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University of California, Berkeley: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

Berkeley's Graduate Division wants non-English records translated by your university or, if it does not offer a translation, by translators certified by the American Translators Association or the Ministry of Education, or covered by a WES ICAP evaluation, with degree names and grades transcribed rather than converted. UC Berkeley accepts certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary. eVerbary is an ATA corporate member (#273062), and undergraduates follow UC-wide rules: grades are self-reported at application, and after admission college records need certified translations, while high school records in a Roman alphabet generally do not, although Berkeley's own admitted-student page asks for a certified translation of a school-certified copy. The Haas Evening & Weekend MBA asks for the translation to be prepared by the issuing institution.

UC Berkeley requirements at a glance

Checked on October 12, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page. Policies change: confirm on UC Berkeley's own page before you submit.

Graduate Division: transcribe, do not convert

Berkeley's Graduate Division requirements start from your own university: if it issues an English translation, use it. If it does not, there are three options: a translation by a certified translator from the American Translators Association, a translation by the Ministry of Education, or an official WES International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP). The ICAP is offered as an alternative way to supply the translation, not as a required evaluation; Berkeley's evaluators still decide how your degree compares.

The Graduate Division adds a rule many applicants miss: degree names and grades are transcribed, not converted into English words or US letter grades. A 7 on a 10-point scale stays a 7, and the degree keeps its own name. eVerbary is an ATA corporate member (#273062).

You apply with scans of your transcript and degree certificate. Once admitted, official e-transcripts come through Parchment or the National Student Clearinghouse, or in an envelope sealed with the institution's stamp, together with the translations. Everything is due October 1; without it you cannot register in your second term (Graduate Division: accepting your offer). You may also bring originals with a copy for staff to certify.

Programs with their own rules: Haas EWMBA and the I School

The Haas Evening & Weekend MBA is stricter than the Graduate Division. Official records must be issued in the original language and accompanied by an English translation prepared by the issuing institution. Only applicants in the US who hold a single official original-language copy may instead use a translator certified by the ATA. For this program, ask your school for the translation. Evaluations by other schools or private agencies cannot replace original records.

The School of Information online programs (such as MIDS) are looser: records in English or Spanish need no translation, others need official translations from the degree-granting institution, a ministry of education, an ATA-certified translator or a WES ICAP. You scan and upload; you do not mail records; and official documents are due by the end of your first term.

Undergraduates: UC-wide rules, Berkeley delivery

Berkeley undergraduates apply on the shared UC Application, self-reporting grades without converting them (Undergraduate admissions: requirements for international students). Under UC-wide guidance, high school records generally need no translation unless written in a non-Roman alphabet, and college records need certified translations by the university or by certified translators who know educational terminology; a student's own translation is accepted only for course descriptions the university cannot provide (UC first-year, UC transfer). What is Berkeley's own is the delivery: after admission, records come through Parchment or another secure vendor, or by mail in a sealed school envelope signed across the flap; notarized copies are not accepted, and if your school issues only one official copy you send a school-certified copy with a certified English translation (Undergraduate admissions: submitting transcripts (newly admitted students)).

Where UC Berkeley's pages differ

UC-wide guidance says secondary records generally need no translation unless in a non-Roman alphabet (UC), while Berkeley's admitted-student page asks for a certified English translation of any non-English school-certified copy. The Graduate Division accepts ATA, Ministry of Education or WES ICAP translations whenever the university has none, while Haas EWMBA requires the issuing institution. The I School online page exempts Spanish records and sets an end-of-first-term deadline, while the Graduate Division asks for any non-English record to be translated by October 1. We have not resolved these differences; follow the page for your program and ask its office.

Documents applicants usually translate

• University transcripts and degree certificates for graduate applications
• Mark sheets with the grading scale, translated without converting grades
• Records from universities attended, for transfer applicants
• School-certified copies of high school records, when the school issues only one official copy
• National exam certificates for countries that issue a separate graduation certificate

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 exactly as recorded, with the grading scale the document prints. We never convert marks to a US GPA.
• A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload.
• $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.

Uploading the translation to UC Berkeley

Graduate applicants upload scans with the application, then send official records and translations to Graduate Admissions by October 1, electronically or in a sealed envelope (Graduate Division: application requirements, deadline). I School online applicants scan and upload instead of mailing (School of Information online: international admissions).

Admitted undergraduates follow the instructions in CalCentral and MAP@Berkeley; records come from the school, and a translation accompanies a school-certified copy when only one official copy exists (Undergraduate admissions: submitting transcripts (newly admitted students)).

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: Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian at $34.95 per page, and Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Danish and Persian at $44.95 per page.

To order it, ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for UC Berkeley, which program 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: we do not issue evaluations, US equivalencies or GPA conversions, and we cannot send documents on behalf of the school that issued them. At Berkeley that means we translate; we do not issue the WES ICAP, and for the Haas Evening & Weekend MBA the translation must come from your school.

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 upload it with the copy of the original wherever the institution asks for it.

Sources

University of California, Berkeley's own pages, read on October 12, 2026. Enrollment figure: Open Doors 2025 (IIE), institutions hosting the most international students in 2024/25: number 10, with 12,020 students.

• Graduate Division: application requirements (grad.berkeley.edu)
• Graduate Division: accepting your offer
• Haas Evening & Weekend MBA: transcripts
• School of Information online: international admissions
• Undergraduate admissions: requirements for international students
• Undergraduate admissions: submitting transcripts (newly admitted students)
• University of California: international records, first-year
• University of California: international records, transfer

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