The same transcript can be acceptable to one US licensing body and worthless to another. NCEES, which evaluates foreign engineering degrees, takes a literal translation from any certified translation service. TruMerit, the organization formerly called CGFNS International, does not take a third-party translation of a nursing transcript at all: the school translates it, or TruMerit does, for a fee.
A foreign degree does not bar you from a licensed profession in the US, but it adds a stage US graduates never see: proving equivalence on paper. Most delays come from documents translated by the wrong person, in the wrong form, or only in part.
How does professional licensing work with a foreign degree?
Licensing is state by state, and foreign education adds a credential evaluation before the board will consider you. Most boards use the same two steps:
- Credential evaluation. An evaluation service compares your education with a US degree, usually course by course. Many boards name a single evaluator. NCEES calls its service "the only service accepted by all state licensing boards" for engineering applicants without an ABET-accredited degree.
- Board review. The board reads the evaluation with your licenses, registrations and proof of experience, and decides whether you may sit the exam or be licensed.
Translations sit underneath both steps: the evaluator cannot assess a transcript it cannot read.
Who is allowed to translate your documents for a licensing board?
It depends entirely on the evaluator. Here are the rules side by side:
| Profession | Evaluator or board | Who may translate | Rules that catch people out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineers, surveyors | NCEES Credentials Evaluations | A certified translation service | "Literal" translations of every official document |
| CPAs | NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES) | An ATA member, your university, your ministry of education, or NIES | No private providers outside the US; verbatim, same format, no interpretation |
| Pharmacists | FPGEC (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy) | Certified translator, certified court interpreter, government or pharmacy school official, professional translation service, or university language department | Word-for-word; no self-translation; no photocopied translations; translator's credentials attached |
| Nurses | TruMerit (formerly CGFNS International) | The school that issued the records; TruMerit, for a fee, if the school cannot | Applies to nursing education records |
| Physicians | ECFMG | Government official, medical school official, or professional translation service | Word-for-word; no applicant translations; service letterhead required |
| Lawyers (New York) | New York State Board of Law Examiners | A certified translator, with a statement of qualifications | Translations by the applicant or a non-certified translator rejected |
Engineers and surveyors: NCEES
Applicants without an EAC/ABET-accredited degree "must have their education evaluated by the NCEES Credentials Evaluations Service." Engineering degrees are measured against the NCEES Engineering Education Standard.
You supply an official transcript, diploma and course descriptions from every university attended, and send an NCEES-generated verification form to your school. "All official documents in the native language must be accompanied by literal English translations, which must be completed by a certified translation service." Course descriptions are long and decide whether a course counts, so budget for them. NCEES lists the fee at $400 and says an evaluation is typically completed within 15 business days.
Accountants: NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
NIES is the only approved evaluator in jurisdictions including Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and Washington. It needs documentation for each year of post-secondary education, official documents sent directly by the institution, and everything "within 90 days of the date applied", or the application is denied.
Its translation rules are the most specific of any evaluator. Translations "must be provided by any member of the American Translators Association (ATA), your university, or the ministry of education", or by NIES itself, and "Translations from private providers outside the United States will not be accepted." Everything must be "translated verbatim", in "the same format as the original document", with "No interpretation or evaluation of information", typed, signed and dated, with the translator's contact details.
Pharmacists: FPGEC
FPGEC certification combines an education review, an English proficiency test (TOEFL iBT or OET Pharmacy) and the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination, offered once a year. Graduates since January 1, 2003 need at least a five-year pharmacy program.
"Any documents that are not in English, or that contain non-English stamps or seals, must be accompanied by an official, word-for-word English translation from a credentialed translator." The bulletin is blunt: "You may not provide your own translations," and "Photocopies of translations are not accepted." Each page needs an original signature and date on official stationery, with proof of the translator's credentials attached.
Nurses: TruMerit (formerly CGFNS International)
CGFNS International announced its new name, TruMerit, in February 2025, and many forms still say CGFNS. For both its Credentials Evaluation Service and VisaScreen, nursing education documents must be in English and translated by the school that issued them. If the school cannot provide a translation, TruMerit translates for an additional fee.
For the Credentials Evaluation Service, academic records must come directly from each school, and licenses, registrations and university diplomas from the issuing authority. Only secondary school diplomas "can be translated by an applicant or someone chosen by an applicant". State boards add their own routes: New York accepts foreign nursing credentials sent by the school with its Form 2F, or through a CGFNS verification service. See nurses: CGFNS and VisaScreen documents.
Physicians: ECFMG
Translations must come from a government official (for example, a consular officer), a medical school official (such as a dean or registrar), or "a professional translation service", and "applicants for ECFMG services are not permitted to translate their own documents." The translation must be "word-for-word"; an abstract or summary is refused.
A translation service's work must "appear on letterhead" identifying it as a translation service, with the translator's English certification that the translation is correct. A notary who is not a government or school official cannot prepare it, and ECFMG refuses translations that arrive without the original-language document. See ECFMG documents for international medical graduates.
Lawyers: New York and California
New York has the most developed route. Under Rule 520.6, first-time applicants must request an advance evaluation of eligibility, and the foreign law degree must be substantially equivalent to a US law degree in duration (the benchmark is 83 credit hours, at least 64 of them in classroom courses) and in substance, which means grounded in English common law. An approved LL.M. can cure one shortfall, not both.
The Board of Law Examiners requires translations "duly authenticated by a certified translator", with the translator's qualifications. "Translations made by the applicant or a third party who is not a certified translator (even if the third party is fluent in a particular language) will not be accepted." Translations "need not come directly from the issuing school or university", but the records themselves must be originals or copies certified by the school.
California's Business and Professions Code requires a person educated in a country whose law is not based on English common law to show the State Bar that their "education, experience, and qualifications qualify them to take the examination". Check the State Bar's current foreign-applicant rules before ordering translations.
Teachers
State education departments license teachers and almost always require an evaluation of foreign coursework. New York's Office of Teaching Initiatives wants the report "submitted directly by" an approved evaluation organization, refuses reports sent by the applicant, and expects each course title, semester-hour equivalent and grade converted to the US A-F scale. That conversion is the evaluator's job, which is exactly why your translation must not do it.
What must a board-ready translation contain?
Everything, as issued:
- Every course title, exactly as given. "Theoretical Mechanics" stays "Theoretical Mechanics", not "Physics". The evaluator decides the US equivalent.
- Every hour, credit and grade in the original system. A Russian five-point grade, a German 1.0 to 5.0 scale or Indian marks out of 100 stay as they are.
- The full transcript or diploma supplement, including pages that look administrative.
- Licenses and registrations in full: issuing body, number, dates, conditions and status notes.
- Experience letters word for word: letterhead, signatory, dates of employment, duties and hours.
- Every stamp, seal and signature, described in brackets. FPGEC requires translation of non-English stamps and seals even on English documents.
- The original layout, which NIES requires, and names spelled as in the passport throughout.
- A signed certification with the translator's name, date and contact details.
Who sends the documents: you, the school or the translator?
Usually the school sends the records and you arrange the translation, but the evaluator decides. NIES, TruMerit, FPGEC and the New York bar all want official records directly from the issuing institution, or certified by it. Your own copy, however well translated, is not the official record.
The translator still needs a copy. New York's Board of Law Examiners suggests the fix: "order a second original from your school", one for the Board and one for the translator. The same approach helps with any evaluator that insists on receiving records straight from the school.
Why do licensing translations get rejected?
The wrong person translated it. A self-made translation for ECFMG, FPGEC or the New York bar; a provider abroad for NIES; any outside translation of nursing records for TruMerit.
The transcript was summarized. Condensing forty courses into "general engineering subjects" makes the evaluation impossible.
The grades were converted. It looks helpful, but conversion is the evaluator's job, and a converted grade no longer matches the original document.
A photocopy was sent. FPGEC refuses photocopied translations; each page needs an original signature.
Only the front was translated, or names drift. Reverse sides carry registration numbers and stamps, and a diploma translated as "Aleksandr" next to a license reading "Alexander" is a mismatch the board must resolve first.
Checklist: before you order translations for a licensing board
Questions people ask
Can I translate my own diploma or transcript for a licensing board?
Usually not. ECFMG, FPGEC and the New York Board of Law Examiners expressly reject applicants' own translations, NIES accepts only ATA members, your university or your ministry, and TruMerit wants nursing records translated by the school. Even where no rule forbids it, an evaluator can refuse a translation from someone with a stake in the result.
Do I need a credential evaluation and a translation, or just one?
Usually both. The evaluator needs translated documents to produce the evaluation, and the board then reviews the evaluation together with your translated licenses and experience letters.
Should grades be converted to the US system in the translation?
No. The translation keeps the original grading scale and wording, and NIES expressly bars "interpretation or evaluation" in a translation. Converting grades is the evaluator's role; New York's teacher evaluations, for example, convert each grade to the A-F scale.
Does a translation for a licensing board need to be notarized?
The evaluator rules quoted in this guide focus on who translated the document and whether it is complete, not on notarization. ECFMG even rejects translations prepared by a notary who is not a government or school official. Some boards add their own requirements, so check yours.
Will the evaluator translate my documents for me?
Some will. NIES offers translation services, TruMerit translates nursing records for a fee when the school cannot, and ECFMG has a credential translated at your expense if the medical school does not provide an acceptable translation. Compare their price and timing with an outside translator the evaluator accepts.
Which states are open to foreign-educated lawyers?
New York has the best-known route, under Rule 520.6, with an advance evaluation and an LL.M. option to cure one deficiency. California's statute lets applicants educated in non-common-law countries qualify by showing the State Bar their education, experience and qualifications. Other states vary widely, so check each bar's rules.
How long does a transcript translation take, and what does it cost?
A diploma or license is usually delivered within 24 hours, and a full transcript with a supplement typically takes one to three business days. Certified translation is $29.95 per page, and as an ATA member we are among the translators NIES accepts.