Transcripts FAQ

What appears on the official International Baccalaureate (IB) transcript of grades?

All IB transcript of grades include:

candidate’s full name
candidate’s date of birth
name of the school attended
subjects and grades achieved.

For candidates who have achieved the IB Diploma/bilingual diploma (diploma and retake registration categories), the transcript will also display:

total points achieved
overall diploma result.

How do I request to have my transcript of results sent to a university or higher education institution (HEI)? How long does it take for a transcript request to be processed?

Before issue of results—current session candidates (5 July for May examination sessions or 2 January for November examination sessions)

Ask your Diploma Programme or Career-related Programme coordinator to submit a request to the IB on your behalf.
Your coordinator will be able to select up to six institutions worldwide.
Of these six, no more than three institutions can be selected from Canada and the United States (USA) (of this three, only one for the USA); an admissions centre counts as one request.
A candidate’s first six requests will be accepted without charge if submitted before the deadlines.

After issue of results—current session candidates and IB graduates

You can make a transcript request by filling in the IB request for results service form.
Current session candidates will be charged a fee for each additional request that is submitted, regardless of whether any previous requests have been made on their behalf.
Candidates are not required to have their personal code or session number (not required fields) to request a transcript, so they will still be able to place a request on the website even without this information.
Check the university’s/HEI’s admissions policy before placing a transcript request. Some universities/HEIs will only accept undergraduate applications through a centralized admissions centre.

Transcripts processing and availability timelines

If your programme coordinator placed the transcript request on your behalf, as soon as results are released, they will be made available to universities/HEIs via an IB secure website, or the universities/HEIs will be mailed a paper transcript of grades if they do not make use of the electronic service.
Graduates’ requests should be processed within 14 working days of receipt of the request form (in the peak months of December and January, and from July through to September, transcript requests may take longer to process).
The IB is not responsible for delays by the mailing service (in case of universities that have indicated to receive IB results via paper format) or for the processing of your transcript at the university/HEI.
Check with the university’s/HEI’s admissions office if they have received your transcript. If they are unable to locate it, please contact IB support and provide your name, school, university/institution and request date.

Note: Universities/HEIs decide:

the format in which to receive an IB transcript (electronic or paper format)
the receiving address for the transcript. This is usually a general/centralized admissions office:
if you need to check whether your chosen university/HEI has received your transcript, check with the university’s/HEI’s general/centralized admissions office first before contacting the IB
if they are unable to locate your transcript, contact the IB via support@ibo.org with your name, school, university/HEI and date of transcript request.

How do I know that a transcript has been received by a university/higher education institution (HEI)?

Universities choose their preferred method for receiving IB candidates’ results/transcripts.

Electronically: The IB makes students’ results available on the IB secure website as soon as a transcript request is processed.
Paper: The IB prints in paper a student’s transcripts of results and sends them to the universities via courier service.

Timelines

All requests are processed within 14 working days of receipt of the request form.
During the peak months of December and January, and from July through to September, transcript requests may take longer to process.
Recommendations

Check with the admissions/registrar’s office at the university/college after 10–14 business days to make sure that they have received your transcript in the mail or by electronic download.
If your transcript was sent electronically and the university/HEI informs you that they are unable to access your record, ensure that you have provided them with the correct information (spelling of your name, date of birth and session).
Speak to the university’s/HEI’s member of staff who has access to the IB secure website to view IB students’ results.
Revisit the university’s/HEI’s admissions policy on their website to check whether they require applicants to go through an admissions centre:
if that is the case, a new transcript needs to be requested for the IB to share your results with the admissions centre
if the above is not the case, check with the university’s/institution’s general/centralized admissions office whether they have received the document. If the chosen university is unable to locate your transcript, contact the IB at support@ibo.org with the candidate name, school where the IB Diploma was obtained, year the IB Diploma was obtained, university/HEI and the transcript request date.

My marks have changed as a result of a re-mark request. Do I need to order a new transcript to be sent to the university/higher education institution (HEI)?

No.

If the grades have changed after the transcript has been received by the university/HEI, the IB will send them a new transcript free of charge.
If the university/HEI has opted to receive transcripts electronically, the IB will automatically send an email confirming changes to your transcript. The university/HEI will be able to download a new copy by logging into the IB’s secure website.
If the university/HEI has opted to receive transcripts in paper format, the IB will reprint a copy of your transcript and send it to the university/HEI at no extra cost.

I am applying to a university in India. What is a migration certificate?

A migration certificate is a non-legally binding document required by universities in India. It states that:

a student has appeared for the IB examinations in a specific session
the IB has no objection to the student joining any college or university in India or appearing for an examination of any board.

How to request a migration certificate

Current session candidates:
need to ask their Diploma Programme or Career-related Programme coordinator to mark the option of including a migration certificate when placing transcript requests on behalf of their candidates
that were unable to place their request to send their transcript to a university in India before the deadline need to place their request for a transcript and migration certificate on the IB request for results service form.
that placed their request before the deadline, but the option to include the migration certificate was not marked, will have to place a request for a migration certificate on the IB request for results service form.
IB graduates have to place a request for both a transcript and a migration certificate on the IB request for results service form.

Note: All requests made through the IB request for results service form have a corresponding fee.

Can the IB email a transcript to a university’s/higher education institute’s (HEI’s) specific email address?

Universities/HEIs choose their preferred method to receive IB candidates’ results/transcripts.

Electronically: The IB makes students’ results available on the IB secure website as soon as a transcript request is processed.
Paper: The IB prints in paper a student’s transcripts of results and sends them to the universities/HEIs via courier service.

Most universities/HEIs will not accept emailed transcripts as official documents. However, under special circumstances, the IB will email a transcript if the university/HEI confirms with the IB directly that they will accept the transcript in that format. If this is the case, send a request to the IB at support@ibo.org.

One of two conditions should be met before the IB can process this request.

For current session candidates, the Diploma Programme or Career-related Programme coordinator must have submitted a request for the university/HEI on behalf of the candidate in the IB system before the deadline.
For graduates, a transcript order can be submitted on the IB request for results service form. Graduates will have to provide the order number when contacting the IB.

Note: During peak times (July through to September; December; January), the IB will not provide this service.

Can the transcript be sent by email or sent to the candidate/graduate directly?

No.

The IB can only send an official copy of a candidate’s transcript of grades to universities/higher education institutions (HEIs).
All graduates will receive a copy of their certificate and results at the end of the examination session.
The IB sends the official candidate results certificates to schools. It is the responsibility of schools to distribute the certificates to their students.