We are moving our child into a CBSE school mid-way and want to know whether that class allows it, what approval the school needs, and how the transfer certificate must be signed.
CBSE treats Classes 9-10 and 11-12 as two-year courses, so the class your child is joining decides almost everything. Up to Class 8, admission follows your state's rules. Class 9 and 11 are open to anyone who passed the class before at a recognised school or board. Class 10 and 12 are different. CBSE allows no admission straight into them except the cases in clauses 7.3 and 7.5 of its Examination Bye-laws, and each such "direct admission" needs the regional office's approval before the school can add your child to its list of candidates. From another board, it works only on a parent's transfer or a family move. The date matters too: after 31 August, most cases need CBSE's permission. A TC between two CBSE schools needs no countersignature. The checker below takes your case and shows the rule, the approval and the documents.
This page may be out of date. It was due for a re-check on 31 July 2027. Confirm every rule with the official source before acting on it.
From the CBSE Examination Bye-laws and circulars. We check CBSE's examination circulars page for a 2026-27 or 2027-28 direct admission schedule and update the dates the same day it appears.
Can the move go ahead the way you planned it?[1]
Do it now
Go ahead with the schoolNursery to Class 8 under your state's rules, or Class 9 or 11 before 31 August with the TC and the last result.
Check first
Go ahead, but wait for the approvalClass 10 or 12 from a CBSE school, or from another board on a parent's transfer or family move, before 31 August. The regional office must approve it first.
Get help
Ask the regional office firstClass 10 or 12 after 31 August without a government-employee parent's transfer, from another board for other reasons, or from a school no board recognises.
Pick the class, where your child studied last, the reason and the admission date. Note the clause it quotes.[1]
Have ready
Make sure the new school is affiliated up to the class your child needs before you pay a fee.[1]
Have ready
School affiliation check does this step for you.
Ask the old school for the TC and the marksheet or report book. From another board's school, get the TC countersigned by the authority that board names.[4]
Have ready
For Class 10 and 12, and for any admission after 31 August, the school sends the case to the CBSE regional office with the reasons and documents.[3]
Have ready
Regional office finder does this step for you.
The school adds a direct admission to its list of candidates only after the regional office approves it. Ask the school for the approval reference.[5]
Have ready
This checker runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere. It applies the CBSE Examination Bye-laws (clauses 6 to 8) and the CBSE circulars listed below, checked 13 October 2026. It doesn't decide your case: the regional office approves every Class 10 and 12 direct admission. The date line compares your admission date with 31 August of that session, worked out in India time when you open the page.
| Class joining | Who can join | Extra condition |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery to Class 8 | As the state or UT rules allow (clause 7.1(i)) | State age limits (clause 6.1(a)(iii)) |
| Class 9 | Passed Class 8 at a school affiliated to CBSE or another recognised board, or recognised by the state (clause 7.2) | After 31 August: prior permission (clause 6.5(ii)) |
| Class 10 | Completed a regular Class 9: at a CBSE school, or at another board's school only on a parent's transfer or family move (clause 7.3) | Regional office approval as a direct admission |
| Class 11 | Passed Class 10 with CBSE, or an equivalent exam of another recognised board (clause 7.4) | After 31 August: prior permission (clause 6.5(ii)) |
| Class 12 | Completed a regular Class 11: at a CBSE school, or at another board's school only on a parent's transfer or family move (clause 7.5) | Regional office approval as a direct admission |
From clauses 6.5(ii) and 7.1 to 7.6 of the CBSE Examination Bye-laws (2013 edition, pp. 6-10) and part VI of the 13.03.2019 notification.[1]
| Coming from | Countersignature | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A CBSE school | None. The new school checks the old one on CBSE's affiliated list | Circulars of 26.11.2014 and 31.10.2025 |
| Another recognised board's school | Countersigned by the authority controlling the old school; for Class 10 and 12, the old board's educational authorities | Circular of 26.11.2014, point 8; clauses 7.3(c), 7.5(c) |
| An institution not affiliated to CBSE | Countersigned by the authority named in Annexure I | Clause 8(vii) |
| A school abroad (not CBSE) | CBSE eligibility certificate first; the principal applies | Clause 6.2 |
From clause 8 of the Examination Bye-laws and CBSE's TC circulars of 26.11.2014, 04.02.2020 and 31.10.2025.[4]
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| Schools admit Class 10 and 12 students directly | Up to 31 August 2025 |
| Schools send the cases to the regional office | To reach by 2 September 2025 |
| Regional office decides | By 15 September 2025 |
| After 31 August: a government-employee parent's transfer | To reach the regional office within 2 days of admission |
From the circular CBSE/Direct Admission-X/XII/2025 of 28.08.2025. The same dates applied to subject changes. When we checked on 13 October 2026, CBSE's circulars page had no 2026-27 schedule.[3]
What happens: The 2025 circular said no case other than a government-employee parent's transfer should be entertained after 31 August.[3]
Fix: Plan the move before 31 August, or ask the regional office before you leave the old school.
What happens: Clauses 7.3(c) and 7.5(c) allow it from another board only on a parent's transfer or family move.[1]
Fix: Make the switch at Class 9 or 11, or ask whether the Chairman's power for special cases could apply.
What happens: The school can't add your child to its list of candidates until the regional office approves the case.[5]
Fix: Keep the old school place until the approval comes in writing.
What happens: CBSE no longer countersigns TCs from one of its schools to another (circular of 4 February 2020).[4]
Fix: Show the new school the 31 October 2025 reminder if it asks for one.
| If this is you | What changes |
|---|---|
| Re-joining Class 10 or 12 in the same school | That is a re-admission. It follows the direct admission route and needs regional office approval (LOC 2026-27, point 9).[5] |
| Coming back from a school abroad | If the school abroad isn't CBSE affiliated, the new school first gets CBSE's eligibility certificate (clause 6.2).[1] |
| Class 9 or 11 after a late CBSE result | No prior permission is needed if your child applied within a fortnight of the result (clause 6.5(ii)).[1] |
The bye-laws call the Secondary and Senior Secondary syllabus a two-year integrated course. So clause 7.3 says no admission shall be taken in Class 10 directly, and clause 7.5 says the same of Class 12. Each clause then lists who can still join: a child who completed a regular Class 9 or 11 at a CBSE school, or one from another board's school whose parent was transferred or whose family moved.
Even then, the school can't simply enrol your child. The LOC circular for 2026-27 says schools may add a student under the "DIRECT ADMISSION" category only after the regional office approves it. A child re-joining Class 10 or 12 in the same school is a re-admission case and goes the same way.[1]
Clause 6.5(ii) bars admission to Class 9 and above after 31 August without prior permission from the Chairman of CBSE or the competent authority under the state's education act. The principal sends the request and states the reasons. If CBSE declared its own result late and the child applied within a fortnight of it, no permission is needed.
For Class 10 and 12, CBSE's circular of 28 August 2025 told schools that, after 31 August, it would take only one kind of direct admission: a government-employee parent's transfer. It said no other case should be entertained after that date.[1]
CBSE's notification of 13 March 2019 says that after 15 July, direct admission to Class 10 and 12 is considered only for a parent's transfer. The 2025 circular instead let schools admit until 31 August. If your date falls between 15 July and 31 August and there is no transfer, ask the school which date it is working to.
The 2019 notification also set a Rs 1,000 processing fee for each direct admission or re-admission case. We haven't found a later notice changing it.[2]
Clause 8(iii) asks for an authenticated copy of the TC in the Annexure I format before a child's name goes into the new school's admission register. Clause 8(iv) adds that a child can't be placed in a class higher than the TC allows.
Between two CBSE schools there's no countersignature any more. CBSE ended that practice in 2014, repeated it in 2019 and 2020, and sent schools another reminder on 31 October 2025 because its offices were still getting TCs to countersign. The new school checks the old school on CBSE's list of affiliated schools and confirms it isn't disaffiliated. Schools must also put copies of the TCs they issue on their websites.[4]
Free printable
Moving to a CBSE school: our sheet: one A4 page, black and white, with the decision, every step with a date box, and blanks to fill in.
Moving to a CBSE school: our sheet
Parents moving a child into a CBSE school during 2026-27
Decide
Can the move go ahead the way you planned it?
Checklist
| Done | Step | Date |
|---|---|---|
| New school checked on SARAS | ||
| TC in the Annexure I format | ||
| Countersignature, if from another board | ||
| Last marksheet or report book | ||
| Transfer order or proof of the move | ||
| Case sent to the regional office (Class 10 and 12) | ||
| Approval received in writing |
Child's name and class joining
Old school and board
New school and affiliation number
Reason for the move
Admission date
Clause the case falls under
Regional office approval reference
Source: CBSE Examination Bye-laws, clauses 6 to 8. Check the official circular before you act. correctpath.in/cbse/school-change-tc/
CBSE Examination Bye-laws book (2013 edition): clauses 6.1, 6.2, 6.5(ii), 7.1 to 7.6 and 8(iii) to 8(vii), Annexure I (TC format), Central Board of Secondary Education (pp. 4-11). Checked 13 October 2026.
Every step above cites a numbered source; the full list is at the end of the page. If the board issues a newer circular, it overrides this page.
Only as a direct admission. Clause 7.3 of the Examination Bye-laws allows a child who completed a regular Class 9 at a CBSE school, and the regional office must approve the case before the school adds the child to its list of candidates. In 2025-26 schools had to admit by 31 August.[1]
Yes, if the child passed an equivalent Class 10 exam of a recognised board that CBSE accepts as equivalent (clause 7.4(b)). After 31 August the school needs prior permission (clause 6.5(ii)).[1]
Only when a parent is transferred or the family moves to another place, with the marksheet and a TC countersigned by the old board's educational authorities (clauses 7.3(c) and 7.5(c)). For other reasons, only the Chairman of CBSE can allow it.[1]
Not between two CBSE schools. CBSE dropped that in 2014 and reminded schools on 31 October 2025. A TC from another board's school is countersigned by the authority controlling that school.[4]
For 2025-26 it was 31 August 2025, with cases reaching the regional office by 2 September and decisions by 15 September. After 31 August, CBSE took only a government-employee parent's transfer. CBSE's 2019 notification gave 15 July instead.[3]
CBSE's 2019 notification set a processing fee of Rs 1,000 for each direct admission or re-admission case.[2]
It follows the rules of the state or UT where the school is, including the age limits (clauses 7.1(i) and 6.1(a)(iii)).[1]
Found an error or a newer rule? Tell us through the corrections page. Updated 13 October 2026.
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