Transcript translation: key facts for 2026
- • WES Canada wants sealed transcripts directly from the issuing university to WES Toronto. The applicant cannot deliver the sealed envelope; the university's transcript office must mail it.
- • ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) primary source verification for US medical residency reads transcripts and degree from Indian medical colleges directly through EPIC.
- • CIMEA Rome for Italian university equivalency: apostilled documents PLUS sealed transcript mailed directly from the Indian university to CIMEA. Apostille alone is not sufficient.
- • APS Akademische Prüfstelle at the German Embassy in Delhi reviews transcript content as part of academic pre-screening for German universities and skilled-worker visas.
- • ACS Australia for IT and engineering: apostilled degree + transcripts + experience letters; name-mismatch fix via notarised affidavit + name-change gazette publication usually accepted.
The seal is the document, not the contents
For most foreign academic and professional evaluations of an Indian degree, such as WES Toronto, IQAS Edmonton, ICAS, ICES and ECE for Canada and the US, ACS Sydney, Engineers Australia, ECFMG Philadelphia and NABP for pharmacy, the assessor wants the transcript inside a sealed envelope. The assessor wants the transcript inside an envelope that the issuing university's transcript office sealed and that nobody has opened since. The seal is the integrity layer. If the envelope is opened in transit, even by accident, the assessor rejects it. If the envelope is opened by the applicant out of curiosity, the assessor rejects it. The transcript inside is then evidence that the seal has been broken; the contents are not the issue.
Most Indian universities now run a sealed-transcript channel. IIT, IIM, NIT, BITS, IISc, Delhi University, Bombay University, Madras University, Calcutta University all have established processes for mailing sealed envelopes directly to WES Toronto, IQAS Edmonton, or ECE Milwaukee. Smaller state universities and private universities are uneven. Some mail directly. Some give the sealed envelope to the applicant or a family member, who then courier the unopened envelope to the assessor.
Our role in the second case is the international courier step only. We collect the sealed envelope from the family member at our Noida office, we do not open it, we ship it as a sealed packet to the assessor by DHL or FedEx international. The Customer ID and Document ID go on our handling envelope on the outside, never on the university's sealed envelope. The assessor receives the envelope in the same sealed condition the university shipped it.
Transcript, marksheets, consolidated marksheet; not the same document
Semester marksheets are per-semester result sheets issued at the end of each examination. Six semester marksheets for a three-year undergraduate. Eight for a four-year. Ten for an integrated five-year. They list subjects, marks, grade, and result for that semester.
Consolidated marksheet is a summary document some universities issue alongside the degree, showing the overall percentage, division, and CGPA. Useful but not the same as a transcript.
Official Transcript is the document the international evaluators read. It consolidates all subjects across all semesters with credits, grade points, and the overall result, on the university's official letterhead with the registrar's signature and the university's seal. The transcript is issued on application to the registrar; some universities issue automatically alongside the degree, most issue on request.
A bundle of stacked semester marksheets is sometimes accepted by less-procedural assessors, but the consistent path is to ask the university for the Official Transcript. Some universities call this "Transcript of Records (TOR)", "Academic Record", or "Mark Statement Consolidated"; the title varies, the content is the same.
Which assessor will actually read this transcript
WES Canada (Educational Credential Assessment for Express Entry and university admissions). Sealed transcript from the university, mailed directly to WES Toronto through their secure transcript channel. The apostilled degree certificate goes through MEA and is sent by the applicant to WES separately. WES does its own evaluation and issues an ECA report. Apostille on the transcript itself is not standard for WES; WES reads the sealed transcript on the integrity of the seal.
IQAS Edmonton, ICAS Toronto, ICES Surrey (alternative Canadian ECA providers). Similar to WES; sealed transcript direct from university. Some have specific application portals (IQAS uses a courier-based process; ICAS allows university-portal uploads).
ECE Milwaukee, NACES members (US credential evaluation). Sealed transcript direct from university to ECE or similar NACES-member assessor. The applicant also sends the apostilled degree certificate. ECE reads both.
ACS Australia (Australian Computer Society for engineering, IT, computing). Apostilled transcript with English translation if regional language. ACS accepts the apostilled transcript without sealed-envelope requirement in most cases; the assessor reads the contents directly. The steps are Notary, State HRD (which ACS-style procedural assessors prefer) or SDM, MEA apostille, and an English translation if your transcript is in a regional language.
Engineers Australia (for engineering migration assessment). Apostilled transcript with the additional Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) prepared by the applicant. The CDR is the applicant's work; the transcript sequence is our work.
ECFMG Philadelphia (for US medical residency, Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates). ECFMG runs Primary Source Verification (PSV) directly with the medical college and the State Medical Council. The applicant's submitted transcript is secondary. PSV results take 8 to 24 weeks depending on the medical college's responsiveness. MEA apostille is not standard for ECFMG submissions; apostille is sometimes asked for by state medical boards during US licensing post-residency.
APS Germany (Akademische Prüfstelle for academic verification). Apostilled transcript with original German university format expectations. APS reviews the transcript alongside the degree and the academic record; the certificate APS issues is read by German universities and visa officers. The steps are State HRD (safer than SDM for APS-cross-checked documents), MEA apostille, German translation by a vereidigter Übersetzer in Germany.
CIMEA Rome (Italian academic equivalency). CIMEA wants the original sealed transcript mailed directly from the university to CIMEA Rome through their secure transcript service. The apostilled degree and apostilled transcript copy that the applicant submits is the cross-reference. Many Indian applicants miss the direct-mail sealed-transcript step. CIMEA is the Italian destination where transcript handling is most often misunderstood.
NMC India to UK GMC, GMC International Medical Graduate route. For Indian medical graduates seeking UK GMC registration. NMC issues Good Standing Certificate; medical college issues transcript. UK GMC reads both alongside the GMC PSV via EPIC.
NCLEX, ACE for US nursing licensure. Indian Nursing Council and state nursing council records, transcript from the nursing college, all apostilled. NCLEX reads through the CGFNS Credentials Evaluation Service.
What we cannot do on a sealed transcript
We are not the issuing university. Sealed transcripts are issued by the university's registrar or transcript office. The application timeline, the fee, and the issuance pace are the university's process. We coordinate through our state representatives where the university has a recognised process; we cannot speed up the registrar.
We do not open sealed transcripts. We do not transfer the contents to a different envelope. We do not "reseal" envelopes that have been opened. The seal is what the assessor reads; tampering with it ruins the document for evaluation purposes.
We do not run ECFMG PSV. The PSV is ECFMG's direct verification with the medical college. We can coordinate the medical college's response to ECFMG queries through our representatives, but the verification is ECFMG's process.
We are not on the Italian Embassy translation panel. We are not a vereidigter Übersetzer in Germany. For Italian and German cases, we work with translators who hold those credentials.
When transcript apostille work needs the Original sent to us
For a transcript translation, the scan is what the translator works from. A photo of the outside of the sealed envelope is not enough for evaluators like WES or CIMEA. But for translation alone, when you or the destination authority just need the transcript content in another language, a clear scan of the open transcript is all the translator needs. The Original transcript, sealed or unsealed, stays with you for translation-only work.
A transcript is handled differently from most documents on this site. For WES Toronto, CIMEA Rome, ECE Milwaukee evaluations, the sealed envelope is the integrity layer; and that has nothing to do with translation or apostille. For apostille on an unsealed transcript copy, the Original travels to our Noida office. The translation runs from the scan in parallel.
French is the translation case with a different rule. Authorised French Embassy translators sometimes verify the document against the Original where the document is not digitally verifiable. For French-target translation, we confirm at intake whether the verification step applies to your specific document.
Sealed-envelope discipline: never opened, never relabelled
You can't mess with people's Original documents; and a sealed transcript is the most fragile Original we handle. The seal is the document; the contents are secondary. Sealed envelopes that arrive at our Noida office are logged with a Customer ID and a Document ID written on a wrapper envelope, never on the university's sealed envelope itself. The Customer ID written on the original sealed envelope ruins it for evaluation.
We do not open sealed envelopes to verify contents, photograph the transcript inside, or scan the document. The assessor receives the envelope sealed exactly as the university shipped it.
We do not use Porter, Wefast, Borzo or similar third-party parcel apps for sealed envelope movement. A damaged sealed envelope means a fresh transcript request from the university, which can take 2 to 6 additional weeks. For travel between cities and abroad we use Blue Dart, DHL, FedEx, DTDC Premium, UPS; services with insurance and tracking. For international courier to WES Toronto, ECE Milwaukee, CIMEA Rome, we use FedEx or DHL international priority.
For apostilled transcripts (not sealed-envelope cases), the standard custody sequence applies: Customer ID and Document ID on the checklist, photo and video proof of every stamp on WhatsApp, signed handoff at every step.
From the university transcript office to WES Toronto or CIMEA Rome
You WhatsApp the scan of the transcript (or the marksheets if the transcript is still being requested) and tell us the destination assessor. We confirm whether the assessor wants sealed-envelope-direct or apostille on the applicant's copy. If sealed-envelope is the requirement, we name the university process and our role in the international courier step.
For sealed-envelope cases: you coordinate with the university's transcript office. The sealed envelope is collected by you or a family member and delivered to our Noida office unopened. We confirm receipt with a photograph of the outside of the envelope only. We do not open it. We ship by DHL or FedEx international to the assessor.
For apostille cases: the transcript Original (or a fresh certified copy from the university) comes to our Noida office. The sequence runs: English translation if regional language, Notary, State HRD or SDM, MEA apostille, embassy step for non-Hague destinations, destination-language translation where required.
The completed package travels back by tracked courier. Photo and video proof of every stamp on WhatsApp for apostille cases. For sealed-envelope cases, the photographic record is the outside of the envelope and the shipping label.
Frequently asked questions
WES Canada says the transcript must arrive in a sealed envelope from the university. Can you do this for me?
We cannot send a sealed transcript on behalf of the university, because the seal is what proves it has not been opened. The university's transcript office is the only party that can issue a sealed envelope. Each Indian university has its own transcript request process. IIT, IIM, NIT, BITS, IISc, Delhi University, Bombay University, Madras University all have established WES pipelines and can mail directly to WES Toronto. Smaller universities and state universities sometimes do not have a direct-mail process. Where the university will not direct-mail, the path is: applicant or family member collects the sealed envelope from the university, hand-carries to us at our Noida office, we ship the unopened sealed envelope by international courier to WES. WES accepts this. Our role is the international courier step, not the seal.
What is the difference between a transcript and the marksheets I already have?
Marksheets are the per-semester result sheets. A transcript is a consolidated academic record: all subjects across all semesters, with credits, grade points, and the overall result, on official letterhead with the registrar's signature and the university's seal. Many universities issue an "Official Transcript" on request, separate from the semester marksheets. WES, ECA, ACS, ECFMG, APS read the Official Transcript. Stacking marksheets together is not the same document; the assessors want the consolidated record.
Anna University Chennai is slow on transcripts. ACS Australia wants the transcript in 3 weeks. What can be done?
Anna University's transcript office is famously slow during peak admission seasons. The standard process takes 3 to 6 weeks for the sealed transcript. The cleanest accelerator is the alumni cell or the registrar's office on a tatkal-style application; some Anna University departments have an expedited process for working professionals. We coordinate through our Chennai representative. If the 3-week window cannot be met, we recommend asking ACS for a documents-pending extension at the application stage; ACS sometimes accommodates university-side delays if proactively communicated.
My MBBS transcripts are needed for ECFMG to evaluate me for US medical residency. Does ECFMG accept apostille?
ECFMG runs its own Primary Source Verification (PSV) directly with the medical college and the State Medical Council. ECFMG's PSV process is independent of MEA apostille. PSV results come from ECFMG's direct verification with the medical college's records office; the applicant's submitted transcript is the secondary cross-reference. ECFMG does not require MEA apostille on the transcript in most cases. Apostille is sometimes still asked for by US state medical boards during licensing post-residency; the apostille sequence (Notary, SDM or State HRD, MEA) runs at that stage.
CIMEA Rome wants my transcripts in original sealed-envelope format. The apostille is on the degree. Is the transcript apostilled separately?
For Italian Dichiarazione di Valore and CIMEA assessment, two parallel paths run. The degree certificate goes through State HRD attestation (Italy does not accept SDM for educational documents), then MEA apostille, then Italian translation by Embassy-empanelled translator, then DoV at the Italian Embassy New Delhi or Italian Consulate General Mumbai. The transcripts run a separate track: the university mails sealed transcripts directly to CIMEA in Rome through their secure transcript service or through the applicant's hand-carried sealed envelope. CIMEA reads both. Apostille on transcripts is sometimes additionally asked for by specific Italian universities; we run the apostille sequence on the transcript when the university requires it.
My transcript is in Marathi from Mumbai University. ACS Australia wants English. Order of work?
English translation of the Marathi transcript first, with translator's certificate of accuracy. The original Marathi transcript and the English translation are stapled together. Notary attests the translator's signature. If the destination requires apostille, SDM countersign then MEA apostille on the bundle. ACS Australia reads the English translation alongside the Marathi original. Many Indian universities now issue transcripts in English by default for outbound applicants; if your transcript is regional language, the translation is the first step.
I lost my undergrad transcripts and the university's records office is being unhelpful. What now?
The Right to Information Act covers most public Indian universities, and an RTI application asking for the transcript can sometimes accelerate a stuck records office. For private universities, the registrar is the escalation point. For very old records (pre-2005 or pre-2010 depending on the university), some records have been moved to off-site storage and reconstruction can take months. We have seen successful reconstruction at Madras University, Bombay University, and Calcutta University on older records; we have also seen unsuccessful cases where the records were not findable. The reconstruction is the university's process; we coordinate but cannot guarantee.
How long does the work take from your end?
Sealed transcripts from the university are the bottleneck: 2 to 8 weeks depending on the university. Once the sealed envelope is in hand and apostille is required: Notary, State HRD or SDM, MEA apostille take 7 to 15 working days additional. International courier 3 to 7 days. End-to-end: 4 to 10 weeks. We coordinate university transcript-office processes through our state representatives.
Related desks
SiZA Global verification, for the customer who wants to check before sending Originals
- • Operated by SiZA Global Solutions Private Limited, registered office: C-25, Sector 8, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, India.
- • UDYAM registration: UDYAM-UP-28-0217175 (Ministry of MSME, Government of India).
- • Verifiable completed-work portfolio at /about and the SiZA Global anti-scam verification protocol at /anti-scam-notice.
- • Content is reviewed by the SiZA Global Documentation Desk. Country-specific instructions are checked against the receiving authority before a file starts.
Reviewed by the SiZA Global Documentation Desk on 27 May 2026 (SiZA Global Solutions Private Limited, registered office: C-25, Sector 8, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, India; verified completed-work portfolio at /about and /anti-scam-notice). WES Canada, ECE Milwaukee, CIMEA Rome, ACS Australia, ECFMG, APS Germany rules on transcript handling change. Indian university transcript-office capacity varies through the year. Every transcript case begins with a check of the destination assessor's current rule for the specific assessment.