UK universities generally accept a Chinese transcript (成绩单) in English from one of two kinds of source: your own university, or a qualified translator who certifies the translation. UCAS says so in as many words, and adds that self-translations are not accepted. If your university cannot give you an English version in time, what you need is a certified Chinese transcript translation for UK universities, which I produce as a Qualified Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (MITI). Check the free route first, though: many Chinese universities issue an English transcript on request. When that is not possible, my rate is £30 per page of 250 words; a transcript is often one to three pages, and I confirm the count after seeing it.
What UK universities, UCAS and the Home Office ask for
UCAS has opened document upload “for all students for 2027 entry”. Its document upload guidance says: “If your certificates or transcripts are not in English, we recommend you upload an officially translated copy alongside the original.” A translation is official “if it is produced by the awarding organisation or a recognised, qualified, and certifying translator, and it includes a signed confirmation of accuracy along with translator credentials.” It also lists what a transcript should show, including grades for each course, credit hours, cumulative GPA, the institution’s official stamp or seal, the registrar’s signature and the date of issue. A Chinese 成绩单 has all of these, and every one has to survive translation.
Postgraduate applications go to each university directly. Three admissions pages I checked on 28 September 2026:
- University of Edinburgh: a certified translation must come from “the institution that awarded your degree or qualification”, a sworn translator from a non-UK jurisdiction, or “a Fellow (FITI) or Member (MITI) of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), who may self-certify the translation”. Other translations must add a confirmation of accuracy, the date, the translator’s full name, signature and contact details.
- LSE: “If your documents are not in English, you must upload a translation carried out by an accredited translator (e.g. the British Council).” Its supporting documents page also asks you to “scan the reverse of your transcript if the mark scheme is explained there”.
- Queen’s University Belfast: its page for applicants from China asks for official English translations, giving as an example translations “(signed and stamped) issued by the degree-awarding university/institution in China”, and also accepts English verification reports from CHESICC.
For the Student visa, a transcript is often not needed at all. Appendix Student excuses degree-level study at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance from the qualification evidence (ST 20.1), and Chinese nationals applying from China or the UK need not send it with the application (ST 22.1), though it “may be required by the decision maker”. If it is, the caseworker guidance is plain: “If the documents provided are not in English or Welsh, the applicant must provide a certified translation.” My guide to what UKVI requires from a certified translation covers the visa side.
One recipient that usually does not need me is UK ENIC. Its Translation Waiver Service lets you submit documents in their original language, and for Chinese “there is no charge” for it. ENIC adds that it does not provide translations, so the waiver gives you no English copy of your transcript for anyone else. Employers and professional bodies set their own rules; ask which of the routes above they accept.
When you may not need a translation at all
The first thing to check is your own university. Peking University says current students can order transcripts in English as well as Chinese; Nanjing University prints Chinese and English transcripts from self-service machines; Southeast University has its English transcript stamped with the academic affairs office’s seal for academic records (成绩专用章). An English transcript issued and sealed by your university is the “awarding institution” route that UCAS, Edinburgh and Queen’s name, and it costs you nothing but time.
The second is verification. CSSD, the Ministry of Education centre behind CHSI (学信网), says its reports on degree certificates and academic transcripts “can be issued both in Chinese and English”. The transcript report is paid and CHSI says the process takes about a month. Queen’s accepts them, and LSE’s offer-holder page describes an optional, fee-paying route for verified transcripts through CHESICC, CSSD’s name until 2022. A verification report is not a translation, and I cannot produce one: if a university wants it, it must come from CSSD.
Where the free routes run out, in my experience, is where the work reaches me: high-school transcripts for UCAS (CSSD’s overseas-study service stopped verifying secondary-school transcripts in 2019), colleges that only issue Chinese, graduates whose university archive (档案馆) asks for a visit in person, and deadlines shorter than the registry’s queue.
Does a certified translation meet the requirement?
Yes, where the recipient’s wording matches. gov.uk’s guidance on certifying a translation asks the translator to confirm that it is a “true and accurate translation of the original document”, with the date, their full name and contact details. The joint ATC, CIOL and ITI guide Certified Translation: Getting It Right (2024) names “Qualified ITI Members (MITI translator or FITI translator)” among those who provide certified translations, and Edinburgh names MITI members outright. ITI lists me as a Qualified Member. For a transcript, my translation carries over:
- The header: your name as spelled in your passport, student number, school, major, dates of study, and the university’s own registered English name where it has one.
- Every course row: course titles rendered consistently, 必修 compulsory and 选修 elective kept apart, and 学分 credits never merged with 学时 teaching hours.
- Grades exactly as printed: marks out of 100, the five-level 优/良/中/及格/不及格 scale with the Chinese kept beside the English, pass/fail entries, and any GPA or weighted average on the scale shown (4.0 or 5.0). A translator’s note states which scales the transcript uses and reproduces the key if the original prints one. Resit (补考) and retake (重修) marks are translated, never dropped.
- Seals, signatures and codes: described in brackets, as the guide says: “Draw a circle representing a stamp and write the text in the stamp in the target language”; verification codes reproduced character for character.
- A certificate of translation: the statement of accuracy, date, my full name, signature, MITI membership and contact details.
What it does not do: I do not convert your marks into a UK class or a US GPA, because that is credential evaluation, not translation. It does not prove your transcript is genuine; only CSSD verifies. It never replaces the original, which UCAS and LSE both want alongside it. And if a programme lists only the awarding institution as an acceptable translator, the recipient decides; ask before you order.
What to do next
- Open your programme’s admissions page, or the UCAS upload guidance, and note its exact words: “awarding institution”, “certified”, “MITI”, “accredited translator”. If it is unclear, email admissions: “Will you accept a certified translation of my Chinese transcript by a Qualified Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (MITI)?”
- Ask your 教务处 or archive office whether it issues a sealed English transcript, and how long it takes. If it does and the deadline allows, use it.
- If you need a translation, send colour scans of every page, front and back (the grading key is often on the back), the passport spelling of your name, and who will receive it.
- I quote per page, send a draft for you to check names and course titles, then deliver a signed PDF: £30 per page, usually in 2 working days; a long multi-page transcript can take 2 working days.
- Upload the Chinese original and the translation together, and keep both in case UKVI asks for them later.
- If a recipient asks for notarisation or an apostille, ask who requires it and why before paying for either; neither appears in the UCAS or university wording quoted above.
Your 毕业证书 and 学位证书 are separate documents, covered on my academic transcripts translation service page; for the wider application checklist, see UK university application requirements for Chinese students.
Frequently asked questions
Can I translate my transcript myself?
Not for UCAS: its guidance says “Self‑translations are not accepted.” Edinburgh and LSE describe who may translate, and neither description includes the applicant.
Does my CHSI report need translating?
Usually not. CSSD issues its verification reports in Chinese and English, so order the English version from CHSI rather than paying for a translation of the Chinese one.