Credential Evaluation Explained: Getting Foreign Degrees Recognised in the US, Canada, UK and Europe

Study abroad · By the Open Quad editorial team · Published 2026-10-15

Students gathered around a table writing on papers and charts during a group exercise — University students during a group exercise in Vietnam, 2012. Photo: USAID Vietnam, public domain (US government work).

A degree earned in one country does not automatically mean the same thing in another. Universities, employers, licensing boards and immigration authorities often ask for a credential evaluation: a report that describes your qualification and states its equivalent in the local system. Knowing who decides and which report to order saves time and money.

Who decides in the United States

The US Department of Education states that it does not evaluate or recognise foreign qualifications itself. Instead, recognition is decentralised: a university admissions office decides whether your degree meets its entry requirements, an employer decides whether it meets a job's requirements, and state licensing boards decide for regulated professions such as nursing, engineering, accounting and teaching. To make these decisions, most rely on reports from independent credential evaluation services.

The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), founded in 1987, is a membership association whose members agree to standards of practice. World Education Services (WES), a non-profit founded in 1974, and Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) are among its best-known members. Another association, the Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE), also has member services. Always check which services the institution receiving your report accepts.

Types of report

Report	What it includes	Typical use
Document-by-document (general)	Each credential, its US equivalent and the institution's status	Employment, immigration, some graduate admissions
Course-by-course	The above, plus every course converted to US semester credits and grades, and a grade point average (GPA)	Undergraduate admission, transfer credit, many graduate programmes, professional licensing
Professional or licensing evaluations	Specific to a board's rules, often with subject-by-subject checks	Nursing, engineering, teaching, accounting

Most services require official transcripts and diplomas sent directly by your university, or verified through a secure channel, and may need certified translations. Processing times and fees vary by service and report type; check before you order, and allow several weeks.

Canada: the ECA

For Express Entry and several other immigration programmes, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires an Educational Credential Assessment from a designated organisation. The designated list includes WES, the Comparative Education Service of the University of Toronto, International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS), International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) and International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES), with the Medical Council of Canada and the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada for doctors and pharmacists. An ECA for immigration does not by itself license you to practise a regulated profession; provincial regulators decide that.

The UK and Europe

In the United Kingdom, UK ENIC, known until 2021 as UK NARIC, is the national agency for the recognition of international qualifications. It issues "statements of comparability" that compare an overseas qualification with UK levels. Universities make their own admissions decisions but often use UK ENIC's guidance.

Across Europe, each country has an ENIC (European Network of Information Centres) or NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre) office, listed on the ENIC-NARIC portal. They apply the Council of Europe and UNESCO Lisbon Recognition Convention of 1997, under which a qualification should be recognised unless the receiving country can show a "substantial difference".

A global convention

In November 2019, UNESCO adopted the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education. It entered into force on 5 March 2023, and builds on regional conventions in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. It sets out the right of applicants to a fair and transparent assessment and encourages recognition of refugees' qualifications even when documents are missing. Initiatives such as the UNESCO Qualifications Passport for refugees build on that principle.

Avoiding diploma mills

Warning signs

Degrees awarded for "life experience" or in weeks, with no coursework or assessment.
Accreditation by agencies not recognised by the US Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or by the relevant national authority.
Evaluation "services" that are linked to the institution selling the degree.

A NACES or ENIC-NARIC evaluation will identify unrecognised institutions. You can also check US accreditation in the databases of the Department of Education and CHEA; see our article on quality assurance in higher education.

Practical steps

Ask the receiving institution which services and report types it accepts; if you are still comparing institutions, see how to choose a university abroad.
Request official documents early from your university; some registrars take weeks.
Arrange certified translations if the service requires them.
Order one report with several copies if you will apply to several places that accept the same service.
Keep everything: evaluations are often needed again for jobs and licences.

Regulated professions

For regulated professions, an academic evaluation is usually only the first step. In the United States, internationally educated nurses often need a credentials review from CGFNS International or another service accepted by their state board, and must pass the NCLEX licensing exam; engineers, accountants and teachers deal with state boards that set their own rules. Canada, the UK and Australia also have separate professional bodies for each regulated occupation. Start by identifying the regulator for your profession in the place you will work and ask which evaluation it accepts, before paying for any report.

Sources

US Department of Education, recognition of foreign qualifications.
NACES: naces.org; World Education Services: wes.org.
IRCC, Educational Credential Assessment.
UK ENIC: enic.org.uk; ENIC-NARIC networks: enic-naric.net.
UNESCO, Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education.
Council for Higher Education Accreditation: chea.org.