How to Get Your Foreign Transcript Evaluated for US University Admission: A Step by Step Guide

Step 1: Confirm what your program requires

Open your target program's international admissions page before you spend any money. Look for which evaluator they accept, some schools list specific approved agencies, which report type they want, document-by-document or course-by-course, and whether they want the report sent to them directly or to you first. Requirements differ by school and program level. A graduate program almost always wants course-by-course with a calculated GPA, while some undergraduate or general admission offices accept document-by-document. Find this page under international admissions, graduate admissions, or a department's own application instructions, and email the admissions office directly if the requirement is not stated clearly.

Step 2: Choose a NACES member evaluator

Use an evaluator that belongs to the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) , an association of independent agencies that US schools recognize. Members include World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), and The Evaluation Company, formerly SpanTran, among others. If your program names a specific evaluator, use that one, since schools sometimes only accept reports from a short list.

Step 3: Request official transcripts and certificates from your school

Contact your home school's registrar or examination board and request an official transcript and degree certificate, sent either directly to the evaluator or to you in a sealed, stamped envelope, depending on what your chosen evaluator requires. Start this step first and as early as possible. Registrars abroad vary enormously in speed, some respond in days, others take months, especially during exam season or long academic breaks.

Step 4: Handle apostille or legalization if required

Check whether your evaluator or target school requires an apostille or consular legalization on your documents, not all of them do. If your country is one of the 130 contracting parties to the Hague Apostille Convention as of mid-2026, per the HCCH status table , get an apostille from your country's designated authority. If it is not a member, get the document authenticated by your foreign ministry, then legalized by the US Embassy or Consulate in your country. If your documents are not in English, arrange a certified translation at this stage too, either through your evaluator's own translation service or an independent certified translator, depending on what your evaluator accepts.

Step 5: Submit your documents to the evaluator

Create an account with your chosen evaluator, select the report type your program requires, and pay the base fee. Submit your documents through whichever channel the evaluator accepts: direct delivery from your institution, a sealed envelope you mail yourself, or in some cases a verified electronic transcript service. Order extra copies at this stage if you plan to apply to more than one US school, since adding copies later rarely costs less.

Step 6: Track your order

Most evaluators run an online tracking portal that shows whether your documents arrived and were verified, and where your order sits in the evaluation queue. Check it periodically rather than waiting for an email, and follow up directly with the evaluator if a document you know was sent has not shown as received after a couple of weeks.

Step 7: Send the report to your US program

Once your report is ready, have the evaluator send it directly to your program if that is what the program requires, this is usually the fastest and most trusted delivery route. If your program asks you to submit it yourself, download the official copy the evaluator provides and upload it exactly as instructed, since an unofficial copy or a screenshot is not accepted.

Realistic timeline

Add your home school's document turnaround time to your evaluator's stated processing time, then add a buffer. A course-by-course report realistically takes 4 to 6 weeks of evaluator processing alone once documents arrive, on top of how long your school needs to issue them. Start the whole process at least 6 to 8 weeks before your application deadline, longer if you expect a slow-responding registrar or need an apostille first.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Ordering the wrong report type because you did not check your program's exact wording.

• Using an evaluator your program does not accept.

• Sending an unofficial or photocopied transcript that the evaluator rejects.

• Waiting until close to the deadline to request documents from your home school.

• Forgetting to order enough copies for every school you are applying to.

What this costs in total

Base report fees run roughly $95 to $200 depending on the evaluator and report type, before delivery, extra copies, translation, or rush fees. Check your chosen evaluator's own fee page for the current price before you order.

Where to get help if you get stuck

Contact your prospective school's international admissions office for requirement questions, your home school's registrar or international office for document requests, and your evaluator's customer support team for order status or submission problems. Each handles a different part of the process, so route your question to the right one rather than guessing.