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Occupational Therapist Centralized Application Service (OTCAS): Translation Requirements for Foreign Transcripts
Accepted through the evaluation
OTCAS asks for a credential evaluation, and WES, one of the agencies it accepts, takes certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary.
- eVerbary translatesCertified, usually within 24 hours
- Credential evaluationBy WES or another agency OTCAS accepts
- OTCASThe agency sends its report
$24.95per page · usually 24 h for 1–3 pages
- ATA member #273062
- Preserves the original layout
- Signed certificate of accuracy, PDF
- See the price before you pay
See a sample translation →Real order format, fictitious data
Requirements checked on November 12, 2026 from OTCAS's public pages (sources).
OTCAS does not accept transcripts from schools outside the US and English-speaking Canada, even when they are printed in English or already translated, and most occupational therapy programs that use it ask instead for a course-by-course evaluation from a US-based evaluation service, sent by the service directly to OTCAS, which accepts only electronic evaluations from World Education Services (WES) ordered inside the application.
The translation therefore goes to the evaluation agency, not to OTCAS: WES requires a word-for-word translation by a professional translator and does not accept translations made by applicants, so a certified translation from eVerbary meets its rule.
We translate your transcripts and diplomas; the evaluation is ordered by you from the agency, and occupational therapy programs see the agency's report.
OTCAS at a glance
Does it accept eVerbary? Yes
OTCAS wants foreign coursework documented by a course-by-course evaluation sent by the evaluation service (foreign transcripts), and accepts it only from WES, and WES accepts translations completed by a professional translator, such as a certified translation agency (WES translation requirements), so a certified translation from eVerbary works there. Policy checked on November 12, 2026.
- Translation
- Not sent to OTCAS; goes to the evaluator
- eVerbary translation
- AcceptedBy the evaluation agencies it names
- Credential evaluation
- Electronic WES evaluation ordered inside OTCAS
- Price
- $24.95 per pageNo word cap, certification included
- Delivery
- 24 hoursStandard for one to three pages
- Grades
- As recordedNever converted to a US GPA
Checked on November 12, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page. Policies change: confirm on OTCAS's own page before you submit.
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.
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.
Worth knowing about OTCAS
Translations discarded
OTCAS discards foreign transcripts, even ones already translated into English.
WES only
Electronic WES evaluations ordered inside OTCAS; no paper and no other agency.
Not in the verified GPA
OTCAS verifies the US and English-Canadian coursework you enter; foreign work reaches programs through the report.
OTCAS requirements in detail
Foreign transcripts
Not accepted by OTCAS, including transcripts printed in English or already translated into English; they are discarded (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Evaluation
Most occupational therapy programs using OTCAS require a course-by-course US equivalency report from a US-based evaluation service, sent directly by the service to OTCAS (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Accepted agency
Only electronic evaluations from World Education Services (WES), ordered through the OTCAS application; an evaluation not ordered there is not accepted (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Who may translate
OTCAS has no translation rule, because it takes no foreign documents.
WES requires an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator, for example a certified translation agency, and rejects translations completed by applicants (WES: translation requirements for a WES credential evaluation).
How to order
List the school in Colleges Attended, click Order next to it under Official Evaluations on the Academic Records page and order from WES with OTCAS pre-selected; WES sends the report to OTCAS electronically (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Timing
OTCAS advises contacting an evaluation service as early as possible, since agencies can take several weeks once they receive your transcripts; verification of a complete application then takes up to 10 business days (foreign transcripts, verification).
French-Canadian schools
Treated as foreign: OTCAS cannot accept original transcripts written in French, but evaluations for those schools should be sent to OTCAS. English-language Canadian transcripts are not foreign (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Why OTCAS never sees your translation
OTCAS standardizes applicants by having them enter every course from US and English-Canadian colleges, then checking those entries during verification and calculating standard GPAs from them (transcript entry, verification).
Foreign coursework is not part of that process.
You still list the foreign school in Colleges Attended, where OTCAS warns that your programs may require a foreign evaluation (OTCAS: Colleges Attended); what occupational therapy programs then read is the agency's course-by-course report.
That is why a translated transcript sent to OTCAS is discarded (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts). The translation belongs in your evaluation file: it goes to the agency with the original-language documents, and only the agency's report reaches OTCAS.
WES is the only route into OTCAS
OTCAS accepts foreign evaluations only from WES and only electronically, ordered from inside the application: once the school is listed in Colleges Attended, the Order button on the Academic Records page sends you to WES with OTCAS pre-selected, and you then click Yes in the application to confirm the order (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
A WES evaluation ordered on its own, or a report from another agency, is not accepted, and OTCAS publishes no mailing address for paper evaluations.
WES then sets the translation rule.
It asks for an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator, and lists translations completed by applicants among the documents it cannot accept (WES: translation requirements for a WES credential evaluation).
A certified translation from a professional service meets that rule. We translate every line, stamp and grade as printed and never convert grades; the US equivalents are the evaluator's work.
Caribbean, study abroad and program-specific cases
OTCAS treats every Caribbean medical school as a foreign institution, Ross University School of Medicine included, and discards transcripts from these schools; ask your programs whether they want a foreign evaluation, which may be sent to OTCAS, or the original transcript mailed to them (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Study abroad is handled differently: coursework taken abroad through a US institution's program, or at an overseas US institution, is entered in OTCAS as US coursework, and that school's transcript is sent to OTCAS (OTCAS: study abroad or overseas US transcripts).
The foreign-evaluation route is for schools you attended outside that arrangement.
Need a certified translation for OTCAS?
$24.95 per page with no word cap, certification included, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages. See the price before you pay.
Documents applicants usually translate
- University transcripts and mark sheets, for the WES evaluation
- Bachelor's degree certificate or diploma
- Occupational therapy degree transcripts, for applicants who studied it abroad
- Transcripts from any other college outside the US you list in Colleges Attended
- Marriage certificate or court order, when your name differs between documents
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 OTCAS
Send the certified translation to the evaluation agency with the original-language documents, as that agency instructs; WES lets applicants upload translations from their WES account (WES: translation requirements for a WES credential evaluation).
Do not send it to OTCAS: foreign transcripts sent there, translated or not, are discarded (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Order the WES evaluation from the Academic Records page of the OTCAS application so that WES sends the report to OTCAS electronically, then confirm the order in the application (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
What we do not do
eVerbary is a translation service, not a credential evaluation service or an application service: we do not issue evaluations, US equivalencies or GPA conversions, we cannot send transcripts on behalf of the school that issued them, and we do not submit your application.
For OTCAS that means we translate your transcripts and diplomas for the evaluation agency; we do not order the evaluation, enter coursework or submit anything in the OTCAS application.
How to order
- Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
- Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
- 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
Can I send my translated transcript to OTCAS?
No. OTCAS discards foreign transcripts, including transcripts printed in English or translated into English (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts). The translation goes to the evaluation agency.
Which evaluation agency does OTCAS accept?
Only World Education Services (WES), and only electronic evaluations ordered through the OTCAS application (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts).
Can I translate my own transcripts for the WES evaluation?
No. WES does not accept translations completed by applicants; it asks for a word-for-word translation by a professional translator (WES: translation requirements for a WES credential evaluation).
Is my foreign coursework part of my OTCAS GPA?
OTCAS has you enter courses from US and English-Canadian colleges and verifies those (transcript entry, verification). Foreign coursework reaches occupational therapy programs through the evaluation report.
How long does the evaluation take?
OTCAS says evaluation services can take several weeks once they receive your transcripts, and advises contacting one as early as possible (OTCAS: foreign and French-Canadian transcripts). An eVerbary translation is usually delivered within a few hours, and within 24 hours for one to three pages.
Sources
Occupational Therapist Centralized Application Service (OTCAS)'s own pages, read on November 12, 2026.
Translating documents for OTCAS?
Upload a scan of your transcript or diploma and see the price and delivery time before you pay.