When a member moves to another church, the old church sends a written testimony about the member to the new church. Continental Reformed churches call it an attestation (attestaat). Presbyterian churches call it a letter of transfer or a certificate of dismission. The council of the old church sends it, and the council of the new church uses it to receive the member into its care.
Contents16 sections
What is an attestation or a letter of transfer?
Scripture shows the practice first. In the continental Reformed family of church orders, the Church Order of Dort (1619), art. 82, says: "To those who remove from the Congregation, a Certificate of Dismission or testimony regarding their conversation shall be given them at the discretion of the Consistory, under the seal of the Church, or where there is no seal, signed by two."
The council is the consistory in continental churches, the session in Presbyterian churches, and the kerkraad in Afrikaans churches. Each federation has its own rule and its own numbers:
| Church order | Name | What the rule asks |
|---|---|---|
| GKSA Kerkorde, art. 82 | Attestasie | Two members of the council sign a testimony of confession and conduct. |
| Canadian Reformed Churches (2025), art. 62 | Attestation | Announcements to the congregation first, then two consistory members sign. |
| URCNA Church Order (10th edition), art. 64 | Official letter | The member asks in writing. The letter holds the membership information and a testimony about doctrine and life. |
| OPC, Form of Government XIII.9 | Letter of transfer | The clerk sends a letter that commends the member to the care of the new church. |
| PCA, Book of Church Order 46-1, 46-7 | Certificate of dismission | The session gives it. It is valid testimony of good standing for one year. |
| Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, Constituição, arts. 18-21 | Carta de transferência | It certifies full communion on its date, is valid for six months, and goes directly to the receiving church. |
Check the current edition of your own church order before you act. For the other duties of the council, see what the church order asks of the council.
A testimony at one moment
Each order treats the letter as a testimony at one moment, not a permanent certificate. The Handleiding by die Kerkorde (1965), a GKSA commentary, calls it a mistake to "collect" an attestation, as if the church keeps a document for the member (p. 488). The PCA certificate certifies the standing of a member only to the time when the member left (BCO 46-7).
A baptised member and a member under discipline
Most orders also give a letter for a baptised child. The Canadian Reformed order sends it directly to the new consistory (art. 62). The OPC receives baptised children with their parents (Book of Discipline II.B.2.f). The letter does not admit the child to the Lord's Supper: public profession of faith comes first (Church Order of Dort, art. 61).
The testimony must be true, because a council admits a member to the sacraments on the strength of it (Handleiding, p. 488). The OPC dismisses a member under a charge only for weighty reasons. It tells the new session about the charge, and the new session concludes the case (Book of Discipline II.A.3). The Brazilian order gives no letter to a member who is under process (art. 23, § 1). NAPARC is the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council. In 1987, its churches agreed to tell the receiving church about the discipline before the transfer.
Why does the transfer matter?
- The care does not stop at the church door. The URCNA wants attestations written "to orient the receiving elders to the member we are asking them to receive and oversee" (Appendix 8).
- The new council knows whom it receives. The Church Order of Dort, art. 61, admits to the Lord's Supper only those with a profession and a good testimony, "without which also those who come from other Churches shall not be admitted."
- No member falls between two churches. The member stays under the old council until the new council receives the member (PCA BCO 46-3; Brazilian Constituição, art. 22).
- The register stays true. The OPC clerk removes the name only after the new church reports the reception (Form of Government XIII.9). See the member register and church records.
- The churches stay bound together. A GKSA council cannot refuse an attestation from a church in the same federation (Rutgers, cited in the Handleiding, p. 493). The NAPARC agreement binds Reformed and Presbyterian churches in North America to the same care. See also Reformed church management.
Where does the attestation come from?
Letters of commendation in the New Testament
When Apollos went from Ephesus to Achaia, "the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him" (Acts 18:27, KJV). Paul wrote for Phoebe: "I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints" (Romans 16:1-2).
Paul's question in 2 Corinthians 3:1 shows that such letters were common: "need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?" His answer goes deeper: the church itself is his letter, "written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God" (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Letters of peace in the early church
The Synod of Antioch (341), canon 7, ruled: "No stranger shall be received without letters pacifical." The Council of Chalcedon (451), canon 11, let the poor travel "with letters merely pacifical from the church". Canon 13 did not let unknown clergy serve in another city "without letters commendatory from their own Bishop". The Western church called such letters litterae formatae.
The refugee churches and the Synod of Emden (1571)
On 4 October 1571, the Dutch churches "under the cross", scattered in Germany and East Friesland, met at Emden. Some people moved too easily, and others took the alms meant for needy believers (art. 44).
The synod ruled that a person who moves "will not be helped as part of the household of faith in other congregations unless they have attestation and testimony as to how they formerly conducted themselves in doctrine and life" (art. 44, translation by Richard De Ridder). The minister asked the reason for the move and refused the attestation if the reason was not sufficient. The letter gave the name, the native country, the trade, the reason, the time in the congregation, the conduct and the destination (art. 45).
The attestation travelled with the person. Each church on the road wrote on it the help that it gave, and the church at the destination tore it up (art. 46). After November 1571, a person who left without a proper testimony did not count as one of the "household of faith" (art. 47; compare Galatians 6:10).
The Synod of Dort (1618–1619)
The Church Order of Dort, signed on 28 May 1619, put the rule into art. 82. Art. 83 kept the link with the deacons: the help that a poor member received was "noted on the reverse side of their Certificate of Dismission". The Synod of Reddersburg (1862) accepted the order for the GKSA in South Africa. The Canadian Reformed order of 2025 "follows the principles and structure of the Church Order of Dort".
The Presbyterian line: Scotland and America
In Scotland, the kirk session has been the local church court since 1560. When a communicant moved to a new parish, the old session could give a certificate of transference. It stated that the person left in full communion, so the new parish church could receive the person at once. Most of the certificates that survive date from the second half of the nineteenth century (ScotlandsPeople).
In America, the Presbyterian Church in the United States (the Southern church) drafted rules in 1867. A member who moved had to "produce satisfactory testimonials of his church-membership and dismission". The same drafts limited a certificate of dismission to one year, and the PCA keeps that limit today (BCO 46-7). In 1898, F. P. Ramsay wrote in his commentary on these rules: "The certificate ought to tell the truth."
From the hand of the member to the church office
At Emden, the member carried the letter. Modern orders send it from office to office. The OPC sends a certificate "directly to that body by the dismissing judicatory" (Book of Discipline II.A.2). The URCNA asks the new church for a certificate of membership back (Appendix 8). Today the letter can go by email or through shared software, and the new council can confirm that it arrived.
How does a council send a transfer?
- The member asks as soon as the move is certain, in writing where the order asks for it (URCNA, art. 64).
- Name the receiving church. The OPC certificate must name the body that receives the member (Book of Discipline II.A.2).
- Check the register: the dates of birth, baptism, profession of faith and marriage, and the family members.
- Ask the elder of the member's district for the facts. A council can attest only what it knows.
- The council decides. If your order asks for it, announce the transfer to the congregation first.
- Sign the letter as your order asks. In the Dort family, two council members sign. Send it directly to the new council.
- Keep the member on your roll until the new church confirms the reception. Then end the membership, with the date and the reason.
How does a council receive a transfer?
- Check the letter: the sending church, the signatures, the testimony about doctrine and life, and the date.
- If the letter is not in order, ask the sending council to correct it (Handleiding, p. 493).
- The council receives the member. Record the date and the reason.
- Put the member in a district (a ward), tell its elder and deacon, and visit the new household soon.
- Tell the old church the date of the reception (OPC Form of Government XIII.9; Brazilian Constituição, art. 22, § 3).
When a member moves without a transfer
| Church order | What the council does |
|---|---|
| PCA, BCO 46-2 | The old elders keep the oversight and ask the elders near the new home to take it on. After one year of neglect, the session acts under BCO 38-4. |
| URCNA, art. 64 | With the concurring advice of classis, the consistory can erase a member after at least two years without contact. |
| GKSA, Synod of 1933 | After a set period, the council tells the member that the membership has lapsed (Handleiding, p. 490). |
How does Reformeer handle transfers?
Reformeer keeps the road of a transfer in Kantoor, the office app. The receiving church sends a request (Request a transfer), the holding church releases the member, and the receiving church accepts. A church that does not use Reformeer gets the request by email, and its reply lands on the same transfer thread. The office records the arrival with "Mark certificate received".
The attestation letter (Attestasiebrief) is a PDF for one member or for the whole family, and you choose who signs it. You can admit a member who arrives without a letter, and the other church then gets a letter.
The limits: Reformeer has no workflow or letter for a withdrawal. The screens are in Afrikaans and English. Reformeer also does not replace the council: the council still decides, announces and signs. See the office app, or book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a transfer letter valid?
It depends on the order. The PCA certificate is valid for one year (BCO 46-7), and the Brazilian carta for six months (art. 21). The GKSA Handleiding expects the member to ask within three months of the move (p. 491).
Can a member move between a Reformed and a Presbyterian church?
Yes. The URCNA can transfer a member to a church in NAPARC (Appendix 8). The OPC receives a member by letter from a church "of like faith and practice approved by the session", at the public profession of faith (Book of Discipline II.B.2.b).
Can a council refuse a transfer?
A GKSA council cannot refuse an attestation from a church in the same federation, but it can ask for a correction (Handleiding, p. 493). A Brazilian council can refuse, but it must return the letter with its reasons (art. 22, § 1).
Published on 23 October 2026. Topic: Membership.