Requirements
Terms of Service
Please make sure you have read and agree to our Terms and Conditions before applying. All prices are subject to change.
Unofficial Documents vs Official Documents
EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 10, 2025:
We have retired our Provisional Assessment, which was a temporary evaluation valid for only one year. If you have already received a Provisional Assessment and would like to upgrade it to an evaluation based on unofficial documents, please email us.
Transcript Research has shifted to a new philosophy regarding official documents. We no longer require officials documents in order to conduct an evaluation; we'll leave that requirement up to your intended recipient (the university, employer, immigration office, or whomever else is going to receive your evaluation report). If the intended recipient doesn't need your evaluation to be based on official documents, then we can use your scans and do everything online.
However, if your intended recipient needs the evaluation to be based on official documents, then you WILL need to provide those. If you choose to apply with official documents, they must must our requirements for official documents.
Unofficial Documents include scans, copies, notarized documents, Apostille, student copies, and other documents that we would not normally accept for an evaluation of official documents. We still cannot accept printouts, screen shots of student records systems, or preliminary results from external examinations, since those do not represent final documents. Please make sure your scans will meet our minimum requirements! Check with the intended recipient before applying to ensure that they are willing to accept an evaluation report on the basis of unofficial documents. Ultimately, it is each institution's decision as to whether they will require us to evaluate official documents or not, so you will need to ask the intended recipient. However, if you want to do a report on unofficial documents now and later want to upgrade your report to add official documents, we can do that.
Depending on the country and level of study, Official Documents might mean documents sent in a sealed envelope directly from the institution (from some countries, we are unable to accept originals from applicants), attested copies provided by the applicant, digital records received directly from the institution via a secure portal, or anything in between. We have more detailed information about our official documents policy linked on our country requirements page.
Regardless of whether you need an evaluation of your unofficial or official documents, the evaluation will be sent to you electronically, but you may also order print copies for yourself or a third party. The evaluation is valid for 5 years from the date of issue, and the price is the same regardless of whether we evaluate unofficial or official documents. (If you want to make changes after a report is complete, we do charge a nominal fee then.)
NOTE: City University of New York (CUNY), NYU School of Professional Studies, University of Dallas, Millersville University, and other institutions with their own unique, custom application form do not accept evaluations of unofficial documents. We must require official documents for those custom applications.
If we require the transcripts or other academic credentials to be submitted directly to Transcript Research from your institution, or if your recipient requires them to be sent directly, please use our Records Request form. Documents sent to us directly by the issuing institution become our property and will not be released to the student/applicant.
Official documents may also be sent electronically by fax or email from the institution that issued the credential. For electronic records, we must be able to confirm that the sender is the appropriate authority at the institution that issues educational records. If we are unable to verify that the email address or fax number sending us the documents is the person or office authorized to issue the records (controller of exams, registrar, records office, etc), then we will not be able to accept the electronic records and will require official documents as specified above.
For secondary/high school transcripts, the secondary/high school can send us the records directly as long as we can confirm the contact information. For countries that have a state or national leaving examination, we can only accept the leaving examination or matriculation certificate issued by the examination body, not from the secondary school. For university credentials, educational records should be sent by the records, registrar's, controller of exams, or other centralized department that issues official records for that institution.
If your academic records include abbreviations in course/subject names, it is your responsibility to provide information about what those abbreviations mean. If you choose a course-by-course evaluation, and there are abbreviations in the course names, we will list the abbreviations on the report unless you provide a syllabus, catalog, or course description with the full subject names.
Please note that verification may be required, which may cause delays.
Special note on oversized documents: If you have oversized degrees - documents as big as A3 paper (297 x 420 mm or 11.7 x 16.5 inches) or bigger, please contact us by email before mailing your documents. We charge additional shipping for oversized documents, which is based on the size of your documents and your mailing address, but alternative arrangements may be available so you will need to email us before mailing them.
Evaluation reports are issued electronically by default. For those applicants who also need a print copy for themselves or a third party, evaluations are printed on security paper in a sealed, stamped envelope and sent to the applicant's mailing address unless third party shipping is purchased or an institution-specific application is used.
If you have more than 3 credentials to be evaluated, please be aware that we charge an additional fee.
If you have completed a thesis or dissertation, and the title is not listed on your academic records, please include the title on your application for evaluation. This is especially important if you have earned a Doctoral degree.
If you did not graduate from your program, or your program is more than 20 years old, please provide a copy of the degree plan/study plan/program syllabus, or expect delays.
Qualification Check
Instead of mailing your official documents for an evaluation based on official documents, you may be able to pay to have your post-secondary transcripts and degree (if you graduated) verified by Qualification Check. Qualification Check verifies educational records at 40,000+ education institutions in over 190 countries in an average of 5-10 days.
Register for free at https://transcriptresearchapplications.qualificationcheck.com/#/login/register?atid=9 to see if they are able to verify your secondary or post-secondary documents before you apply for an evaluation of official documents. If you use Qualification Check, you will need to upload a PDF of your transcripts and any degrees or diplomas you earned. Please note that Qualification Check is a separate company that charges separate fees.
You MUST use the Transcript Research portal link for Qualification Check if you choose to use Qualification Check for verification of your documents, or we will be unable to accept the verification since their documentation requirements are different from our policies.
Translations
Our translation policies are in effect regardless of whether you apply for an evaluation based on unofficial or official documents.
Some education institutions issue documents in English and another language. We require documents issued by the institution in English and the native language (if issued) from Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, European Union (if using Diploma Supplement), Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
For those countries whose documents are issued in French, Spanish, or Portuguese, please submit a typed, word-for-word English translations that follow the same format as the native language documents.
For those countries whose documents are not issued by the educational institution in English or the languages above, you must submit professional translations. Professional translations must be completed by official translators in the home country or members of the American Translator’s Association in the U.S. These translations must be word-for-word and follow the same format as the native language documents.
We do not accept evaluations from other evaluation companies as a translation; we require a literal, word-for-word translation of the entire academic record being evaluated.
Transcript Research has a collaborative relationship with Credential Consultants, a corporate member of the American Translator's Association. They are a separate company that charges separate fees, but they can email the translation directly to us. Details about the process can be found here, and you can apply for a translation at https://cc.credentialconnection.com/Default.aspx?subdomain=tr
Please be sure to read the information below the country chart regarding grading scales, US university attestations, and more. Please note that all credentials are subject to verification.
Country-Specific Requirements
Transcript Research has minimum requirements for every country and level study. If you want us to evaluate the scans you provide, make sure you meet those minimum requirements. If you need your evaluation based on official documents, there are extra steps.
You can check out our country-specific requirements for secondary and post-secondary studies here. For an evaluation based on unofficial scans, you will not have to provide the official documents, but you will still need to provide the same type of documents (leaving exams instead of secondary transcripts, final results instead or provisional exams, etc.)
Authenticity Statement
Transcript Research takes authenticity of documents very seriously. If we believe that the credentials submitted for evaluation or assessment have been altered or are otherwise in-authentic, we reserve the right to seek verification of any academic credentials (transcripts, diplomas, certificates, diploma supplements, etc.) at the secondary or higher level. If our verification finds that the documents submitted were not valid, we will cancel the application (no refund) and notify the institutions or persons listed on the application of the results of our investigation. We will also provide this information to the local authorities.
Diploma Mills
Transcript Research does not evaluate documents issued by a diploma mill or degree mill. We use extensive resources to determine the recognition/accreditation of all foreign educational institutions. If it is determined that transcripts or other documents submitted for evaluation are from a known diploma/degree mill, we will cancel the application, and no refund of fees will be possible. We will also forward the information to the local authorities and to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board if the applicant is living or working in Texas if the school is listed on the THECB’s website of institutions whose degrees are illegal to use in Texas.
Grading Scale/Marking Scheme
Please provide a copy of the grading scale used at your institution if it is not already listed on the academic records. If information about your program is not available on the college or university’s website, we may also require that you submit a syllabus /course description / study plan.
U.S. University Attestation of Previous Records
If you have already submitted original or official documents to the college or university in the U.S. where you want your evaluation of official documents sent, please make arrangements for them to send us attested copies of your academic credentials. We still reserve the right to request officials from the international institution(s) that you attended, but we will make every effort to use the copies sent by the U.S. institution where you have already presented your officials.
In this situation, we are able to issue the evaluation report only for the specific U.S. institution that already has your official documents. This only applies if you are applying to a U.S. college or university and want us to evaluate copies of the official academic credentials you have already submitted to the U.S. college or university.
Specialized Applications for Beauty-Related and Health-Related Fields
Transcript Research also offers specialized applications for evaluation for some fields.
Please note, we have separate applications for barber, cosmetology, hairdressing, and related beauty programs and medical, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, and other health related programs.
We are only able to evaluate SOME beauty-related and medical-related programs; we specifically do not evaluate non-formal education programs. If you have completed one of a beauty-related or medical-related program, you MUST contact us before applying with the scans of all of the documents you want evaluated so we can review them to see if we are able to assist you. Otherwise, your application will be cancelled. If you are given approval to apply to evaluate your beauty-related or medical-related programs, we will send you the link for that application form. We do not evaluate beauty-related or health-related programs using our main application form. If you have both academic studies and one of these specialized programs, we require two separate applications.
As a standard policy, Transcript Research evaluates barber, cosmetology, and beauty programs in terms of hours, not credits, on course-by-course evaluations. In order to do this, we require a transcript that has hours or some other standardized measure of weight. If your records do not include hours or other weights of the different subjects, we will only be able to conduct a general evaluation.
Similarly, Transcript Research evaluates academic, post-secondary qualifications from recognized higher education institutions in terms of US semester credits. Some nursing, medical, dentistry, physical therapy, and allied health professions training programs, however, may be assessed in terms of hours, not credits, on course-by-course evaluations. We do not conduct evaluations of hospital-based nursing credentials.
Regardless, we require a transcript that has hours or some other standardized measure of weight. If your records do not include hours or other weights of the different subjects, we will only be able to conduct a general evaluation.
We no longer conduct any evaluations for offshore medical degree programs (Caribbean and others) unless the program is recognized by CAAM-HP at the time of your enrollment or within five years of your graduation. If you submit an application for an offshore medical program that does not have CAAM-HP accreditation, it will be canceled and partially refunded.