FERPA and Transcript Requests: What Registrars and Students Both Need to Know

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the federal law that decides who is allowed to see a student's transcript. Every registrar knows this. Almost every parent and most students do not — which is where the confusion starts.

The basic rule

Once a student turns 18 or enrolls in a postsecondary institution (whichever comes first), the student — not the parent — controls access to their education records. The transcript is the prototype of an education record. The student decides where it goes.

What counts as consent

Under FERPA, written, signed, and dated consent that specifies what records, to whom, and for what purpose. A signed paper form is fine. So is an electronic signature in a system that authenticates the student's identity (single sign-on into Parchment, NSC, or the school's portal qualifies).

The exceptions registrars actually use

FERPA permits release without consent in a small number of cases. The two relevant ones for transcripts are:

• School officials with legitimate educational interest — internal advisors, registrars at the receiving institution under a written articulation agreement.
• Other schools to which a student is transferring — when the disclosure is for purposes related to the student's enrollment.

The transfer exception is narrower than people think. It allows release to the receiving institution, but it does not allow release to a third party that is helping the student apply.

Where institutions accidentally cross the line

1. Releasing transcripts to a parent on the phone. Common; rarely flagged; technically a violation unless the student has signed a release.
2. Sending transcripts to a personal email "for the student." Permissible if the student requested it, but the document is no longer official the moment it lands in a personal inbox.
3. Auto-forwarding transcript copies to a high school counselor. Requires student consent on file, even when the high school requested it.

Directory information vs education records

Some categories — name, dates of attendance, degrees awarded, major — can be designated directory information and released without consent unless the student has opted out. The transcript is never directory information.

Parents and dependent students

FERPA permits release to parents of a student who is a dependent for tax purposes — but it does not require it. Most institutions choose, as policy, not to release transcripts to parents without a signed student release, regardless of dependent status.

What students should know

• You control your transcript. Anyone else who wants it needs your written consent.
• Your signature in your school's transcript ordering system is consent.
• If a school sends your transcript to a place you didn't authorize, you can file a FERPA complaint with the US Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office.

What registrars should document

Every release should have an audit trail showing who requested it, who authorized it, where it went, and when. Modern transcript platforms produce this automatically; legacy paper workflows produce it only if the office is disciplined about logging.