How to request school records
A transcript or student-records request is easier when it's complete the first time. Here's what to send, who can ask, and what to expect — then find the school and its records contact.
Find a school's records contact
What to include
- Your name as it was when you attended
- Include any former or maiden name. Records are filed under the name the school knew.
- Date of birth, and the years you attended
- A graduation year is enough if you're unsure of the exact dates.
- Student ID, if you have it
- It speeds up the search. Don't hold the request until you find it.
- Exactly which records you need
- A transcript, proof of graduation, immunization records or the full student file are different requests, and sometimes different offices. Say which one.
- Where to send them, and how to reach you
- An email, address or fax for the records to go to, and a phone number or email for questions. Expect the school to ask you to confirm who you are.
Some districts route official transcripts through an online service such as Parchment, not the registrar's email. Where a school page here shows a transcript portal, use it for official transcripts; otherwise check the school's own records page before you email.
Who can ask
Under FERPA, parents hold the right to inspect a student's records until the student turns 18 or enters a postsecondary institution at any age. After that it belongs to the student. To have records sent to anyone else — an employer, a college, an agency — the school generally needs a signed and dated written consent naming what may be released, why, and to whom. Sources:U.S. Department of Education and34 CFR Part 99.
How long it takes, and what it costs
FERPA gives a school up to 45 days to comply with an access request. It may charge for a copy but may not charge to search for or retrieve the records. Many schools are quicker and set their own fees, so ask the school directly. A school's own procedure or your state's rules may add to the federal minimum.
If the contact doesn't work
Contacts on each school's page are listed in the order to try them, so work down the list before going further. Where we know the school's type, its page links to the matching line below.
- Only a fax is listed, and you don't have one. Call the main office and ask for an email address or a request form. Online fax services also work.
- The school has closed. Records usually pass to the district or the charter authorizer. The school's page says where, when we know.
- It bounced or went unanswered. Try the next contact on the school's page, then the district. Then tell us, so the next person doesn't hit the same dead end.
Who holds the records, by school type
- District school
- If this contact does not work, the district office usually holds the records.
- Charter school
- If this contact does not work, the charter holder usually holds the records — and if the school has closed, its charter authorizer does.
- Private school
- Private schools keep their own records, so there is no district to fall back on. If the school has closed, try its founding or affiliated organisation.
How RecReq keeps contacts current
Registrar contacts are kept current through community submissions, automated change detection, and manual research by RecReq staff. If one has changed, use the correction form.
A message you can adapt
Subject: Records request — [your full name], [graduation year]
Hello, I'm requesting my [transcript / proof of graduation / student records] from [school name]. Name while enrolled: [name]. Date of birth: [date]. Attended: [years]. Student ID: [if known]. Please send it to [email / address / fax]. I can be reached at [phone or email]. Please tell me what you need to confirm my identity, and whether there is a fee. Thank you.
Requesting records at scale
If you send records requests regularly, Auto Pilot is being built to automate the loop. It's a waitlist, not a live service yet.