How to Request an Ontario High School Transcript After You Leave School

Where do you request an Ontario high school transcript?

Ontario's Ministry of Education directs people who need a copy of their secondary school transcript to contact their school or school board. There is no single provincial ordering portal that replaces the school or board for all former students.

The document you normally request is the Ontario Student Transcript (OST). It provides an official and consistent record of Ontario secondary school credit courses that a student has successfully completed and includes other information required by provincial transcript rules.

If you attended a public or Catholic secondary school

Start with the secondary school you attended. If the school cannot process former-student transcript requests directly, contact the school board responsible for the school. Ontario's official OST guidance specifically tells former students seeking a transcript to contact their school or school board.

School boards establish their own administrative request procedures. This means the form, identity-verification method, delivery options, local fee and processing time can differ from one board to another. Ontario does not publish one universal fee or processing time for all school-board transcript requests.

What information should you have ready?

The exact information requested depends on the school or board, but you should be prepared to identify the student record clearly. Useful information can include:

• your current name and the name you used while attending school;
• the secondary school you attended;
• the approximate years you attended;
• your date of birth or other identifying information requested by the record holder;
• where the transcript needs to be sent; and
• whether the recipient requires an official transcript sent directly by the school or board.

Follow the school or board's own identity-verification instructions. Do not send sensitive identification documents by ordinary email unless the record holder specifically instructs you to use that method.

What does the Ontario Student Transcript show?

The Ontario Student Transcript is the province's official secondary school transcript. The Ministry of Education's OST Manual sets the rules for establishing, maintaining, issuing and storing the transcript.

The transcript records secondary school credit-course information and, where applicable, information about the Ontario secondary school diploma or certificate awarded. The transcript format also includes authorization by the appropriate school or ministry official.

The transcript is different from a diploma. A diploma confirms that a credential was awarded, while the OST provides the official academic record used by institutions that need to review secondary school studies.

Can you request a transcript for education or employment?

Yes. Ontario's Student Record guideline specifically recognizes the use of student-record information to prepare reports for further education or employment when requested in writing by an adult student, former student or, where applicable, a parent.

If a college, university, employer, licensing organization or another recipient asks for an official transcript, check its instructions before requesting the document. Some recipients may require the transcript to be transmitted directly by the school, school board or other authorized record holder.

If your transcript request is connected with post-secondary funding, the transcript process is separate from applying for student financial aid, grants and loans.

What if you attended a private high school?

If your Ontario private secondary school is still operating, contact the school directly. The Ministry of Education's private-school guidance directs former students to the operating school for their student records.

Do not automatically send a transcript request to the Ministry of Education simply because you attended a private school. The ministry route is relevant when a closed private school transferred its records to the ministry.

What if your former private school has closed?

The Ontario Ministry of Education maintains student records from closed private schools that transferred their records to the ministry. If you need a transcript from one of these schools, the province instructs you to contact student.records@ontario.ca.

The ministry also publishes a list of private elementary and secondary schools that have ceased operation. Use that list to confirm whether your former school is recorded as closed.

The Ontario Student Transcript Manual states that an OST may be authorized by a ministry official for a student who attended a private school that is now closed. This allows an official transcript to be produced when the relevant records are held by the ministry.

Where are closed-private-school records handled?

The Ontario Student Transcript Manual identifies the Ministry of Education's Field Services Branch as the contact for former students of private secondary schools that are no longer operating. The current provincial contact information lists:

Ontario Ministry of Education, Field Services Branch, 315 Front Street West, 12th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M7A 0B8, student.records@ontario.ca.

Email is therefore available as a contact route for closed-private-school records held by the ministry. However, there is not a single provincial online ordering service covering every Ontario high school transcript request, so this procedure is not classified as universally available online.

How can you check whether a private school has closed?

Ontario publishes an official list of private elementary and secondary schools that have ceased operation, organized by school year. The list includes the school's name, Board School Identification Number and other identifying information.

If you find your former school on the list, that confirms that Ontario records it as having ceased operation. It does not by itself prove that every student record from that school is held by the ministry, so contact the Ministry of Education's student records service to confirm whether it has your record.

What if your school record is unusual or very old?

The correct record holder can differ for unusual records. For example, Ontario separately identifies education records from correctional institutions and specifies whether records are held by a school board, the Ministry of Education or the Independent Learning Centre.

If your former school or board cannot locate the record, ask which organization became responsible for its student records rather than assuming the record no longer exists. For a closed private secondary school, the Ministry of Education's student records contact is the appropriate next step when records were transferred to the ministry.

How much does a transcript cost and how long does it take?

There is no single province-wide fee published for all former-student transcript requests. Public and Catholic school boards can have their own request processes and administrative charges. Check the current instructions of the school or board that holds your record before paying anything.

Ontario also does not publish one processing-time standard covering every secondary school, board and closed-private-school record request. Processing can depend on the record holder, the age of the record, how readily it can be located and the requested delivery method.

Because there is no universal provincial processing estimate, allow additional time when a transcript is required for a college, university, employment or other application deadline.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending every request to the Ministry of Education: for a public or Catholic school, start with the school or school board; for an operating private school, contact the school itself.
• Giving up because a private school closed: the Ministry of Education holds records from closed private schools that transferred records to it.
• Ordering the wrong form of record: ask the college, university, employer or other recipient whether it requires an official transcript and how it must be delivered.
• Assuming all boards charge the same fee: Ontario does not publish one province-wide former-student transcript fee.
• Waiting until an application deadline: there is no universal Ontario processing time, especially for older records.

Related education steps

If you are using your transcript to return to post-secondary education, you may also need to arrange financing. Depending on your circumstances, Helpydo has separate guides for student financial aid, grants and loans and the Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities. These are separate processes from obtaining your Ontario Student Transcript.