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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Educator Licensure: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language
Yes, through the evaluation: Massachusetts 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 member or four listed agencies
- $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 Massachusetts Office of Educator Licensure asks applicants with foreign coursework or diplomas for a detailed equivalency report or course-by-course evaluation from a NACES member or one of four other agencies it lists, uploaded to ELAR.
NACES members such as WES and ECE accept certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary, so the translation goes to the agency with your records before it writes the report.
We translate the transcripts, diplomas and supporting letters; the evaluation, the MTEL tests and the panel review are outside what we do.
Massachusetts DESE at a glance
Does it accept eVerbary? Yes
DESE requires independent evaluations from a NACES member or one of four listed agencies (foreign degree and credit equivalency), and WES, a NACES member, accepts a translation from a professional translation service (WES translation rules); ECE accepts any complete word-for-word translation (ECE).
A certified translation from a professional service such as eVerbary meets both. Policy checked on October 21, 2026.
- Translation
- Through the equivalency report
- Who may translate
- Set by the agency (WES: professional)
- Credential evaluation
- NACES member or four listed agencies
- 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 Massachusetts DESE's own page before you submit.
Worth knowing about Massachusetts DESE
NACES plus four
CED, Evaluation Service, ACEI and Atlas are also accepted.
Upload to ELAR
Reports go in after you apply and pay.
Foreign Teacher Panel
A panel review can count preparation done abroad.
Massachusetts DESE requirements in detail
Translation
DESE publishes no translator rule of its own; the evaluation agency reads your records and applies its rule.
Who may translate
Evaluation
A detailed equivalency report or course-by-course evaluation of all college-level credit, stating the US equivalency; for a bachelor's degree it must confirm the equivalent of a US degree from a regionally accredited institution (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements).
Accepted agencies
Any NACES member, plus Center for Educational Documentation, Evaluation Service Inc., Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute and Atlas Credential Evaluations (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements).
How to submit
Upload the completed report to your ELAR account once you have applied and paid for the license (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements, apply).
Preparation abroad
The Foreign Teacher Panel can review preparation completed outside the US, or a foreign teaching credential, in place of a US-approved program; all MTEL tests still apply (panel guidelines).
Cost reference
DESE's exchange-teacher page estimates a credential evaluation at $200 (BridgeUSA exchange visitor program, teacher).
Equivalency report first, then the panel
Massachusetts asks for the evaluation for two reasons.
Any foreign degree used for licensure needs a report confirming the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements).
And if you want your foreign teacher preparation to count, the Foreign Teacher Panel guidelines ask for a report from one of the same agencies stating that you completed an educator preparation program, with a course-by-course evaluation of that program's coursework (Foreign Teacher Panel guidelines).
The panel offers three pathways: a completed preparation program abroad, a teaching credential issued abroad comparable to the Massachusetts Initial license, or a master's in speech-language pathology.
Each needs a letter on official letterhead from the school or the issuing authority, and every candidate must pass the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL (Foreign Teacher Panel guidelines).
Letters and credentials from abroad
For Pathway 2, the panel asks for a copy of your foreign teaching credential and a letter from the authority that issued it; for Pathway 1, a letter from your university verifying the program (Foreign Teacher Panel guidelines).
The guidelines give letter templates in English and do not say how to handle a letter or credential in another language.
If yours is not in English, ask the Office of Educator Licensure before you upload; a certified translation kept next to the original lets the reviewer check each item the template requires.
What each agency asks for the translation
WES asks for an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator (WES). ECE accepts a complete, literal translation from anyone or translates internally for an $85 waiver (ECE). Other NACES members, and the four non-NACES agencies DESE lists, set their own rules.
Need a certified translation for Massachusetts 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 transcripts and mark sheets, for the equivalency report
- Degree certificates and diplomas
- Your foreign teaching credential, for the panel's Pathway 2
- The university or issuing-authority letter for the panel review
- Records of practice teaching in your preparation program
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 Massachusetts DESE
The translation goes to the evaluation agency with your records, following its instructions; you then upload the agency's completed report to ELAR after applying and paying for the license (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements).
The panel guidelines say the letters on official letterhead can be uploaded directly into your ELAR account (Foreign Teacher Panel guidelines); upload a translation with any letter that is not in English.
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 Massachusetts that means we translate your records and letters; the equivalency report comes from the agency, and the panel review and MTEL results belong to DESE.
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 Massachusetts need a translation of my transcripts?
DESE requires an equivalency report or course-by-course evaluation from a NACES member or a listed agency (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements); the agency needs your records in English under its own rule. WES, for example, wants a professional translator (WES: translation requirements).
Which evaluation agencies does Massachusetts accept?
Any NACES member, plus Center for Educational Documentation, Evaluation Service Inc., Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute and Atlas Credential Evaluations (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements).
When do I upload the evaluation?
After you have applied and paid for an educator license, in your ELAR account (Foreign degree and credit equivalency report requirements).
Can my teacher training abroad replace a US program?
Possibly, through the Foreign Teacher Panel, with an evaluation stating you completed an educator preparation program, a letter from the sponsoring organization and the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL (Foreign Teacher Panel guidelines).
How much does an evaluation cost?
Agencies set their own prices; DESE's exchange-teacher page estimates $200 (BridgeUSA exchange visitor program, teacher).
Sources
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Educator Licensure's own pages, read on October 21, 2026.
Translating documents for Massachusetts DESE?
Upload a scan of your diploma, transcript or license and see the price and delivery time before you pay.