Transfer Credits to Bellevue College

We award college credit for many types of learning. You can transfer credits from another college, professional certifications, or even get credit for work and life experience. We also accept exams such as AP, IB, and A-Levels.

Student holding papers

How to Transfer to BC

After you apply, the college sends you an email with your next steps and your ctcLink Student ID number.

If you are a current or continuing student, participating in selective admission programs, or receiving military funding or benefits, you do not need to enroll before asking for a transfer credit review.

  • Submit only the transcripts/documents you want us to review
    • If you do not plan to earn a degree or certificate from the college, you do not need to transfer your credits
    • We only accept transfer credits from colleges with regional accreditation (or the equivalent of regional accreditation in a different country). Please see Frequently Asked Questions for more information
    • We do not return transcripts back to students. Once submitted, the transcript becomes the property of the college
    • Transcripts from other schools are not considered part of a student’s permanent college record and we routinely destroyed them after completing the review
    • For additional information please refer to college policy 6880 Student Records.
  • International Transcripts require additional steps
  • If you attended college before 1994 or outside the United States, we encourage you to submit course descriptions to ensure timely processing of your request for a credit review

  • After we receive your transcript, it takes several days to scan and upload it to our system
  • Log in to ctcLink. Click “Full Site” at the bottom of the blue Navigation pane. Then click “Academic Progress,” and “View my Advising Notes.” A note appears when we receive and upload your transcript
  • Note: Transcripts submitted before Nov 4, 2021 may not appear in your ctcLink account, but are likely scanned and uploaded. Contact us if you do not see your transcript in ctcLink

There are different forms for different types of credit.

We send the results of your credit review to your BC email account (not your Canvas inbox).

Check Your Status

It can take up to 8 weeks to review your documents and transfer credit. You can see our processing times for an update. When your review is complete, we send an email to your BC email account. You can also see your transfer credits in your ctcLink account: click “Academics” in the blue Navigation pane on the left. Then select “Transfer Credit.”

Additional Information

Mail official paper transcripts (in an envelope sealed by your previous school) and documents to:

Bellevue College
ATTN: Student Central/Enrollment Services U112
3000 Landerholm Circle SE
Bellevue, WA 98007-6484

Electronic transcripts must be sent directly by the institution. You cannot download and view, mail or forward electronic transcripts. Electronic transcripts and documents should be emailed to: enrollment@bellevuecollege.edu. This email address is for document submission only.

We review your Credit Review request in the order we receive it. View the Student Central Processing Dashboard to see our current wait times.

Do you need to enroll for a class with a prerequisite?

You do not need to wait for a credit review. Instead, you can clear prerequisites online using an unofficial transcript or other documents. This process takes just a few days. It does not transfer credit or courses to the college, but it does allow you to enroll for the classes you need.

Do you need to apply for graduation?

You should transfer your credit as soon as you are admitted to the college. However you can apply to graduate even if your request for a credit review has not yet been completed. Review the graduation application deadlines and apply on time.

If you attended college before 1994 or in a different country, we may ask you to submit course descriptions. To accept transfer credit, we sometimes must review course descriptions that explain the content of your courses. Contact the Registrar’s Office at your previous college to if they can provide information on how to obtain the descriptions. The course description documentation must be from the year you took the classes. If you cannot get course descriptions, we review your transcript by looking at the course titles only. However, this may mean that some courses may not transfer.

How to send course descriptions:

Please submit your course descriptions online. You can provide a web link to the catalog at your previous college for the year you took the courses. You can also upload catalog documents directly if a link is not available.

Paper transcripts must be in an unopened envelope that was sealed by the school you attended. If the envelope is opened, we cannot use the transcript.

Electronic transcripts must be sent directly by the school. We cannot accept copies that are sent from your personal email account. If the electronic transcript was downloaded and viewed by anyone else, it is not official and cannot be used for transfer credit.

If you attended multiple colleges, please submit each transcript separately. To transfer credits we need to see the original transcript from the school where you took the classes. For example, if you took classes at Cascadia College and then transferred to the University of Washington, you need to send both transcripts separately.

In general, we only transfer the courses you need for your degree. You can meet with an academic advisor while you wait for your credits to transfer. Advisors can give an unofficial review to help you plan your classes. The Evaluations office makes the final decision.

For AP, IB, and Cambridge A Level exams, you can view exam credit equivalencies here.

If you attended another two-year school in Washington state:

The State of Washington has a common course numbering system for it’s 34 community and technical college schools. This means some schools offer identical courses with the same number. If two schools offer the same common course, we treat them as identical. Common courses have the ampersand symbol (&). For Example, ENGL& 101 is a common course. If you took ENGL& 101 at another Washington State community and technical college, it transfers to Bellevue College as ENGL& 101. Courses without the ampersand (&) symbol are not considered exactly the same. For example, “ENGL 101” is not a common course because it does not have the ampersand (&) symbol.

Please select the degree you plan to earn. If you plan to complete multiple degrees, please select the first degree you plan to complete. You can submit an additional request for your next degree later. If you are working on multiple degrees at the same time, you can submit multiple requests.

Have more questions? You can see our Frequently Asked Questions for a lot more information. You can also see our contact information below.


Location & Hours

U Building, First Floor Lobby

Bellevue College
ATTN: Student Central U112
3000 Landerholm Circle SE
Bellevue, WA 98007-6484

  • Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.