Credential and Document Verification: A J-1 Teacher’s Checklist

You have a Certificate of Employment, a diploma, and a transcript of records. You upload them and expect to move forward. Then a sponsor asks for more employment details, or an evaluator says your academic records still need verification.

The next step depends on what is missing: information in the document, an official submission from the institution, or confirmation that the recipient has accepted it.

This J-1 teacher document checklist helps you organize those steps. It includes examples from three sponsors, guidance for four evaluators, sample request letters, and a tracker you can adapt to your application.

Start with the recipient’s requirements

Your exchange sponsor, credential evaluator, state licensing authority, and employing school may each need different evidence. A credential evaluator assesses your education. The sponsor reviews your exchange application. The state authority determines licensing requirements, and the school may have separate hiring requirements.

The U.S. Department of State’s Teacher Program guidance makes clear that exchange teachers must also satisfy the standards of the state where they will teach.

Before ordering an evaluation, get written answers to four questions:

1. Will you accept a report from this evaluator for my application?

2. Which report type and details do you require?

3. Who must send the records or final report, and through which channel?

4. What must be verified before you consider the requirement complete?

Keep the answers with your checklist. Confirm acceptance separately with your sponsor and the relevant state authority.

Build your checklist around your sponsor

These examples focus on employment, education, evaluations, and references. Add the rest of your sponsor’s current application requirements, including any identity, financial, background-check, placement, or dependent documents that apply.

Please note that these are NOT internal process and are public documents available on their public website.

Educational Partners International (EPI)

• Employment: Prepare one letter for each school where you have worked since your bachelor’s degree. EPI’s published instructions call for a current-year letter for your present employer, employment dates matching your profile, subjects taught, and your position. EPI employment-document instructions.

• Academic records: Prepare both diplomas and transcripts for all degrees, plus transcripts for incomplete degrees. EPI degree-document instructions.

• References: Identify two school supervisors and one teacher colleague. EPI describes entering their email addresses in the application so they receive a reference survey. A generic uploaded recommendation is not automatically the same process. EPI professional-reference instructions.

• Evaluation: EPI’s public checklist lists the credential evaluation as requested by an EPI team member. Confirm timing and report requirements before paying. EPI application checklist.

• Submission: The published upload guidance calls for clear, full-page color PDFs, the correct application section, no password protection, and saving before leaving the page. EPI upload instructions.

EPI’s help articles carry a November 20, 2019 publication date and remained publicly available when reviewed on October 29, 2026. Check them against your current portal and team instructions.

Greenheart Exchange

Greenheart’s public Teach USA upload form includes two reference letters, proof of a degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, and proof of qualification to teach in your home country. It also lists financial verification, agreements, and documents that depend on the program option. Greenheart Teach USA document form.

Use that list to prepare, then ask Greenheart to confirm the required reference authors, letter dates, evaluation provider, report type, and current submission route. The public form reviewed does not explicitly list a Certificate of Employment. That alone does not establish that your case is exempt from employment verification.

Greenheart’s Teach USA program guidance identifies a foreign credential evaluation as the first step toward state certification. Confirm the instructions for your intended state before ordering.

Spirit Cultural Exchange

Spirit’s teacher FAQ lists employment verification, a foreign credential evaluation, reference letters, and a degree or diploma copy, alongside other application documents. Ask Spirit for the exact letter content, referee requirements, deadlines, and upload instructions for your case. Spirit teacher-program FAQ.

Spirit’s Foreign Credential Evaluation Guide calls for a course-by-course report for certification or licensure and stresses evaluator acceptance in the intended teaching state. If your preferred provider is not listed in the guide, ask Spirit and check the state authority’s requirements directly.

GlobalEd Solutions does not partner with these evaluation companies unless explicitly stated. We do not handle issues, expedite processes, or maintain internal communication with their staff.

Match transcript handling to your evaluator

The submission method matters as much as the document itself. Follow the instructions attached to your particular order, country of education, and credential.

SpanTran / The Evaluation Company

SpanTran now operates as The Evaluation Company (TEC). Its document guidance directs applicants to the country- and credential-specific requirements tool and calls for certified English translations of non-English documents.

TEC distinguishes applicant uploads from direct verification. When transcripts must be submitted directly for verification, the issuing institution must send them. Its published instructions identify an official institutional email route to verification@evalcompany.com, or a postal route to its Houston office. Recheck the destination against your case instructions before dispatch. TEC transcript-submission instructions.

TEC also states that authentication is required for the highest post-secondary credential per country of study, with possible additional recipient requirements. Ask which credential remains unverified if your case is on hold. TEC verification policy.

Atlas Credential Evaluations

Atlas instructs university applicants to upload personal scans and have the university’s records office send official transcripts directly. Its FAQ lists status@atlasevaluations.com for official documents and also describes a paid verification service as an alternative. Ask Atlas which route applies to your case and what confirms completion. Atlas document and verification FAQ.

Before paying, obtain confirmation that your sponsor and intended state licensing authority accept the particular Atlas report you need. Atlas itself advises applicants to check recipient acceptance. Naming a provider here does not establish acceptance by every sponsor or state.

World Education Services (WES)

WES’s Philippines guidance explains that your school supplies the official transcript through an accepted electronic channel or an institution-sealed envelope. Where permitted, the institution may give you the sealed envelope to forward unopened. Check your Required Documents instructions for the exact credential and institution, and include your WES reference number as directed. WES guidance for Philippine degrees.

Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)

ECE’s requirements vary by country. It instructs applicants to submit the online application first and follow the Document Matching Form. Emailing a PDF is allowed for documents designated “Photocopy or Scan”; other documents may require originals or institution-sealed records. Use the country-specific list rather than another evaluator’s instructions. ECE documentation requirements.

Request letters that answer the actual requirement

Here, COE means Certificate of Employment. Its purpose is to establish employment facts. A recommendation addresses your work and professional qualities. An academic evaluation addresses your educational credentials. Keep these documents distinct in your checklist.

Adapt the following samples to the recipient’s instructions. If a sponsor supplies a mandatory form, use that form.

Sample request: employment verification

Subject: Request for Certificate of Employment — [Your full name]

Dear [Principal or HR Officer],

I am preparing an international teaching application and would like to request an employment verification letter on school letterhead.

Please include my full name, position, subjects and grade levels taught, employment start date, and end date or confirmation that I remain employed. Please confirm whether my position is full-time, if accurate. I would also appreciate the issue date, authorized signature, and the school contact’s name, title, email, and telephone number.

I have attached the recipient’s instructions. Please let me know the request procedure and expected release date.

Thank you,

[Your name]

Sample request: official academic records

Subject: Official transcript request for credential evaluation — [Reference number]

Dear Registrar,

I am requesting the academic records needed for an evaluation by [Evaluator]. My name while enrolled was [Name], my student number was [Number], and I attended [Program and dates].

Please prepare [Required transcript, degree record, or other records] and send them through the method specified in the attached evaluator instructions. The recipient is [Confirmed destination], and my case reference is [Number].

Please confirm the fee, authorization requirements, expected dispatch date, and available delivery evidence. If this submission method is unavailable, please let me know so I can confirm an alternative with the evaluator.

Thank you,

[Your name]

Sample request: professional reference

Subject: Professional reference request — [Your full name]

Dear [Name],

Would you be willing to provide a professional reference for my application to [Sponsor]?

The sponsor requires [An online survey or a signed letter] from [Required professional role]. Please describe how you know my work and include specific examples of my teaching, collaboration, and professional responsibilities that you can personally confirm.

The submission instructions are [Instructions], and the deadline is [Date]. If an invitation email is expected, please check your spam folder as well.

Thank you for considering my request,

[Your name]

Submit in an order you can track

1. Confirm requirements. Save the sponsor’s current checklist and the evaluator’s case instructions. Record the date and contact who clarified any uncertainty.

2. Check consistency. Compare names, employment dates, degree titles, and institutions across records and your application. Ask how to document legitimate differences; do not alter an issued record yourself.

3. Create the evaluation case when instructed. Confirm provider acceptance and report type, then obtain the reference number before requesting dispatch.

4. Request the official records. Give each issuer the exact destination and submission method. Ask for dispatch evidence.

5. Submit your own documents. Follow the recipient’s format and portal instructions. Keep confirmation of each upload or submission.

6. Follow verification through to acceptance. Confirm that the evaluator received and authenticated the required records, then confirm that each final recipient received and accepted the report.

If a case stalls, send a specific question:

For case [Number], my university reports sending [Document] on [Date] through [Method]. Please confirm whether it was received, whether verification is complete, and which action or record is still outstanding.

Track what is missing and who needs to act

Use a separate row for each document and recipient. A transcript going to an evaluator and a report going to a licensing authority need separate delivery records.

The companion spreadsheet separates file preparation, verification, and recipient review. Mark each requirement Yes, No, or Confirm, then record the issuer, follow-up date, deadline, and dated evidence. Its calculated outstanding step stays open when verification or acceptance is still unresolved.

Download the teacher document tracker (.xlsx)

This illustrative example shows why a single “submitted” checkbox is not enough:

Document	File status	Verification	Recipient review	Next step
Current employment letter	Missing	Not confirmed	Not submitted	Request the required letter
University transcript	Sent	Awaiting verification	Awaiting review	Confirm the evaluator received the official record
Final evaluation report	Sent	Verified	Awaiting review	Confirm sponsor acceptance

Keep sensitive documents in the recipient’s approved channel. Use the tracker for status and references rather than copying passport numbers, complete transcripts, or bank details into a shared sheet.

Start with one outstanding document: identify who must issue it, how it must reach the recipient, and what confirmation will close the requirement. For questions about your next career step, contact GlobalEd Solutions.