Home / Licensing boards / New York BOLE
New York State Board of Law Examiners: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language
Yes: New York BOLE accepts certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary.
Who may translate: Certified translator; not the applicant
- $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 New York State Board of Law Examiners asks that any transcript, degree certificate or other paper not in English come with an English translation authenticated by a certified translator, including the translator's qualifications and a certification that it is accurate; translations by the applicant, or by a fluent friend who is not a certified translator, are rejected.
New York BOLE accepts certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary, and they may be mailed to the Board separately from the school's documents.
The Board evaluates foreign legal education itself through its advance evaluation; we translate, but your law school must send the transcripts and degree certificate in a sealed envelope.
New York BOLE at a glance
Does it accept eVerbary? Yes
The Board's foreign legal education page asks for an English translation "duly authenticated by a certified translator", with the translator's qualifications and a certification of accuracy, and says translations need not come from the school (foreign legal education), so a certified translation from a professional service such as eVerbary meets it. Policy checked on October 21, 2026.
- Translation
- Required for any paper not in English
- Who may translate
- Certified translator; not the applicant
- Credential evaluation
- Board's own advance evaluation, no agency
- 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 New York BOLE's own page before you submit.
Worth knowing about New York BOLE
Certified translator only
Not you, and not a fluent friend or colleague.
Separate envelope
Translations may reach the Board apart from the school's documents.
Evaluation first
Advance evaluation of eligibility before the bar exam application.
New York BOLE requirements in detail
Translation
Any transcript, degree certificate or other paper not in English must be accompanied by an English translation authenticated by a certified translator (Foreign legal education, handbook).
Who may translate
A certified translator, whose statement gives the translator's qualifications and certifies that the translation is accurate. Translations made by the applicant, or by a third party who is not a certified translator even if fluent, are not accepted (Foreign legal education).
Original or copy
Supporting documents must be originals or copies certified by the issuing school, sent directly by the school, institution or government agency in a sealed envelope; faxes and photocopies certified by a notary are not considered (Foreign legal education).
How the translation is sent
By mail to the Board under separate cover; it need not come from the issuing school (Foreign legal education). Every document and shipping label must carry your BOLE identification number.
Evaluation
No outside agency: the Board reviews your foreign legal education itself after you file the online Request for Foreign Evaluation in your BOLE account, which every first-time Rule 520.6 applicant must do before applying for the exam (Foreign legal education).
Timing
Applicants who need an LL.M. to qualify file the evaluation request and all foreign documents by May 1 (for the next February exam) or October 1 (for the next July exam) of the year before; a decision can take up to six months (Foreign legal education).
Proof of foreign admission
If you are admitted to practice abroad, attach a copy of your admission certificate; otherwise you prove that you met the educational requirements for admission in that country (Foreign legal education).
The order New York expects
The Board's sequence is strict (Foreign legal education): create a BOLE account, submit the online Request for Foreign Evaluation, and only then have documents sent.
The Board does not keep papers it cannot match to an active account, so a transcript mailed before the evaluation request may be lost to you.
After the Board decides, you file the bar exam application; it advises waiting for the determination because the $750 application fee is not refunded if you turn out to be ineligible.
Your law school sends the final official transcript (dates, courses, grades, credits, degree and date awarded) and, if the transcript does not show the degree, the degree certificate, directly to the Board in a sealed envelope.
The Board may also ask the school for a statement of credits and minutes of instruction, and a statement from the government agency that recognized the school (Foreign legal education).
Getting a copy to translate
Because the school's original goes straight to Albany sealed, you may not have a copy to give the translator.
The Board's answer is to order a second original from your school: one is sent directly to the Board, one is for the translator (Foreign legal education).
A clear scan of that second original is all we need; the translation then goes to the Board on its own, marked with your BOLE ID.
The Board does not define "certified translator" and names no certifying body (handbook). What it does spell out is the content: the translator's statement of qualifications and a certification that the translation is accurate.
When you order, write in the notes that the translation is for the New York State Board of Law Examiners and add your BOLE ID, so both appear on the certificate.
LL.M. and common-law routes
Most civil-law graduates qualify by "curing" a shortfall with a US LL.M. of at least 24 credits at an ABA-approved school, with set credits in professional responsibility, legal research and writing, American legal studies and New York-tested subjects; the LL.M. school sends that transcript electronically through the Board's law school portal (Foreign legal education).
Graduates of common-law systems who qualified through law school plus law office study, such as a conversion course and an articled clerkship, send their admission certificate and certificate of completion of articles as well (eligibility).
Need a certified translation for New York BOLE?
$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
- Final law school transcripts with courses, grades and credits
- Law degree certificates and diplomas
- Certificates of admission to practice or of good standing from a foreign bar
- Certificates of completion of articles, clerkship or practical training
- Statements from the government body that recognized the law school
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 New York BOLE
Mail the translation to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, Corporate Plaza Building 3, 254 Washington Avenue Extension, Albany, NY 12203-5195, with your BOLE ID on the translation and the shipping label; the Board does not accept documents by email (contact, Foreign legal education).
eVerbary can mail the translation to the Board in a sealed, signed envelope: choose the hard copy at checkout with the Board's address ($19.95 Priority or $37.95 Express in the US) and write in the order notes that it is for the New York State Board of Law Examiners, with your BOLE ID.
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 New York that means we translate; your law school must send the transcripts and degree certificate to the Board in its own sealed envelope, and the Board, not us, decides whether your foreign legal education qualifies.
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 translate my own law school transcript for the New York bar?
No. The Board rejects translations made by the applicant or by anyone who is not a certified translator, even a fluent one (Foreign legal education).
Does the translation have to come from my law school?
No. Translations may be mailed to the Board separately and need not come directly from the issuing school (Foreign legal education). The transcript itself must come from the school, sealed.
What must the translator's certificate say?
It must give the translator's qualifications and certify that the translation is accurate (Foreign legal education). Ask for both in the order notes.
Do I need WES or another evaluation agency for New York?
No. The Board evaluates foreign legal education itself through the advance evaluation in your BOLE account (Foreign legal education).
Is a notarized copy of my diploma acceptable?
No. Faxes and photocopies certified by a notary or by anyone other than an official of the issuing school are not considered (Foreign legal education).
Sources
New York State Board of Law Examiners's own pages, read on October 21, 2026.
Translating documents for New York BOLE?
Upload a scan of your diploma, transcript or license and see the price and delivery time before you pay.