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Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Educator Licensure: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language
Yes, through the evaluation: Arkansas DESE asks for a credential evaluation, and WES, one of the agencies it accepts, takes certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary.
Credential evaluation: NACES or AICE; WES and TEC named
- $24.95 per page
- Usually 24 h for 1–3 pages
- Signed certificate of accuracy, PDF
- See the price before you pay
How we know · policy checked on October 21, 2026
The Arkansas Office of Educator Licensure asks educators from out of the country for a transcript evaluation from a NACES or AICE member or the Institute of Foreign Credential Services, and for TOEFL iBT results; it publishes no translation rule of its own.
WES, which Arkansas names, accepts certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary.
TEC, the other agency Arkansas names, takes outside translations only from ATA-certified translators, which we assign on request; we do not prepare the evaluation or the TOEFL.
Arkansas DESE at a glance
Does it accept eVerbary? Yes
Arkansas asks for a transcript evaluation from a NACES or AICE member and names WES (out-of-country FAQ), and WES accepts a translation by a professional translator or certified translation agency (WES translation rules), so a certified translation from a professional service such as eVerbary meets the evaluation agency's rule. Policy checked on October 21, 2026.
- Translation
- Through the evaluation; no state rule
- Who may translate
- Set by the agency; TEC: ATA-certified only
- Credential evaluation
- NACES or AICE; WES and TEC named
- Price
- $24.95 per pageUp to 250 words, certification included
- Delivery
- 24 hoursStandard for one to three pages
- Grades
- As recordedNever converted to a US GPA
Checked on October 21, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page. Policies change: confirm on Arkansas DESE's own page before you submit.
Worth knowing about Arkansas DESE
WES or TEC by name
Both send results to Arkansas electronically.
TEC custom application
Discounted, preset for the Arkansas Department of Education.
TOEFL iBT too
Out-of-country educators also prove English skills.
Arkansas DESE requirements in detail
Translation
Arkansas has no translation rule of its own for out-of-country educators; documents not in English are translated for the evaluation agency, under its rule (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Who may translate
Evaluation
A transcript evaluation from a member of NACES or AICE, or from the Institute of Foreign Credential Services (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Named agencies
WES, and TEC through a custom Arkansas application at a discounted rate; with either, list the Arkansas Department of Education as recipient and results arrive electronically (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
English proficiency
Passing results on TOEFL iBT, the English-skills exam the Department approves (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Other items
Legal documentation to work in the US if you are not a citizen, and passing content-area assessments for the standard license (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Contact
Office of Educator Licensure, Four Capitol Mall, Little Rock; ade.educatorlicensure@ade.arkansas.gov (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ, licensure).
Two named agencies with different translation rules
Arkansas accepts any NACES or AICE member but names two: WES and The Evaluation Company (TEC), which built a custom application for the Department at a discounted rate (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Their translation rules are not the same. WES wants an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator and does not accept applicants' own translations (WES).
TEC accepts outside translations only from ATA-certified translators, or translates in-house after your evaluation application is complete (TEC).
If you choose WES, a certified translation from a professional service meets its rule. If you choose TEC for the discount, ask us for an ATA-certified translator (see below) or use TEC's own translation. Other NACES members, such as ECE, set their own rules (ECE).
Where the out-of-country rules sit
Arkansas does not have a separate page for teachers from abroad.
Its requirements are one answer in the FAQ on the Licensure by Reciprocity page: the evaluation, legal documentation to teach in the US, TOEFL iBT, and content-area assessments for the standard license (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
The same page explains that a provisional license may be available when only content testing or Arkansas History is missing, and that the Office sends a letter listing deficiencies within two weeks of reviewing your documents.
Because the evaluation goes from the agency to Arkansas electronically, the translation never reaches the Office directly. It goes to the agency with your records, and its quality shows up in the evaluation the Office reads.
Need a certified translation for Arkansas DESE?
$24.95 per page of up to 250 words, certification included, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages. See the price before you pay.
Documents applicants usually translate
- University diploma or degree certificate
- University transcripts and mark sheets, all years
- Teaching certificate or license from the other country
- Letters verifying teaching experience, if the agency or Arkansas asks for them
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 of up to 250 words, 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 Arkansas DESE
The translation goes to the evaluation agency with your records, under its instructions; WES takes uploads in your WES account (WES). List the Arkansas Department of Education as a recipient so the result reaches the Office electronically (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Your application and other documents go to the Office of Educator Licensure; contact it at ade.educatorlicensure@ade.arkansas.gov with questions (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
If you need a translator certified by ATA
Some offices accept only a translator who is personally certified by the American Translators Association (ATA). eVerbary assigns one on request, for the languages ATA certifies into English:
$34.95 per page
Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian
$44.95 per page
Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Danish and Persian
To order it, ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for Arkansas DESE, what it is for, and that you need a translator individually certified by ATA, plus anything else the office asks for (notarization, delivery by email to the office).
We confirm the price and the translator before you pay. ATA does not certify other languages into English, so no translator anywhere holds ATA certification for them.
For those languages we provide a notarized certified translation instead, at $44.95 per page plus notarization ($34.90 per order); ask the office to confirm it accepts that, and write its answer in the quote notes.
What we do not do
eVerbary is a translation service, not a credential evaluation service or a licensing agency: we do not issue evaluations, US equivalencies or GPA conversions, we cannot send documents on behalf of the school or authority that issued them, and we do not file the license application.
For Arkansas that means we translate your records for the evaluation agency; the evaluation, the TOEFL iBT and the Office's licensing decision are outside what we do.
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
Does Arkansas need my foreign transcripts translated?
It needs a transcript evaluation from a NACES or AICE member (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ); the agency needs your documents in English under its own rule. WES wants a professional translator (WES: translation requirements).
Which evaluation agency should I use for Arkansas?
Any NACES or AICE member, or IFCS. Arkansas names WES and TEC, which can send results to the Department electronically (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Does TEC accept a translation from eVerbary?
TEC accepts outside translations only from ATA-certified translators (The Evaluation Company: avoid delays). We assign one on request; see the ATA section on this page.
Do I need TOEFL to teach in Arkansas with a foreign degree?
Yes. Out-of-country educators submit TOEFL iBT results (Licensure by reciprocity, out-of-country FAQ).
Sources
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Educator Licensure's own pages, read on October 21, 2026.
Translating documents for Arkansas DESE?
Upload a scan of your diploma, transcript or license and see the price and delivery time before you pay.