Academic Document Translation: Transcripts, Diplomas, and Credential Evaluation

Do you have a foreign diploma, transcript, or degree certificate that needs to be translated into English? Whether your goal is a WES evaluation, university admission, professional licensing, or a job application, the requirement is exactly the same: a certified translation produced by a qualified third party

Our academic document translation services are accepted by WES, ECE, NACES member agencies, U.S. universities, state licensing boards, and federal immigration agencies.

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When you need academic documents translated

The most common reason people translate academic documents is credential evaluation, specifically submitting a foreign diploma or transcript to an agency like WES or ECE so it can be assessed for U.S. equivalency. That process has very strict requirements, and getting them wrong delays or voids the evaluation.

Here are the main scenarios where a certified translation of an academic document is required:

Scenario	Typical Documents Needed
WES, ECE, or other NACES credential evaluation	Degree diploma + full official transcript
U.S. university graduate admissions	Transcripts; some programs also require degree certificate
State professional licensing (nursing, engineering, medicine, teaching)	Degree, transcripts, sometimes course syllabi
Employment requiring proof of foreign education	Diploma, transcripts, sometimes degree equivalency letter
USCIS immigration filings	Academic documents when required by petition or application type
Community college or undergraduate enrollment	High school diploma or bachillerato certificate
Military enlistment	High school diploma or equivalent

The nature of the translation requirement does not change much across these contexts. Every institution wants a certified translation: a complete, accurate English rendering of the original document, accompanied by a signed statement from the translator attesting to their competence and the translation’s accuracy. What varies is whether they also require notarization or a specific delivery format.

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What credential evaluation agencies require

WES, ECE, SpanTran, the Foundation for International Services, and other NACES member agencies all share a foundational requirement: they will not evaluate a foreign academic document unless it comes with a certified English translation. There is no exception for documents from countries where English is widely spoken unless the document itself was issued in English.

WES specifically requires both the translated diploma and the complete translated transcript for most evaluation types. Their instructions are explicit: the translation must be “complete and literal,” and it must be signed by the translator with a statement of certification. What they will not accept is a summary, an unofficial translation, a machine translation, or anything produced by the applicant or a family member.

The phrase “certified translation” in this context means something specific. It is a translation produced by a competent professional or a professional service, accompanied by a written declaration stating that the translator is qualified in both languages and that the translation is accurate and complete. It does not require the translator to hold a government-issued license, though the translator must be competent. There is no national certification requirement for translators in the United States.

One thing worth clarifying is that credential evaluation agencies evaluate credentials. They determine what your foreign degree is equivalent to in the U.S. system. Translators translate documents. These are distinct functions. The translation is what makes the document readable to the evaluator; it does not itself constitute an evaluation or a credential equivalency determination. Certified translation services handle the language conversion, while the credential evaluation agency handles the equivalency assessment.

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Translating high school diplomas and transcripts

Community colleges in the United States frequently require a translated copy of a foreign high school diploma or its equivalent as a condition of admission. This applies even when the student’s goal is to earn a U.S. GED, as some GED pathways require documentation that the applicant completed a certain level of education abroad. Military enlistment requires proof of a high school diploma or equivalent, which means translating foreign credentials if the diploma was issued outside the U.S.

The documents in question go by different names depending on the country of origin. In Mexico, it is the certificado de bachillerato or certificado de preparatoria. In many Latin American countries, it is the bachillerato or título de bachiller. European systems issue a range of documents, such as the German Abitur, the French baccalauréat, and the Spanish bachillerato. Regardless of the name, the translation requirement is the same.

For employers, a translated diploma establishes that an applicant completed a specific level of education. This comes up most often in the healthcare, engineering, and education sectors where credentials are a threshold requirement for employment. In these cases, the employer typically specifies whether they need notarization or just a certified translation.

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Translating university degrees and transcripts

University transcripts from foreign institutions present some translation challenges that go beyond just rendering text into English. Grading systems vary significantly by country, and the translation must preserve the original grading system exactly — not convert it to a U.S. equivalent.

Mexico uses a numerical scale from 0 to 10, with 6 typically being the minimum passing grade. Colombia uses a 0-to-5 scale in most institutions. Argentina uses a 1-to-10 scale. Several European and Latin American countries use descriptive grades, such as “Excellent,” “Satisfactory,” or “Approved,” instead of numbers. The translation renders these grades exactly as they appear in the original document. Converting them to a U.S. GPA equivalent is the credential evaluator’s job, not the translator’s.

Every element of the original document must appear in the translation. This includes course names, credit hours, grade designations, semester or academic period labels, institutional names, degree titles, faculty or department names, official seals, stamps, and signatures of registrars or academic officers. Leaving out institutional seals or stamps, even when they appear to be administrative rather than substantive, can cause the evaluation agency to reject the document.

Degree certificates typically include the graduate’s full name, the degree conferred, the specialization or major, the institution’s name, the date of conferral, and signatures from university officials. All of this translates. Some institutions also include a phrase attesting to the graduate’s academic standing or merit. These phrases often have no direct English equivalent and require careful handling by the translator.

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How the process works

The process starts with a clear scan or photo of the original document. Both sides should be included if there is text on the reverse. Poor image quality is the most common cause of delays.

From there:

1. Upload the document to our order system at academic-translations. Most transcripts are one to three pages; diplomas are usually one page.
2. A professional translator handles the document. The translation includes all text, seals, stamps, course listings, grade designations, and institutional details.
3. The certified translation is delivered digitally within 24 hours for standard orders. The package includes the translated document and the required certification statement, formatted for submission to credential evaluation agencies.
4. Physical copies can be mailed directly to WES or other agencies if required. Many evaluation agencies accept digital submissions, but WES in particular has specific instructions about how documents must be sent, check their current requirements before submitting.

Expedited processing is available if a deadline is pressing. A single-page document can be translated in two hours (Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM).

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Get your academic documents translated

A correctly translated transcript or diploma removes a potential bottleneck from the credential evaluation process, the licensing application, or the university admission. Our translations meet the requirements of WES, ECE, NACES member agencies, USCIS, and U.S. courts.

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