Credentials evaluation (WES, CGFNS CES)

The US Department of Education says it does not evaluate foreign qualifications. Instead, the body deciding your case (a state licensing board, an employer, a university or the immigration authorities) either evaluates credentials itself or asks you to get an evaluation, which is carried out by private, non-governmental organisations for a fee. For licensed professions, the board in the state where you want to work is the competent authority, and it may use a general or a profession-specific evaluator.

An evaluation does two jobs. First it verifies that your documents are genuine, using records sent directly by your school and licensing authorities. Then it compares your education with the US standard for the same profession. TruMerit separates these: verification confirms authenticity, while evaluation adds the comparability statement that a board uses to decide eligibility. Because evaluators can reach different conclusions, use the one your state board names.

• TruMerit CES Professional Report: TruMerit, formerly CGFNS International, validates all licences, registrations and diplomas you hold and gives a statement of comparability against US nursing standards. It says its reports are accepted by all 50 state boards of nursing. See our CGFNS page.
• TruMerit CES Academic Report: a course-by-course analysis with suggested US credit and grade conversions, used for university admission rather than licensure.
• WES (World Education Services): a non-profit founded in 1974 that produces general academic credential evaluations for people moving to the USA and Canada.

Doctors follow a different path: ECFMG certification verifies medical credentials, not a general evaluator. The Nurse Licensure Compact's uniform requirements say international nursing graduates' education must be verified by an independent credentials review agency.

Choose the evaluator after checking your board, not before, as paying for the wrong report adds cost and time.

1. Check your state board's requirement; TruMerit's site shows which boards require the CES Professional Report.
2. Apply online with TruMerit and pay the fee.
3. Ask each nursing school to send your complete academic record directly to TruMerit, in English or translated by the school.
4. Arrange validation of every licence or registration you hold or have held.
5. Add an English Language Proficiency Report if your board requires one.

TruMerit's fee schedule lists $485 for a CES Professional Report, $425 for expedited review, $175 for each additional report recipient and $125 for an English Language Proficiency Report. It says 70% of CES reports are issued within 7 business days once all primary source documents have been received and validated; waiting for schools and regulators is usually the slow part. TruMerit does not accept at-home versions of English tests.

The application fee covers one report recipient and up to two non-US licences and two academic credentials; each additional licence or credential costs $125. An application that expires can be reprocessed once, within 12 months, for $225.