apply

The exact list depends on the board or university, but most ask for some mix of the following. Scan each one as a clear PDF before you start, because online forms often time out while you hunt for a file.

• Final marksheet, pass certificate, or degree or provisional certificate

• Admit card and registration certificate (boards often ask for these)

• School or college leaving certificate, if you are moving after Class 10 or 12

• Government photo ID such as Aadhaar, voter ID, PAN, passport or driving licence

• Recent passport-size photo and your signature, scanned

• Name and address of the board or university you are moving to

• Fee receipt, kept as both a PDF and a printout

If your marksheet shows CGPA and the new university wants a percentage, check your board's or university's own conversion rule with our CGPA to percentage calculator before you fill in the admission form.

Lost your migration certificate?

If you passed CBSE in 2025 or later, simply download it again from DigiLocker. For a paper certificate from a board or university, you apply for a duplicate, and many, IGNOU among them, ask for an affidavit stating that the original was lost and has not been used to join another university. IGNOU charges ₹500 for a duplicate and wants the affidavit on ₹10 non-judicial stamp paper. BSEH asks you to apply on its prescribed form with the fee. Check your own board's or university's duplicate rules before you get an affidavit made, because the wording they want can differ.

Mistakes that slow you down

• Waiting for the admission office to ask. Apply as soon as your result is out. Paper processes can take two weeks.

• Name or date of birth mismatch. If your Class 10 certificate and marksheet differ, fix that with your board first.

• Wrong office or campus. IGNOU wants your last regional centre. DU wants the right campus option.

• Unattested copies. Many forms need self-attested or head-of-institution certified copies.

• Paying an agent. Official fees are paid on the board's or university's own portal, challan or SBI Collect link. Nobody needs a middleman.

• Assuming the new college knows the digital rule. CBSE's notice backs DigiLocker copies, but ask early, and carry the notice if anyone hesitates.

If you are moving into an online or distance degree, your new university may also ask for an ABC ID to record credits. Our guide to the ABC ID and its APAAR link explains how to create one.

Frequently asked questions

Get free counselling