Diploma supplement and transcript

The Diploma Supplement is a European format. Europass says it confirms the type and level of qualification, the institution that issued it, the course content and results, and details of the national education system. Graduates in more than 40 countries have the right to receive it automatically, free of charge and in a major European language.

A transcript is the personal record of your studies: each module, its hours or credits and your result. For health professions it often also shows the split between theory and clinical practice.

Regulators read these documents closely. They are how an assessor in another country sees whether your training covered the same subjects, the same clinical areas and enough hours as their own programmes. Differences found this way can lead to compensation measures, such as an aptitude test or adaptation period, so complete and detailed records matter.

• UK, NMC: if you rely on a qualification taught in English as language evidence, the NMC wants a personal transcript (not a generic syllabus) showing the clinical and theory hours, that you spent at least half the programme interacting with patients and colleagues, and that at least 75% of those interactions were in English.
• Germany: the recognition portal lists evidence of the content and duration of your training, for example a diploma supplement or transcript of records, with a German translation. Authorities use it to find gaps that may lead to a deficit notice and compensation measures.
• Netherlands: the BIG register asks for a course overview and the training programme (curriculum) with your name, the years you studied and the content of each course. It also accepts a diploma supplement showing training in Dutch as language evidence.
• USA: TruMerit needs a complete academic record or transcript sent directly by each school for its credentials evaluation and VisaScreen, and ECFMG verifies your final medical school transcript for ECFMG certification.

1. Ask your university or college registrar for an official transcript and, if it issues one, a diploma supplement.
2. Ask for clinical and theory hours to be shown separately if your regulator needs them.
3. Check whether the regulator wants it sent directly by the institution or as a certified copy from you.
4. Arrange a certified translation if it is not in an accepted language.

Generic course handbooks are not transcripts. Schools that have closed, or that issue only grade lists without hours, cause delays; the NMC suggests contacting your home regulator if your institution has closed. A diploma supplement does not replace the diploma itself, and neither replaces primary source verification where that is required.

Ask for several certified copies at once. The BIG register notes that many institutions issue certified copies with the original diploma, and that requesting a new certified copy can take time.