What makes a transcript official vs. unofficial?

Question

What really determines whether a transcript is official or unofficial? (I am wondering mainly in the context of US high schools and colleges.) - Is it entirely about the process by which it is delivered, i.e. directly from an institution to a the receiver such that there can be no tampering? - If an issuing institution (such as a high school) does not print the transcript on special security paper, but sends directly to the receiver in the mail on regular paper, would this still be considered official? - Are there cases where an official institution would consider a transcript to be official but an receiving institution would not consider it to be official?

Answer 1

An official transcript is directly from your school in a sealed envelope and has not been opened. If you need an official transcript contact your school and they can send the transcript to the place you need it. An official transcript ensures that it was not tampered with and it is official. Whereas, an unofficial transcript is a transcript that you have get easily from your school and you have viewed it. Usually an unofficial transcript does not have a seal it is just a standard plain non-official transcript.