Puerto Rico (PR)

Authority: Puerto Rico Council on Education (Consejo de Educación de Puerto Rico, CEPR) is the territorial accreditation body and oversees recognition of academic degrees for educational institutions operating in Puerto Rico. For academic use and professional licensure, degree recognition is handled by individual professional boards and NACES-approved credential evaluation services. Puerto Rico participates in the US regional accreditation system — degrees from US regionally accredited institutions are automatically recognised in PR.

Process: For US degrees from regionally accredited institutions: automatically recognised. For foreign degrees: submit official transcripts to a NACES-approved evaluator (WES, ECE, or similar) for a course-by-course evaluation. Submit evaluation report to the relevant licensing board or employer. For medical and dental degrees from foreign schools: ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) certification is required before applying for PR medical licensure. For teaching credentials: submit to Puerto Rico Department of Education for certification evaluation.

Equivalency service: National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member organisations: World Education Services (WES — wes.org), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE — ece.org), and Josef Silny & Associates (jsilny.org). ECFMG (ecfmg.org) for foreign medical graduates. For Spanish-language degrees from Latin American or Spanish universities: these are often well-received in Puerto Rico given the shared linguistic and educational heritage — WES evaluation typically $200–250.

Apostille: Foreign documents (transcripts, degrees, notarised documents) submitted to Puerto Rico licensing boards or courts must be apostilled under the Hague Apostille Convention. Puerto Rico accepts apostilles from all 118+ member countries. The apostille is affixed by the relevant competent authority in the issuing country (typically the foreign ministry or state secretary of state). Present the original apostilled document plus a certified Spanish translation if the document is not in Spanish or English. Documents from US states: apostille from the Secretary of State of that US state.

Legalisation: For documents from non-Hague-member countries (certain African, Asian, and Middle Eastern nations): full legalisation chain required — notarisation, certification by the relevant government ministry, and consular certification at the Puerto Rico/US consulate in the issuing country. Contact the US Embassy or consulate in the document's country of origin for specific legalisation requirements. This process can take weeks to months depending on the country.

Sworn translation: Documents not in English or Spanish must be accompanied by a sworn (certified) translation into English or Spanish. Puerto Rico accepts both languages for most administrative and legal purposes. Translations must be prepared by a certified translator — in Puerto Rico, notarised translations are standard. Translator certification: American Translators Association (atanet.org) certified translators, or a Puerto Rico-based notarised translator. Cost: $0.10–0.20 per word; typically $75–300 for a single document.