Translating Mexican diplomas, transcripts and report cards: what do schools and credential evaluators ask for?

ASU, the Maricopa Community Colleges and credential evaluators such as WES want a complete, word-for-word English translation of each Mexican school document (título, certificado de estudios, boletas), never one you made yourself, filed together with the Spanish record and never in its place. The translation copies your grades exactly as printed and does not convert them: converting is the job of the evaluator or the school admitting you.

Whoever is asking for the translation decides its format. Before you order a certified translation, find out which office will receive it and read that office’s page. Below is what the Arizona offices we see most often ask for.

Who is asking for the translation, and what does each one require?

Each office has its own rule. ASU, the Maricopa colleges and WES agree on three points: the translation goes with the original Spanish record, it has to be literal or word for word, and you don’t do it yourself (ASU and WES say so outright; the Maricopa colleges ask for a professional translator). What changes is who may sign it, how it reaches the office, and whether you also need an evaluation report.

Who receives it	What it asks for with your Mexican documents	Who may translate	Source
ASU (admission)	Official records in Spanish plus a “literal, complete” English translation, which does not replace the original. ASU evaluates your coursework in house at no extra cost and accepts course-by-course evaluations from four agencies it names	The issuing school, an official translation service, or a ministry of education, consulate or embassy. Never the student. Translations certified by a notary public are not accepted	ASU, Transcripts; ASU, graduate
Maricopa Community Colleges (Phoenix College page)	Official records in the original language plus their certified word-for-word English translation, in addition to the professional evaluation (course by course) when one is required. Accepts evaluations from NACES members; the evaluation does not guarantee transfer credit	A professional translator, with signature or stamp and, where appropriate, on letterhead; the district recommends the American Translators Association directory and recommends no one in particular	Phoenix College
WES (evaluator, NACES member)	For a U.S. equivalency, every foreign-language document translated word for word, with the words in the same order as the original; you send photocopies of the translations, not originals. Your WES account lists exactly what to send	Your school or a certified translation service; never you. No handwritten, incomplete or photocopy-based translations	WES, help; WES, requirements
Arizona public or private school (enrolling a child)	Within 30 days, a certified copy of the birth certificate or other reliable proof of identity and age, plus proof of immunization. Which boletas it wants translated is a question for the school	Whatever the school tells you	A.R.S. § 15-828; A.R.S. § 15-872

Sources: the pages linked in each row, read October 21, 2026. An employer or a licensing board sets its own conditions: ask before you pay for an evaluation or a translation.

Which Mexican document matches what they ask for?

When an Arizona office asks for a “transcript,” a “diploma” or a “degree certificate,” look through your papers for the Mexican document that does that job. In the translation, the document keeps its Spanish name, and the first time it appears the English word the office uses goes in brackets.

What you have	What the office calls it in English
Título profesional	Degree certificate, diploma
Cédula profesional	Professional license card
Certificado de estudios or certificado de terminación de estudios	Transcript, certificate of studies
Kárdex or historial académico	Academic record, transcript
Boleta de calificaciones	Report card
Constancia de estudios	Proof of enrollment
Carta de pasante	Letter of completed coursework

“Transcripts” and “degree certificates” are ASU’s terms; “Professional license card (Cedula Profesional)” is how the State Department lists the cédula among Mexico’s national IDs (State Department).

The cédula is not a transcript: it is the document with your registration number (a card, or the electronic cédula gob.mx now shows), issued by the SEP’s Dirección General de Profesiones when your degree is registered, and it can be looked up in the SEP’s Registro Nacional de Profesionistas (gob.mx). The number is transcribed as is. If you are not sure which of these documents you have, send us the photo.

Does the whole transcript get translated, subjects and grades included?

Yes, all of it: every subject, every grade, every term, the printed grading scale, the seals, the signatures and whatever is on the back. ASU calls this a “literal” translation: an exact translation of the document, with the seals and signatures noted (ASU). WES wants the translated words in the exact order in which they appear on the original (WES).

What the translation does not do is convert. Your 8.5 stays an 8.5, with the scale your school prints; it does not become a GPA or an “equivalent to.” ASU explains it this way: evaluation reports have grade and credit conversions and an interpretation of the document, which is why they are not literal translations.

The signed certification goes with each document. A name, a date or a number that does not match your other papers is among the mistakes we catch with you before certifying.

What does ASU ask for with a Mexican degree or transcript?

Your official records in Spanish and, separately, the English translation, which “does not take the place” of the official record. It may come from the school that issued the document, an official translation service, or a ministry, consulate or embassy. “Translations may not be completed by the student,” and “Translations certified by a notary public are not acceptable” (ASU, Transcripts).

ASU also asks that the translation service itself send the translation to ASU, by mail or by email: tell us from the start that it is for ASU.

ASU does the evaluation itself, “at no extra cost.” If you already have one, it accepts course-by-course evaluations from four agencies: Educational Credential Evaluators, Foreign Credentials Service of America, Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute and Scholaro; only the first is on the NACES member list today (ASU, graduate; ASU, first-year; NACES).

What do the Maricopa Community Colleges ask for?

Phoenix College publishes the rule for the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD): it accepts foreign transcript evaluations from NACES members “as part of the evaluation process,” done for the purpose of education and course by course, and it also requires the official records in the native language along with their certified English translation. The evaluation does not take the place of the records or the translations, and it does not guarantee that transfer credit will be awarded (Phoenix College).

For the translation, the district recommends a word-for-word translation from a translator listed in the American Translators Association directory, without recommending any one, certified by a professional translator with a signature or stamp and, where appropriate, on letterhead. The same page sends you to your college’s Admissions and Records office before you pay for an evaluation.

What does your child’s school ask for with Mexican boletas?

First the documents Arizona law names, then whatever the school decides about the boletas. When a pupil is enrolled for the first time, the school notifies you in writing that you have 30 days to provide a certified copy of the birth certificate or other reliable proof of identity and age, and it enrolls the pupil under the name printed on that document (A.R.S. § 15-828). If the birth certificate is from Mexico, we explain how to translate your Mexican birth certificate.

Written proof of immunization is also required, unless the pupil has an exemption (A.R.S. § 15-872); the vaccination record is translated the same way.

The statutes name the birth certificate and the immunizations, not the boletas or the primaria or secundaria certificate, so ask the school which documents it wants translated before you order.

What does the evaluator do, and what does the translator do?

The translator produces the translation; the evaluator produces the report that says what your studies amount to in the United States. ASU and the Maricopa colleges ask for the first even when you already have the second.

NACES is an association of evaluators: it does not evaluate, its members do, and each sets its own requirements and fees (NACES). WES, one of them, does not translate: the translation comes from your school or a professional translator, never from you, and it does not accept handwritten or incomplete translations, translations made from photocopies, or an English version from your school in place of a translation (WES, 2024).

Is your Mexican degree valid in the United States? Whoever receives it decides, not the translation. What the translation does settle is what “certified translator” means in the U.S.: the signed certification of the person who translated, not a government seal.

Translating your school documents with Puente Grande

Didilia “Didi” De La O, who runs Puente Grande in Phoenix, translates your título, certificado de estudios, kárdex or boletas into English and signs the translator’s certification. Message us on WhatsApp at (602) 332-9460 with a photo of every page (both sides, seals included), tell us who is asking for it and when you need it, and we quote from the photo.

Standard delivery is 48 business hours (Monday through Friday, excluding holidays), or 2 to 4 hours with express service for an additional charge, weekends and holidays included. Nothing is certified until you approve 100% of the content. We reply to most inquiries within 1 hour during business hours.

You can also call us or contact us through our form. Prices for birth certificates and other documents are on the certified translation page, and our clients’ testimonials are on theirs.

What this guide does not answer

This guide does not tell you which evaluator to choose, what your degree is equivalent to, whether you meet the requirements for a professional license, or which grade your child will be placed in. The office receiving your documents decides those things: ask it. This guide is for information only and is not legal advice.

If your school documents are part of an immigration case, decisions about that case come from an immigration attorney or an accredited representative of an organization recognized by the Department of Justice. EOIR, the Justice Department office that runs the immigration courts, publishes the roster of recognized organizations and accredited representatives.