Character certificate format for school students.

Is a character certificate required?

We looked for a board or government rule that requires schools to issue a character certificate, or that prescribes its format, and didn't find one. Conduct does appear on official school documents. Field 19 of CBSE's transfer certificate is "General conduct", and Maharashtra's 2016 leaving certificate has a line for conduct.

So when a character certificate is asked for, check whether the institution or office asking has its own form or wording before you write one.

For CBSE schools, the board's circular of 4 February 2020 says any certificate based on information available in the school is issued by the principal or head of school, with no countersignature by CBSE.

What to write, and what to leave out

• Identify the student exactly: name, parents' names and admission number, as in the admission register.
• State the period: the class and academic year the student joined in, and the last ones they studied.
• Keep conduct to what your records show. A word or a short phrase, like the TC's general conduct line, is easier to stand behind than a paragraph of praise.
• Say what it rests on. The closing line in this template limits the statement to the school's knowledge and records for that period.
• Leave out marks, health and family matters. They don't belong on a character certificate.

Two signatures help: the class teacher, who knows the student, and the principal, with the school seal. That's this template's choice, not a rule.

The TC's conduct line or a separate certificate

If the student is leaving a CBSE school, the TC already records general conduct in field 19. A separate character certificate is for when someone asks for one by name.

Keep the two consistent. If the TC says "Good", a character certificate issued the same week shouldn't say "Excellent".

How to fill in the character certificate

1. Check the period. Take the classes and academic years from the admission register.
2. Ask the class teacher. The class teacher confirms the conduct line from the school's records.
3. Match the TC. If the student has a TC, use the same word as its general conduct field.
4. Number, sign and seal. Give it a number, have the class teacher and principal sign, and put the school seal on.

Sources

We read each of these on 21 October 2026. Rules change, so check the latest circular before you rely on a detail.

1. Examination Bye-Laws (updated to January 2013), Annexure-I, Format of Transfer Certificate, field 19, CBSE.
2. शाळा सोडल्याचे प्रमाणपत्र व सर्वसाधारण नोंदवहीचा (जनरल रजिस्टर) नमुना सुधारित करणेबाबत (revising the format of the school leaving certificate and the General Register), School Education and Sports Department, Government of Maharashtra, GR संकीर्ण-२३१६/(२२९/१६)/एस.डी.४, 19 September 2016.
3. Certificates based on school information to be issued by Principals/Head of schools only - no countersign required, CBSE, COORD/PR UNIT/2020, 4 February 2020.