Certified Medical School Transcript Translation

The single most confusing aspect of ECFMG transcripts is who is responsible for sending which document. The rule depends on the type of transcript and the destination service.

For the final medical school transcript used in ECFMG Certification, ECFMG requests the transcript directly from the medical school as part of credentials verification at the same time the diploma is verified. Applicants generally do not submit the final transcript themselves to ECFMG. If ECFMG cannot obtain the transcript from the school, ECFMG will contact the applicant with detailed instructions.

For ERAS, the rule is different. The MyERAS application is separate from ECFMG Certification, and the medical school transcript does not transfer automatically. If your school participates in the ERAS service through MyIntealth, the school uploads the transcript. If not, you can request that ECFMG transfer a copy to MyERAS, or upload it yourself through MyIntealth, with translation if not in English. For FCVS, state board licensure, WES, ECE, and US graduate schools, you provide the transcript directly, with translation attached.

Many IMGs earned credits at one institution that were later transferred to the medical school issuing their final degree. ECFMG's transferred credits transcript requirement applies to all such credits, regardless of when they were earned. Failure to disclose and document them can delay or block ECFMG Certification.

For each prior institution, you must submit an official transcript issued by that institution, in the original language. If the original is not in English, a certified translation must accompany it. The translation rules are identical to the final transcript: word-for-word, signed translator certification, independent translator. ECFMG explicitly does not accept professional evaluations of these transcripts in lieu of the transcripts themselves.

The name on transferred credits transcripts must match exactly the name in your ECFMG record. Where transliterations differ between the prior school's records and your ECFMG profile, supporting documentation (such as a translated marriage certificate or court order for legal name changes) may be required.

Medical school grading scales differ widely across the world. Pakistan and India typically use percentage scales (often with first division, second division descriptors). Russia and post-Soviet states use a five-point scale. Spain and much of Latin America use ten-point scales with descriptors such as Aprobado, Notable, Sobresaliente, Matricula de Honor. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland use one-to-five or one-to-six scales where lower numbers are better.

In a certified translation, grades are reproduced exactly as they appear on the source. We do not convert to a US 4.0 GPA scale. Where the back of the transcript or a separate institutional document explains the scale, that legend is translated and placed alongside the course table.

This matters because converting at translation stage corrupts the document. ECFMG, FCVS, and credential evaluators each apply their own conversion rules, often using a methodology that differs from any conversion a translator could improvise. Keeping the source scale intact lets each destination apply its own correct conversion to your record.

Medical school course names sit at the intersection of medical and academic terminology. International curricula use Latin-derived course names (Anatomia, Histologia, Pathologia) that map cleanly to US English equivalents, alongside country-specific course names that require careful handling.

Our translators use standard US medical curriculum English equivalents where one exists. Anatomia becomes Anatomy, Pediatria becomes Pediatrics, Cardiologie becomes Cardiology. For courses without a clean equivalent, the source-language name is preserved and an English literal translation added, with a translator's note where needed. Composite courses (such as Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales) are kept as a single unit.

Credit hours and contact hours are reproduced exactly as listed. Where a source transcript expresses load in semester credit hours, ECTS, or contact hours alone, the original unit is preserved. Conversion between ECTS and US semester credits is the responsibility of credential evaluators, not the translator. The same applies to clinical rotation hours and elective placements.

This is the most consequential confusion on transcripts. A certified translation reproduces every course on your transcript word-for-word in English with a signed translator certification. A credential evaluation is a separate report, produced by services such as WES, ECE, or ICAS, that takes your transcript as input and produces a US-equivalent assessment (degree level recognized in the US system, GPA equivalent, sometimes course-by-course US credit-hour equivalents).

ECFMG explicitly does not accept evaluations in lieu of the transcript. WES, ECE, and ICAS themselves require a certified translation alongside the original transcript before they begin their evaluation. The translation feeds the evaluation, it is not a substitute for it. The order is always: original transcript, then certified translation, then evaluation if a US GPA is needed.

For purely medical destinations such as ECFMG, FCVS, and state medical boards, only the certified translation is generally required. For US graduate schools (MPH, MS, PhD), most require both the translation and a course-by-course evaluation. For US employers and immigration purposes, the translation alone is usually sufficient.

ECFMG specifically requires that the name on transcripts (including transferred credits transcripts) match exactly the name in the applicant's ECFMG record. Mismatches are a common cause of verification delays, particularly for IMGs whose names are written in non-Latin scripts where transliteration varies, or whose names changed between graduation and application.

In a certified translation we render names exactly as they appear on the source transcript. We do not adjust spellings to match the applicant's ECFMG profile or current passport. If the source transcript uses one transliteration of an Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, or Devanagari name, that transliteration is preserved in the translation. The applicant then handles any reconciliation through ECFMG's name-on-credentials process.

Where a formal name change has occurred (most commonly through marriage, divorce, or court-ordered change), supporting documentation links the names. ECFMG accepts a translated marriage certificate or court order alongside the transcript. We can also include a translator's note in the Certificate of Accuracy where appropriate, indicating that two transliterations refer to the same individual.

A medical school transcript is a fixed historical record. Once issued, it does not change, so a certified translation of it does not become stale. The same PDF can serve the entire arc of an IMG career: ECFMG Certification, ERAS residency applications, FCVS portfolio creation, USCIS petitions, state board licensure, ABMS member board reviews, and credential evaluations through WES, ECE, or ICAS.

The same applies to graduate-level US education paths. A translated medical transcript can support applications to MPH, MS in Clinical Research, MMSc, and PhD programs without re-translation. International medical regulators such as the UK GMC and the Medical Council of Canada accept the same translation for their registration processes.

Practical exceptions are rare. If a specific institution requests a recently dated translation, we re-issue at no additional cost for orders we originally completed. Some credential evaluators prefer to receive the translation directly from the translation service rather than from the applicant. We can deliver to evaluators directly on request, which streamlines the WES, ECE, or ICAS workflow.

Transcript translation rejections at ECFMG, FCVS, WES, ECE, and state boards follow a recurring set of patterns. Knowing the patterns helps applicants avoid the most common avoidable delays.

The most frequent causes, in order: a summary translation that lists overall results rather than reproducing every course; missing pages where the source transcript runs across multiple physical pages and only the first is translated; a translated grading scale that has been converted to US 4.0 GPA at translation stage; absent registrar signatures or seals on the translation where the source clearly displays them; a translation that omits transferred credits transcripts entirely, or treats them as separate from the application; and translations prepared by the applicant or a family member in violation of independence rules.

Our translations are structured to remove every one of these. Every course across every academic year is rendered as a structured table. Every page of the source is translated as a corresponding page of the translation, with grading legends from the back of the source included. Source grading scales are preserved without conversion. Registrar signatures, dean countersignatures, and academic seals are translated and located on the same part of the page as on the source. The translator is independent of the applicant in every case.