What are credentials? (2024)

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"Credentials" often refer to academic or educational qualifications, such as degrees or diplomas, that you have completed or partially completed. "Credentials" can also refer to occupational qualifications, such as professional certificates or work experience.

If you did your credentials outside of Canada, these are called "international credentials" or "foreign credentials" in Canada. You may need to get your credentials evaluated if you want to work or study in Canada.

Academic Credentials

These are examples of academic credentials:

Secondary (high) school diploma
College diploma
Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
PhD or Doctorate degree
Professional school degree (for example, for law, medicine, teaching)

A few organizations evaluate international academic credentials to compare them to credentials you can get in Canada. You may need this for work or if you apply to a college, university or institute. Find out aboutwhere to get your credentialsevaluated for employment and evaluated for education.

Occupational or Professional Credentials

These include:

Professional licences
Memberships in professional associations
Apprenticeships
Trade certificates
Work experience

Some evaluation services may evaluate these kinds of credentials, but some do not. Check with each service to find out what they can do for you.

Find out about where to get your credentials evaluated for employment.

Why should I get my international credentials assessed?

You may need to show an assessment of your credentials when applying for a university or college program, licensing with a professional association, entry to an apprenticeship program or when applying to immigrate to Canada. It is also a good idea to include an assessment when applying for some types of employment so the company hiring can more easily understand your background.

Before you get your credentials assessed, you may want to check with the organization requesting the assessment about their requirements. They may need specific information included in the report.

For More Information

Getting Your Credentials Assessed– Information about why you may need to get your credentials assessed and how you can do this. From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC) - Provides information about international credentials for people from other countries who want to study or work in Canada and for Canadians who want to study abroad.
Foreign Qualification Evaluation and Recognition in Canada - Fact sheets from the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC).
Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada - Some credential evaluation organizations in Canada are members of this Alliance. The website has information about standards and principles of evaluation.
Medical Council of Canada - Education Credential Assessment - Information about getting your medical education credentials assessed for the purpose of immigration applications.