New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (Professional Engineering): 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.

Swipe to see the second page →

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.

Download the sample PDF

More sample translations

Worth knowing about NYSED

NYSED requirements in detail

Form 2 from your school, or NCEES

New York gives foreign graduates two ways to prove education.

Form 2 goes to every institution that granted you a degree; the school completes it and mails it to NYSED with an official transcript, and NYSED refuses the form if you send it yourself (Professional engineering: license requirements).

For foreign programs, Part C asks the school to attach the transcript or marksheet (Form 2: certification of professional education).

The alternative is asking NCEES to transmit your Education Credentials Evaluation Record (Professional engineering: license requirements); NCEES then applies its own translation rule.

Your first step either way is an NCEES ID number, which NYSED uses as your identifier (Applicant checklist for professional engineer).

What you translate yourself

A transcript or other document in another language needs a translation that meets NYSED's qualified-translation policy (General information and policies: qualified translations); NYSED does not say who sends it with a school's Form 2, so ask the school whether it will enclose your translation or send it yourself.

The same policy covers experience documents from employers abroad and name-change records. The affidavit must be notarized and the translation must arrive in the original, so a scan alone does not meet the policy.

Experience goes on Form 4 and Form 4A, verified by your supervisors; NYSED does not accept experience you endorse yourself (Professional engineering: license requirements).

Documents applicants usually translate

• University transcripts or marksheets, when NYSED asks for a translation
• Degree certificates
• Experience letters and employer certificates from abroad
• Foreign engineering license certificates
• Birth or marriage certificates for a name change

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 NYSED

• Mail the original translation, the notarized Affidavit of Accuracy and a copy of the original-language document to the Office of the Professions; include a full photocopy of the translation if you want the original back (General information and policies: qualified translations).

  Forms and fees go to the address on each form (Professional engineering: license application forms).

• eVerbary can mail the notarized translation to you in a sealed, signed envelope: choose the hard copy at checkout ($19.95 Priority or $37.95 Express in the US) and write in the order notes that it is for a New York PE application.

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