China Degree Not Found on CHSI? What Foreign Graduates Should Check

Why Your China Degree May Not Appear on CHSI

“Not found on CHSI” describes a symptom, not a confirmed cause.

• you may be searching for a degree when the available record is a graduation or qualification record;
• you may have entered the graduation certificate number in a degree search, or the degree certificate number in a qualification search;
• the academic record may be associated with an old passport;
• your CHSI account name or identity details may not match the source record;
• the record may exist but may not have been successfully connected to your account;
• part of the university-submitted information may be missing or incorrect;
• your record may fall within a historical verification route rather than the expected online-report route; or
• the record may be visible while the requested verification report remains unavailable.

A search returning no result, an unsuccessful account binding and an unavailable verification report are not necessarily the same problem. For an overview of the record and report categories, see CHSI degree, graduation and transcript verification reports.

First Check Which Record Is Actually Missing

Chinese academic terminology can be confusing because graduation and degree are related but separate:

• 学籍 means student record or student status;
• 学历 means higher education qualification;
• 毕业证书 is a graduation certificate;
• 学位 means academic degree;
• 学位证书 is a degree certificate; and
• 成绩 refers to academic results or a transcript.

CHSI provides separate services and reports for student status, qualifications, degrees and transcripts. A receiving organization may request one report or several of them. “Degree verification,” “graduation verification,” “qualification verification” and “transcript verification” should not be treated as interchangeable requests.

Degree Record vs Graduation or Qualification Record

A Chinese university graduate may receive both a graduation certificate and a degree certificate. The graduation certificate generally relates to completion of the academic program and the registered higher education qualification. The degree certificate confirms that the relevant academic degree was awarded.

A graduate may therefore find a qualification record but no degree record, a degree record but an unbound qualification record, both records with only one report available, or neither record through the expected account route.

The certificate numbers are also different. A qualification search generally uses the number on the graduation certificate, while a degree search uses the number on the degree certificate. Current Sichuan University guidance for foreign graduates expressly distinguishes these two searches.

If one record appears and the other does not, investigate them separately. For more detail, review the difference between a Chinese degree certificate and graduation certificate.

What If You Used an Old Passport While Studying?

A passport renewal can create an identity-linking problem when the university and academic record still use the passport number held during study.

Current official CHSI guidance indicates that the passport number used during study and the name appearing on the graduation certificate are important identity details for foreign-graduate record queries and registration. See the CHSI guidance for international graduates.

Compare your old passport number, current passport, exact certificate name, university source information, CHSI account identity and any existing verification report.

Do not assume that a passport change means CHSI cannot recognize the academic record. The record may still exist under the historical identity. At the same time, do not automatically create another CHSI account using the old passport. The appropriate step depends on whether you already have an account, which identity is bound to it and what the current official account instructions require.

What If Your Name or Passport Changed After Graduation?

First determine where the difference exists. It may be in the university’s source record, qualification registration, degree registration, CHSI account identity, current passport or generated report.

Common differences include surname and given-name order, middle names, spacing, hyphens, letter case, transliteration and use of a Chinese name. A lawful name or nationality change may create a separate identity-continuity issue.

Not every difference means the university record is wrong. A record using the name and passport valid during study may be historically correct even though the graduate now uses another passport. Depending on the case, old and current passports, official name-change evidence, certificate copies and university records may help connect the identities.

What If the University Record Is Missing or Incorrect?

The university is normally the first contact when the underlying academic data appear absent or wrong. Contact the relevant office when:

• correct certificate information returns no underlying record;
• qualification or degree data appear to be missing;
• the registered name, passport number, date of birth, major or award information appears incorrect;
• the physical certificate conflicts with the source academic data; or
• the university needs to confirm which identity or certificate number was registered.

The appropriate contact may be the international student office, academic affairs office, registrar, graduate school, degree-management office or university archives.

CHSI’s official qualification help explains that universities are responsible for source academic registration and that CHSI cannot independently modify university data. Under the Ministry of Education electronic-registration rules, some corrections to registered qualification information may require confirmation by a provincial education authority.

The university may therefore need to examine archives, determine whether the issue is missing registration or an actual error, and follow the applicable approval procedure. Correction or additional registration is not guaranteed.

Should You Contact the University or CHSI/CSSD?

CHSI is the public website, account and query platform. CSSD is the Center for Student Services and Development, Ministry of Education, P.R. China, which operates CHSI and performs designated verification functions.

Contact the university when the problem appears to concern source academic data. CHSI/CSSD is more likely to be relevant when:

• account registration or recovery fails;
• an existing record cannot be bound to your account;
• the record appears to exist but an online verification report cannot be generated;
• the appropriate verification or certification route is unclear; or
• report delivery or verification-code functionality fails.

If an online report is unavailable, the current platform may offer a formal qualification or degree verification-report route for eligible records. That involves a separate application and review and is not an automatic substitute.

Applicants who need practical diagnosis or document preparation can consider China degree and transcript verification support. Global Attest is not CHSI, CSSD or a CSSD-authorized verification agent and cannot directly amend official academic data.

What If You Have the Physical Certificate but No Online Record?

Your physical graduation or degree certificate is important supporting evidence. It can help identify the institution, certificate type, certificate number, issue date, program and identity used when the document was issued.

It does not automatically prove that a corresponding electronic record exists, that the record is complete, that it uses your current passport, that an online report can be generated or that an overseas recipient will accept the certificate without verification.

Compare the exact printed name, certificate type, certificate number, issue date, university name, program or major, qualification or degree level and historical passport identity. A physical certificate and the national electronic record are connected evidence, but they are not interchangeable.

What If You Graduated Many Years Ago?

CHSI’s general query scope includes higher education qualification information from 2001 onward and degree information from September 2008 onward. These dates should not be treated as universal cutoffs for every foreign graduate.

International-student registration developed over time, and historical records may have been handled through different administrative or verification arrangements. Degree and qualification information may also have different registration histories.

An older graduate may need university archive confirmation, verification of the passport and name used during study, a review of the relevant historical query scope, a formal verification route or additional evidence. If the institution changed its name, merged or reorganized, first identify the current institution or authority responsible for its archives.

Can You Resolve the Problem From Outside China?

Many preliminary steps may be possible from overseas, including accessing CHSI, collecting screenshots, comparing certificates, contacting the university and preparing evidence. A fully remote correction route is not guaranteed.

The university or verification process may require personal identity verification, evidence from an old passport, an applicant-signed request, archive documents, current authorization formalities, applicant participation or original or certified documents.

Some universities may communicate with a representative, while others require the graduate to act personally. Third-party assistance with translation, document comparison or coordination does not mean the representative can make an official correction. Former students seeking broader assistance can review document services for international students and graduates in China.

What Does a Missing CHSI Record Mean for WES?

WES may require verified qualification, degree or transcript information for Chinese academic credentials. The required documents and delivery method depend on the instructions in the applicant’s current WES Required Documents list.

A missing or unbound CHSI record may delay or complicate that process, but it does not automatically mean a WES evaluation is impossible. Identify the required report, determine whether the problem concerns source data, account binding or report generation, and do not replace an official verification or approved delivery channel with an ordinary scan unless WES expressly permits it.

For practical downstream assistance, see China academic document support for WES. WES independently decides whether the submitted documents satisfy its evaluation requirements.

What Does It Mean for Notarization or Apostille?

CHSI/CSSD verification, notarization and Apostille are separate processes. CHSI/CSSD verification addresses academic-record information. A notarial institution creates a notarial document under its own evidentiary requirements. An Apostille authenticates the formal origin of the public document to which it is attached.

A missing CHSI record does not automatically prove that every academic-document Apostille route is unavailable. The route depends on the document, the notarial institution’s evidence requirements, the competent authentication authority and the receiving organization’s instructions.

Conversely, possession of a physical degree does not guarantee that it can immediately be notarized or Apostilled. Review China degree Apostille requirements separately before preparing the authentication stage.

Documents to Review Before Asking for Help

The following materials can help distinguish an identity, source-data, account or recipient problem:

• graduation certificate;
• degree certificate;
• transcript;
• passport used during study and current passport;
• CHSI/CSSD screenshot or exact error message;
• name and identity details entered in the account;
• university, faculty, program and graduation year;
• student number, if known;
• admission letter or former student card, if available;
• existing verification reports; and
• WES or other recipient instructions.

A student number is not established as a universal requirement for CHSI lookup, but it may help the university locate historical archives.

Do not post unredacted passports, academic records or other sensitive identity documents publicly.

Frequently Asked Questions