In this electronic age, where information is digital and service is virtual, the registrar profession is changing rapidly to keep up with increasing standards and expectations. EDI and now XML standards enable system-to-system exchanges of academic records information. While many of the registrar's profession display student academic records under secure access to the students using the World Wide Web, as a time-honored rule, official transcripts are still printed. Through PKI (public key infrastructure), paper's dominance as the medium and means for producing official transcripts may be over. The use of PKI technology and infrastructure, information may retain its digital form and offer the recipient the same assurance that the document is as authentic as one received in the mail. PKI technology enables the placement of an electronic signature on a digital file (substituting for the special paper, the seal, and secure posting of the paper document), which assures the recipient that the digital file has not been altered and originates from a verifiable party. (Contains 3 figures and a list of 5 online resources for additional information.)