LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) for JD applicants: Translation Requirements for Foreign Transcripts

Sample translation: a Congolese secondary school transcript

This is what an order looks like when it is delivered, with a fictitious student. The PDF starts with the signed certification page, and the translation follows the original line for line: every abbreviation is explained, stamps, seals and signatures are noted in brackets, and the grid stays the same, so an admissions officer or a credential evaluator can match it without guessing.

Swipe to see the second page →

What to notice

• Two school years in the same grid as the original: every subject, grading period, exam and total, so each grade can be read against its maximum.
• The French rating abbreviations are translated (TB becomes VG, Very good), and every abbreviation is explained in a translator's note at the foot of the same page, including one the original never defines.
• Dates are written the US way (the original's 02/07/2015 is February 7, 2015).
• The photo, seals and signatures are noted in brackets where they appear.

Download the sample PDF

More sample translations

Worth knowing about LSAC CAS

LSAC CAS requirements in detail

What law schools receive from CAS

LSAC does not pass on a summary of foreign grades.

AACRAO reviews the records your school sends and produces an international credential evaluation of degree and credit equivalency (LSAC: international transcripts, JD), and that evaluation goes to law schools with your CAS report.

Because the evaluator reads the original-language record next to the English text, a word-for-word translation with every course title, grade and stamp matters more than a summary or a school-issued English certificate.

The two-week evaluation clock starts only after LSAC has processed every international document (LSAC: international transcripts, JD). A missing translation keeps the file waiting, and LawHub notes that international records take longer to process than US ones (LawHub).

The translation and the sealed envelope

LSAC's JD pages say the translation must be included and that records must come from the school in a sealed envelope, but they do not say whether a translation you obtain may be mailed to LSAC separately (LSAC: international transcripts, JD).

Ask LSAC before mailing a translation yourself.

One way to meet both rules is to give the registrar the certified translation and ask that it be enclosed with the records in the school's sealed envelope, along with the Transcript Request Form (LawHub).

Cuba is the one country where LSAC names the translator: Consultoría Jurídica Internacional (CJI) has the documents verified, legalized and translated by ESTI or CJI, then sends them to LSAC (LSAC: international transcript requirements by country). For Cuban records our translation does not replace that step.

Documents applicants usually translate

• University transcripts, mark sheets and grade reports
• Degree certificates, títulos and diplomas for completed programs
• European Diploma Supplements, where the country list allows them
• Records from each foreign institution where you studied more than a year in total
• Official letters of enrollment for programs still in progress

What an eVerbary translation includes

• A complete English translation of every page, stamps, seals and handwritten notes included, laid out like the original so each line can be matched.
• Grades, hours and credits exactly as recorded, with the grading scale the document prints. We never convert marks to a US GPA or equivalency.
• A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload or print.
• $24.95 per page with no word cap, certification included; 24 hours for one to three pages as standard. Regular clients who need it can get delivery in as little as 30 minutes, on request.
• Notarization added at checkout ($34.90 per order) when the office asks for a notarized translation.

Submitting the translation to LSAC CAS

• The records must reach LSAC from the issuing institution in a sealed envelope with the stamp or seal across the flap, inside any express mailer (LSAC: international transcripts, JD). Send the school the Transcript Request Form from your LSAC account; LSAC's mailing address is on that form (LawHub).

• We deliver the certified translation as a PDF, and a printed hard copy by mail on request ($19.95 Priority or $37.95 Express in the US), so you can hand it to the registrar or send it however LSAC tells you.

How to order

1. Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
2. Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
3. Receive the PDF, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages, and submit it with the copy of the original wherever the office asks for it.

Frequently asked questions