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If you finished school on the IB, Cambridge, Edexcel or another foreign board and want an Indian college seat, many admission offices will ask one question: is your Class 12 equal to Indian Class 12? The usual proof is an equivalence certificate from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). Here is when you need one, what to gather, and a plan so it does not hold up your admission.
When do you need an AIU equivalence certificate for admission?
The AIU's Evaluation Division grants academic equivalence to qualifications from accredited foreign boards and universities, and it issues an equivalence certificate to students who completed school-level exams on a foreign board, according to the AIU equivalence page.
You are likely to need it if:
your Class 12 (or Grade 12, A Levels, IB Diploma) was awarded by a board outside India
the college's admission bulletin lists an AIU equivalence certificate among the documents
you are a foreign national applying through a university's foreign students' office
Colleges write this into their rules. The University of Delhi's Foreign Students' Registry bulletin for 2025-26 lists an AIU equivalence certificate for a non-Indian diploma or degree among its documents, next to a document supporting 12 years of school education. The same bulletin says an NRI holding an Indian passport, with a qualifying exam from an international board, is not eligible for admission through that registry, so Indian citizens should check which route their college uses.
What if your board is Indian but your school was abroad?
If your certificate comes from an Indian board, you are not in the foreign-board category. Under a notification published in the e-Gazette on 6 September 2025, NCERT, working through PARAKH, grants equivalence to Class 10 and 12 certificates from school boards in India. That notification replaced one from November 2021 that gave this job to the AIU, as the Press Information Bureau reported. Ask the college before paying for an AIU application you may not need.
The advisory is on the AIU website.
What documents does AIU ask for Class 12?
AIU's own application form for an equivalence certificate lists these for Grade 12:
Copy of the Grade 10 and Grade 12 certificate or diploma issued by the board or ministry of education
Copy of the official transcripts or mark sheets from the board or ministry
Documents on the school's accreditation status, only if you studied under the US system
Copy of your passport and visa
The same form says documents should be authenticated by the Indian mission in that country, that country's mission in India, or a gazetted officer of the central or state government, and that originals should not be submitted. It also notes that students heading to undergraduate medicine should have studied physics, chemistry, biology and English in Grades 11 and 12, and engineering students physics, chemistry, mathematics and English. It is an older paper form, so treat the online portal's checklist as final. If your documents need legalising abroad, our guide to getting an apostille on educational documents explains the steps.
How do you apply for AIU equivalence?
AIU accepts equivalence applications for foreign certificates through online mode only, at evaluation.aiu.ac.in, as its equivalence page states. Enquiries go to evaluation@aiu.ac.in. Check the current fee on the portal before you pay, rather than relying on older forms or third-party sites.
A plan from results day to admission day
Results week: download your final transcript and order the certificate or diploma from your board. AIU asks for both.
Same week: list your target colleges and read each bulletin for the words "AIU" or "equivalence". Note whether a provisional certificate is accepted.
Week 2: get copies authenticated as the form describes, prepare them in the format the portal asks for, and check that your name matches on passport, transcript and certificate.
Week 2-3: apply on the AIU portal and save the payment receipt and application number.
Counselling or admission: carry the receipt. If the certificate has not arrived, write to the admission office early.
A short email you can adapt: "I completed Grade 12 on [board] in [country] and applied for AIU equivalence on [date], application number [number]. Can I complete admission with the receipt and submit the certificate later? If so, by what date?"
Keep the reply. Colleges also ask for a migration or transfer certificate, and NRI-quota applicants have their own list in our guide to NRI quota documents.
How do you close syllabus gaps while you wait?
Paperwork is one gap; content is the other. If you are moving from IB or A Levels to an Indian entrance test, compare the syllabus topic by topic. The Fermi Concept Library covers every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing, each with its own lesson, so you can fill the topics your board skipped.
