Requesting Transcripts
After you register for the LSDAS, you must have a separate transcript sent to LSAC directly from each undergraduate and graduate institution you attended in the US, its territories, or Canada. You must have foreign transcripts, mark sheets, and degree certifications sent if:
- you are applying to a law school that requires the JD Credential Assembly Service (JD CAS, an extension of LSDAS), AND
- you received your undergraduate degree from a foreign institution, OR
- you were directly enrolled at a foreign institution(s) and the total amount of work you completed at all foreign institutions combined is the equivalent of more than one year of undergraduate study in the US, its territories, or Canada.
Copies of all foreign educational records must be submitted in the original language. If the transcript or other required documents are not in English, a translation must be included.
Transcripts issued to you or sent by you will not be processed.
Transcripts to include:
- undergraduate and graduate schools
- law/medical/professional schools
- schools attended for summer or evening courses
- schools attended even though a degree was never received
- schools from which you took college-level courses while in high school even though they were for high school credit
- schools that clearly sponsored your overseas study (see Foreign Transcripts below)
Transcripts must be sent from schools even if:
- credit was transferred from a school and it appears on another school's transcript
- the school is closed
(These transcripts are usually maintained by the department of higher education or by another school in the state in which the school was located, so you will need to contact the state's department of higher education.) - "withdraw," "incomplete," etc., are the only grades listed
- you have just enrolled
(Request that the registrar's office send a transcript of courses "in progress" or a statement of current enrollment. The document must bear the official registrar's seal.)
Foreign Transcripts
- Transcripts must be sent if your degree was received from a foreign institution and you are applying to a JD CAS-requiring law school.
- Do not have a transcript sent from a foreign institution if your undergraduate degree is from a US, US Territory, or Canadian school, AND:
- the total amount of work you completed at all foreign institutions combined is equal to or less than the equivalent of one year of undergraduate study in the US, its territories, or Canada, OR
- your work was completed through an overseas study program that was clearly sponsored by a US, US Territory, or Canadian school.
Clear sponsorship means:
- the courses received the sponsoring school’s academic credit (not transfer credit);
- the course codes, titles, credits earned, and grades appear on the sponsoring school’s transcript. Typically, these grades and credits are included in the sponsoring school’s cumulative GPA. The courses are often administered and taught by the sponsoring school’s faculty at an overseas institution.
Work that appears as transfer credit on the sponsoring school’s transcript has NOT been completed under the clear sponsorship of the institution. It may still be referred to as the institution’s exchange program, study abroad program, or consortium work. However, grades received in courses transferred from other institutions are typically not reported on the sponsoring school’s transcript, nor included in the sponsoring school’s GPA. They simply contribute credit towards a degree or elective requirement, assuming a grade of C or better was attained. Grades of C- and below typically do not transfer.
How to Have Transcripts Sent
Transcripts must be sent directly from the institutions attended. Transcripts issued to you or sent by you will not be processed. Most schools charge a fee for forwarding transcripts. Allow two weeks from the time of receipt for LSAC to process your transcripts.
It is your responsibility to have an official copy of all required transcripts sent to LSAC directly from the registrar's office of each institution. You must use LSAC’s Transcript Request Forms for this purpose. If you register online, your Transcript Request Forms will be available only after you register for the LSDAS and enter your school information. Transcript Request Forms are also available in the LSAT & LSDAS Registration Packet for those who register by mail.
To download the Transcript Request Forms, log on to your Online Services account, go to the My Docs tab, and select Forms. Your Transcript Request Forms are only available after you register for the LSDAS and enter your school information. To download and print a Transcript Request Form for a school, click on the school’s name. Each form is prepopulated with your information and the school’s information.
To view the forms, you must have the Adobe Acrobat® reader plugin installed in your computer. If you do not have the plugin, scroll to the bottom of this page to download it.
Inability to Obtain Transcripts
If you are unable to obtain transcripts from a school due to a financial obligation, you must indicate this when registering for LSDAS. If the school is the only undergraduate institution you attended, or if you have attended multiple undergraduate institutions and have outstanding financial obligations with all of them, an LSDAS report cannot be produced for you.
Updating Your Transcript Information
You should have official transcripts sent for any additional academic work completed after your initial LSDAS Law School Reports have been forwarded. This information will be incorporated into your file and updated transcript reports will be sent to the law schools.
Domestic Transcripts should be mailed to:
Law School Admission Council
662 Penn Street
Box 2000-M
Newtown, PA 18940
Foreign Transcripts should be mailed to:
Law School Admission Council
662 Penn Street
Box 8502
Newtown, PA 18940
. If you do not already have the reader installed on your computer, click on the Adobe Acrobat Reader link below and download it for free.
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