A credential evaluation report is an important part of your immigration process. It helps institutions understand the value of your academic achievements. Our goal is to help you complete the credential evaluation process with ease.

Applying for a credential evaluation from World Education Services (WES) is a simple process.

It consists of three steps:

1. Create an account and provide the information needed to submit your application.
2. Send in your required documents. (If you are mailing them, be sure to add your reference number to the sealed envelope. However, you might also have the option to upload your documents online.)
3. Then, we verify your credentials and send the report to your chosen recipients. You will also receive a copy.

The videos below will show you how to apply in the U.S. or Canada.

In the United States, here is how you submit an application:

For Canadian applications, here are some helpful tips you should know:

Keep reading to learn about the application process. We have provided extra tips about the parts of the process that applicants ask us about the most. However, you can also find insights about specific topics by visiting our Help Center.

Adding Your Academic Credentials

After you have created your account and shared some information about how you will be using your application, you will come to a page about Your Education. On this page, you will need to add all the academic credentials that you want to have evaluated. You must add them one at a time.

For the Canadian Standard Application, and all applications to the United States, you can choose to evaluate educational credentials or degrees that are in progress or incomplete. Just be sure to indicate “in progress” or “incomplete” in the dropdown menu. However, if you have chosen the ECA for IRCC, you can only have your completed degrees or diplomas evaluated.

Most importantly, be sure to enter your full name exactly as it appears on your credential.

Note: If the name on your application differs from the name that appears on your academic transcripts or other required documents, this could cause delays.

Selecting Your Recipients

As part of the application, you will need to choose your recipients. The recipients are the institutions or schools that will receive a copy of your credential evaluation. By default, you will also receive a copy of your credential evaluation report.

Applicant Insight: Please be sure to use your current mailing address when filling out your personal information. In addition to sending you a copy of your completed evaluation, WES might use this address to contact you with important updates about your status during the evaluation process. If we cannot reach you at the personal home address that you have provided, it could cause delays.

You will be able to change your list of recipients after you have submitted your application. Visit My Account to add or delete recipients after you have submitted your application. You can do this anytime, as long as your credential evaluation is still in progress.

If you are applying for an ECA, then IRCC will automatically be listed as one of your recipients. You can also choose to add immigration recipients from a pre-approved list of Canadian immigration institutions.

Sending Your Required Documents

After you have selected your delivery options, you will see a list of the Required Documents that you will need to send WES. Please refer to this list at any time to review which documents our evaluators need in order to complete your report. Additionally, you will see helpful notes about translations and other details.

For example, you may be able to send your official, academic documents to WES, following our sealed envelope guidelines, or you can have your educational institution(s) send your official academic records to WES. We highly encourage you to have your institution(s) send your official documents to us directly.

Quick Tip: Do not send original documents to WES (unless specifically requested to do so). Originals will not be returned to you. Instead, send official document copies.

Your institution might also be able to send documents to us electronically. This is the fastest possible way for us to receive and begin processing your documents. If your institution is not already partnered with us to take advantage of this opportunity, a representative should Contact Us. We will respond quickly to explore secure electronic transmission opportunities.

You should also know that your online account does not expire. Therefore, there is no deadline for sending in your required documents. Simply log in to My Account to review your list of documents and continue your progress at any time. Just remember: We do not begin evaluating your credentials until we have received full payment and all of your required documents.

Related Reading

Understanding WES Required Documents

Paying for Your Credential Evaluation

After reviewing your order, you will be taken to a final page to complete your Payment. You can pay via credit card,  debit card (in most cases, but please verify with your bank), or a wire transfer using Convera (Formerly Western Union), please be advised that all transactions to and from sanctioned and restricted jurisdictions have been suspended until further notice. If you may be impacted by this service disruption, please Contact Us.

Here are some helpful payment tips:

• Did you know that many debit cards can be used like a credit card? One way to find out if your debit card will work as a payment method is to see if it has a credit card logo printed anywhere on the card itself. You can also contact your bank and find out if this is one of your cards features. In many cases, but not all of them, applicants are able to use their debit cards exactly like credit cards when ordering an application at WES!
• If you are having trouble making a payment via credit card, make sure that the zip code or postal code that you are using matches the one that appears on the credit card’s billing statement. If this does not take care of the problem, contact your bank to notify them of the attempt and make sure they are not accidentally blocking the transaction.
• All Canadian payments are subject to the Harmonized Sales Tax. The Canadian government requires that we collect this tax.
• You can change payment methods at any time by logging in to My Account, where you will be able to make a payment via the method of your choice.

What to Expect After You Submit Your Application

After you submit your application, you will receive a reference number. Your WES reference number is an important part of the application process. You can always find it again by logging in to My Account. It will appear at the top of the page; however, you can also look for it by clicking on Account Menu and then Order History.

Once we have received, reviewed, and accepted all your required documents, and if we have already obtained payment in full, a credential evaluation takes about seven business days to complete.

However, Canada’s ECA can take a little longer to finish. Upon receiving, reviewing, and accepting all your required documents, as well as obtaining your payment in full, this credential evaluation report takes 35 business days to complete.

You can check the status of your credential evaluation and any documents received in My Account. All updates to your credential evaluation’s status updates will be posted there. You will also receive email notifications for important updates about your report.

Ready to Get Started?

Apply for your credential evaluation!