State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

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.

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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.

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More sample translations

Worth knowing about Louisiana CPA Board

Louisiana CPA Board requirements in detail

What Louisiana counts from a foreign degree

To sit, you need a bachelor's degree plus 24 semester hours of accounting above the introductory level (intermediate, cost or managerial, tax, auditing and electives) and 24 hours of business courses including 3 in business law (Louisiana CPA exam requirements, CPA Examination Services).

The evaluation is what tells CPAES how many of those hours your foreign courses supply, so the course titles and credits in the translation carry weight.

We translate them as printed and do not convert grades or credits; that is the evaluator's job.

Coursework taken as part of a Chartered Accountant or similar program is treated as professional training and does not count toward the exam requirements (Louisiana CPA exam requirements, CPA Examination Services).

If your accounting hours come from such a program, check with the Board before paying for an evaluation and translation.

Timing with NIES

NIES asks for every document within 90 days of the date you apply, or it denies the application and keeps the fee (NIES).

Its own translation service is suspended until further notice (NIES credential language translation), although the requirements page still mentions it (NIES), so plan on an outside translation that is ready before you open the NIES application.

The Board asks for the evaluation well before your exam application (Becoming a CPA: education outside the US), and CPAES keeps education documents for one year if you have not yet applied (Louisiana CPA exam requirements, CPA Examination Services).

Documents applicants usually translate

• University transcripts or mark sheets, for the course-by-course evaluation
• Degree certificates and diplomas
• Course descriptions for accounting and business courses with unclear titles
• Records of accounting coursework from professional bodies, if the Board asks

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 Louisiana CPA Board

• The translation goes to the evaluation service with your records, under that service's rules; for NIES, mail is addressed to NASBA International Evaluation Services in Nashville and official transcripts come directly from your university (NIES).

  The service then sends the original evaluation to CPAES (Louisiana CPA exam requirements, CPA Examination Services).

• eVerbary can mail the translation to the agency in a sealed, signed envelope: choose the hard copy at checkout with the agency's address ($19.95 Priority or $37.95 Express in the US) and write in the order notes that it is for the Louisiana CPA Board evaluation.

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:

To order it, ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for Louisiana CPA Board, 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.

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