A common concern among aspiring CPAs from the international community is whether their credentials will meet the requirements of the state where they hope to apply for examination or licensure. This is where international evaluation services play a critical role. These services evaluate the applicants’ credentials to establish whether they would qualify for a particular state’s CPA exam, or which states they would qualify for in general. If they do not fully qualify, these services will also inform them of which credentials they are missing and how they can bridge that gap.

Each state usually specifies which evaluation service results they accept, so it is worth looking into that beforehand, if you have a specific state in mind. Below, we have provided a list of the three most common service providers that are recommended by the U.S. state boards of accountancy.

All international students need their transcripts evaluated by an international evaluation service.   

CpaCredits.com

CPACredits.com offers a FREE transcript evaluation service for domestic transcripts and international evaluations. CPACredits.com helps students identify what courses are still needed to fulfil their state board’s educational requirements. CPACredits.com does this by checking the accounting and business credits the student has already earned and helping students to enroll in courses offered by regionally accredited colleges online to reach the 150 credits they need.

All CPAcredit.com courses are given by regionally accredited colleges, many can be completed in as little as 7.5 weeks, and they are fully asynchronous. These courses are accepted by all state accountancy boards. Once a student finishes their course/courses, the partner college then sends a transcript to the state accountancy board or college of the student’s choice. So far, CPACredits.com has attracted students from over from over 20 different countries since their launching this past year, including students from Canada, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, India, and the U.K to name a few.

For more information contact: support@cpacredits.com or call 1-888-683-4935.

Here are a few international evaluation companies we suggest

If you have a specific Board in mind, we recommend confirming which credential evaluation services they accept beforehand.

NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)

The NIES is National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA’s) international credential evaluation service. They evaluate the transcripts, coursework and credentials, work evaluations and licensures of international applicants. Their services are recognized, and even required, by most state boards. It is also available to both candidates who are hoping to apply for the CPA exam and also international accountancy license holders.

International Credential Evaluation: $225.00

Undecided Jurisdiction Evaluation for CPA Examination/Licensure: $350.00

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Foreign Academic Credentials Service (FACS)

FACS is another credential evaluation services offered for international students. It is often listed as one of the accepted and sometimes only acceptable evaluations service by state boards. Like the NIES, it also offers evaluations for both specific states and territories or to evaluate which state or territory or state your current credentials might match. However, their functions are wider, as they also offer similar services for many other professions as well. They are also a charter member of the NACES.

Document by Document: $100.00

Course by Course: $200.00

Website

National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)

The NACES is an umbrella organization for a variety of international credential evaluation service providers for both US and international transcript and license holders. It acts as a central hub for US-based, independent, nongovernmental organizations that provide credential evaluation services for individuals who have completed education outside the United States. All of the organizations listed on their site are evaluated and approved by the organization before they are issued membership to the organization. Like NIES and FACS, their evaluations are only accepted by state and jurisdiction boards who explicitly state that they accept them.

Fee: Varies per organization.

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