Learn about the different types of transcripts that we accept and how to request them.
IMPORTANT: When requesting your transcripts, do not have them sent to us until your application is complete and you have paid the application fee.
What is an Official Transcript?
An official transcript is a record of your grades issued by the school(s) you attended. Transcripts ordered online through your application are considered official.
Types of Transcripts
There are several different situations and corresponding types of transcripts:
Current Ontario High School Students
You’re considered a current Ontario high school student if you’re taking at least one high school course. Most high schools send your grades directly to us for you, so be sure to tell your guidance counsellor that you are applying to college.
You can verify that your most current grades are posted correctly in your application by reviewing them on the Documents and Transcripts page. If something is missing or incorrect, tell your guidance counsellor right away.
Once your grades are received, they are sent to your college choices within two business days.
Exception: Night School / Summer School / Online Courses
If you’re attending an Ontario night school or summer school, or taking online courses, contact the school directly to request that proof of registration, interim reports, or final transcripts for these courses be sent to OCAS. Once received, we’ll post the information on your Dashboard and send it to your college choices within three business days.
Former Ontario High School Students
You’re considered a former Ontario high school student if:
You graduated with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC).
You attended high school in Ontario but did not graduate and are no longer attending.
You must provide your transcript as part of your application. For some schools, you can request the transcript electronically in your application.
Note: If you attended more than one high school, you should check with the schools to find out which one has your full transcript. You can then submit a transcript request from that school.
There is a fee for electronic transcript requests that varies by high school, as well as a non-refundable $5 transcript processing fee that is applied per order. The charges are listed on the Payment page of the application. Transcript fees are non-refundable.
After you’ve paid for your application and transcript request, your request is sent to the high school, and they will send your transcript to OCAS for you.
If your high school does not support electronic transcript requests, you must contact them directly and ask them to send an official transcript in a sealed envelope directly to OCAS. To be considered official, your transcript must be received directly from the school.
Your institution can mail a paper copy to us in a sealed envelope or email a PDF version to service@ocas.ca.
We will not respond to or process emailed transcripts from applicants. Transcripts must come to us directly from the institution by mail or email. Do not have your transcript sent into us until your application is complete and you have paid the application fee. We cannot process transcripts for incomplete or unpaid applications.
It can take 10 to 14 business days for us to receive and process your electronic transcript. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard within one business day. It is then sent to your chosen colleges within two or three business days.
For paper transcripts, please add two to three business days to the timeline.
Note: If your Ontario high school grades are already posted, and there have been no changes to your courses or marks, you do not need to provide another transcript.
Ontario Public College or University Students and Graduates
If you’re applying to a college you’ve already attended in the past, are currently attending, or have already graduated from, your records will still be on file at the college, and you don’t need to provide a transcript to that college.
In all other cases, you must provide one copy of your transcript to each of the colleges you wish to attend. If you have more than one active application, you must request a separate transcript for each one.
You can request copies of your transcript electronically on the Your Transcripts page of your application.
Note: Paper-based Ontario public college or university transcripts are not accepted. Even if you have a paper copy of your transcript, you must order an electronic version.
Depending on the institution providing the transcript, you might be charged a fee. If so, the fee is listed on the Your Transcripts page and the Payment page of your application. A $5 transcript processing fee also applies to each transcript request order. Transcript fees are non-refundable.
It can take 10 to 15 business days for your transcript to reach the destination college. Once the institution fulfills your request, if your transcript was sent electronically, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard within a business day and send it to your college choices within two business days. If a printed transcript was mailed directly to the colleges, no information is posted in your account.
IMPORTANT:
If you add new colleges to your application at any time or add a new application to your account, you must make new college or university transcript requests and pay the fees again.
If you are attending an Ontario public college or university, please check if the colleges you are applying to require you to send your transcript now, at the end of the term, or both.
If you recently graduated from an Ontario public college or university, please wait until your final marks and credential information have been posted before ordering your transcript.
Ordering an End of Term transcript does not guarantee that credential information will be posted on your transcript. Before ordering your transcript, contact your college or university to determine when the credential information will be displayed on your transcript. You can order an immediate “Send Now” transcript at that time.
Out-of-Province Students and Graduates
Note: This section refers to institutions outside of Ontario, but within Canada.
If you have education experience from outside of Ontario, but still within Canada, you must provide your high school or post-secondary transcripts as part of your application. Contact the institutions directly and ask them to mail your official transcripts to OCAS. To be considered official, your transcripts must be received in a sealed envelope from the institution.
The time it takes for your transcripts to reach us will vary. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard and send it to your college choices within two business days.
Ontario Private Post-Secondary Institution Students and Graduates
If you’re currently attending, have previously attended, or have graduated from a private post-secondary institution within Ontario, you must provide your transcript as part of your application. Contact the institution directly and ask them to mail your official transcript to OCAS. To be considered official, your transcript must be received in a sealed envelope from the institution.
The time it takes for us to receive your transcript will vary by institution. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard and send it to your college choices within two business days.
Internationally Trained Applicants
If you’ve studied outside of Canada, you might need to provide a Credential Assessment Report as part of your application.
There are two commonly used credential assessment organizations:
International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS) - Provides general (document-by-document) assessments and comprehensive (course-by-course) assessments for both secondary and post-secondary studies.
World Education Services (WES) - Provides general (document-by-document) assessments for both secondary and post-secondary studies and comprehensive (course-by-course) assessments for post-secondary studies only.
You can request to have the WES evaluation sent directly to OCAS / ontariocolleges.ca. In your WES account, select ontariocolleges as the recipient. Do not manually enter the address.
When requesting the evaluation, be sure to select Academic Purposes.
Depending on the programs you’re applying to, one service might be preferred over the other, so contact your preferred colleges directly for more information. When your evaluation is complete, request that the evaluating organization send it to ontariocolleges.ca.
Note: We will not process international evaluations submitted by applicants.
The time it takes for your report to reach ontariocolleges.ca will vary. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard and send it to your college choices within two business days.
Academic Upgrading
If you’re currently taking academic upgrading at an Ontario college or if you’ve taken it in the past, you must provide your college transcript as part of your application. You can request it electronically as part of your application.
Depending on the institution providing the transcript, you might be charged a fee. If so, the fee is listed on the Your Transcripts page and the Payment page of your application. A non-refundable $5 transcript processing fee also applies to each transcript request order.
It can take 10 to 14 business days for ontariocolleges.ca to receive and process your electronic transcript. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard within a business day. It is then sent to your college choices within two or three business days.
CAEC or GED Holders
If you’ve taken and passed the CAEC (Canadian Adult Education Credential) or GED (General Education Development) assessment, you must provide your test results as part of your application. Contact the institution where you took your test and ask them to mail your official results to OCAS.
To be considered official, your assessment results must be received directly from the institution. The institution can mail us a paper copy in a sealed envelope or email a PDF version to service@ocas.ca. We will not respond to or process emailed documents from applicants.
The time it takes for ontariocolleges.ca to receive your results will vary by institution. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard and send it to your chosen colleges within two business days.
Returning Learners
You are considered a returning learner or mature student if:
You are 19 years of age or older by the first day of college, AND
You do not have a high school diploma (Ontario Secondary School Diploma or Ontario Secondary School Certificate) or General Education Diploma (GED).
As a returning learner, you can complete the college application on the Ontario Colleges website. However, because the application process for returning learners varies from college to college, you should contact your preferred colleges directly to see if they have any extra requirements.
IMPORTANT: If you completed high school, even decades ago, you are not considered a returning learner; you’re a high school graduate.
Home-Schooled Students
If you’re currently attending, have previously attended, or have completed home-schooling, you must provide a transcript as part of your application. After your application is complete and you’ve paid the application fee, contact the home school directly and ask them to mail your official transcript to OCAS.
Your institution can mail a paper copy to us in a sealed envelope or email a PDF version to service@ocas.ca.
The time it takes for us to receive your results will vary by institution. Once received, we’ll post your information in the Documents and Transcripts section of Your Dashboard and send them to your college choices within two business days.
Home-school student processes vary from college to college, so contact your preferred colleges directly to see if they have any extra requirements.