Frequently Asked Questions - Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS)
General Information
- Do I need to register for the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS)?
- Should I register for the LSAT and the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) at the same time?
- Are law school application fees included in the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) registration fee or the law school reports fee?
- What is included in the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report to law schools?
- I have been enrolled in a graduate program. Do I send a transcript to LSAC? How is this record reported on the law school report?
- How do my transcripts get forwarded to LSAC?
- To what address do I have transcripts sent?
- How do law schools evaluate my graduate school transcript?
- How many law school reports do I need?
- How do I order reports?
- How do I inform LSAC about the schools I want to receive my report?
- Will I receive a copy of the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report?
- Why was more than one report sent to a law school?
- My cumulative GPA is different on my transcripts than on the LSAC Academic Summary Report. Why?
- Can my Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report be sent if all transcripts have not been received?
- I forgot to list a school I attended on my Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) registration. How do I add it?
- Where do I send my TOEFL score?
- Am I required to use LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation Service?
- Will the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service accept letters from an undergraduate school credential service or career planning office?
- How do I obtain LSAC Letter of Recommendation Forms?
- When will law school(s) receive my letter(s) of recommendation?
- How can I obtain a refund?
Do I need to register for the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS)?
Most ABA-approved law schools require the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS). If you are a candidate educated outside the US, its territories, or Canada, and you are not applying to any school that requires the authentication and evaluation feature of the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS), you are not required to register for it. However, you may choose to register for the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) if you wish to use the electronic application or the Letter of Recommendation Service.
Should I register for the LSAT and the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) at the same time?
You do not need to register for the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) at the same time you register for the LSAT; however, you should register at least four to six weeks before your first law school application deadline. It takes approximately two weeks to process a transcript from the time it is received.
Are law school application fees included in the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) registration fee or the law school reports fee?
No, application fees are not included in these fees. Check each law school’s application instructions for information about their fees.
What is included in the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report to law schools?
Your report consists of data such as your bachelor's level academic summary, your LSAT score(s), copies of your transcript(s), writing sample, and letter(s) of recommendation (if you use LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation Service).
I have been enrolled in a graduate program. Do I send a transcript to LSAC? How is this record reported on the law school report?
Yes. Send graduate transcripts to LSAC. Although LSAC does not summarize graduate or professional school work, it does list these transcripts on the law school report and send copies of them to law schools.
How do my transcripts get forwarded to LSAC?
It is your responsibility to have official copies of your transcripts sent to LSAC directly from the registrar for every institution you have attended. If you register online, your Transcript Request Forms are accessible only after you register for the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) and enter your institution information. Paper Transcript Request Forms are available in the LSAC Registration Packet for those who register by mail.
To what address do I have transcripts sent?
US, US territories, and Canadian transcripts should be mailed to:
Law School Admission Council
662 Penn Street
Box 2000-M
Newtown, PA
18940-0993
International transcripts should be mailed to:
Law School Admission Council
662 Penn Street
Box 8502
Newtown, PA
18940-8502
How do law schools evaluate my graduate school transcript?
Law schools receive a copy of graduate school transcripts with the law school report, but do not calculate an overall grade-point average combining undergraduate and graduate school performance. The graduate school experience is one of the many factors that schools consider when reviewing applications that contribute to the breadth and depth of a candidate's overall qualifications for the study of law.
How many law school reports do I need?
You will need to order a report for each law school to which you apply. In addition, if you reapply to a school for a new admission term, you will need to order a report for that term. The reports are $12 each.
To order Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) Law School Reports (cost: $12 each):
- Go to your LSAC.org account, select the term for which you are applying, and add the report to your Cart; or
- Call LSAC at 215.968.1001 and speak to a representative.
How do I inform LSAC about the law schools I want to receive my report?
You do not need to inform LSAC of the law schools to which you want reports sent. Once you apply to the schools, they will request your report directly from LSAC. Just be sure to pay for the number of reports you need. Failure to pay for the number of reports you need will delay the forwarding of your reports to the law schools.
Will I receive a copy of the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report?
Once all of your bachelor's level transcripts are summarized, you can go online to view your Academic Summary Report and/or Credential Assembly Service credential evaluation (if applicable). The report contains your biographical and academic information that will be provided to the law schools to which you apply. It does not contain your score, index information, letters of recommendation, prior law school matriculation (if applicable), or findings of misconduct or irregularity (if applicable). Score, index, and letter of recommendation information can be found in your LSAC.org account.
LSAC will send you a law school report if you are not an LSAC.org account user and you were educated within the US, its territories, or Canada. This report includes all the information that law schools will have available for review, with the possible exception of your score if it has not yet been posted to your file at the time the law school report is printed. Candidates educated outside the US, its territories, or Canada, must establish an LSAC.org account. Subsequentially, they can view their evaluation online.
The Academic Summary Report, the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) authentication and evaluation feature for applicants educated outside the US, its territories, or Canada, and the law school report will be updated if a transcript is added or revised.
Why was more than one report sent to a law school?
After an initial (first time) report is sent to the law school, an update would be sent if additional transcript data, an LSAT score, or another letter of recommendation is added to your file. The status messages, Transcript, Score, or L#, identify the reason for the update.
My cumulative GPA is different on my transcripts than on the LSAC Academic Summary Report. Why?
Grades are converted by LSAC to a standard 4.0 system in order to furnish law schools with a uniform basis for comparing applicants. LSAC-member schools, in establishing the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS), have selected a common set of numerical values to represent the various grading systems used by colleges. This system may vary from that of the college you attended.
Can my Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report be sent if all transcripts have not been received?
Your file must be complete in order for reports to be forwarded to the law schools. This means that all bachelor's level transcripts, as well as a valid LSAT score, must be in your file before your report is sent to the schools. For schools requiring the authentication and evaluation feature of the Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS), all transcripts—bachelor's level and graduate level—must be on file.
I forgot to list a school I attended on my Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) registration. How do I add it?
Choose the Transcripts link under the My Home tab in your LSAC.org account. Then click on the applicable Add Institution button to add the school. If you receive the message “You cannot add institutions to your file at this time” please send your request to LSACinfo@LSAC.org. Include the name of the school, dates attended, level (graduate/undergraduate), degree expected or awarded if applicable, and your name and LSAC account number.
Where do I send my TOEFL score?
If required, you must ask Educational Testing Service to send your TOEFL score directly to LSAC (institution code number 0058, department code 03). You should contact the individual schools that interest you to learn about each school’s particular requirements. Most schools will ask applicants for whom English is not their native language to take a standardized test such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the Test of Written English (TWE). Each school sets its own standard for required minimal scores on the tests.
Am I required to use the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service?
Use of the service is optional unless a law school to which you are applying states that its use is required. You should always check the specific letter of recommendation requirements of each law school to which you are applying by consulting each law school’s application materials.
Will the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service accept letters from an undergraduate school credential service or career planning office?
Yes, LSAC will accept letters of recommendation from such a service. The LSAC Letter of Recommendation Form must accompany each letter. When the form is completed by the school’s service, the lower portion can either be filled in with the recommender’s name and address, or—if the recommender’s address is not available—with the recommender’s name and the address of the school’s service.
How do I obtain LSAC Letter of Recommendation forms?
You may print out prefilled Letter of Recommendation Forms from your LSAC.org account once you have entered your recommender information and assigned your letter(s) to each law school. The forms will be barcoded and prepopulated with your information and your recommender(s) information when you print them out.
When will law school(s) receive my letter(s) of recommendation?
They may be sent when your file is complete or at a later date dependent upon the preferences of each law school. Letter(s) received by LSAC after law school(s) receive your initial Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) report will also be sent to school(s) in accordance with their unique needs.
If a summary of your bachelor's-level record has not yet begun and no letters of recommendation have been received, and no electronic applications have been sent to LSAC for processing, LSAC will refund $47 of your Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) fee and the fees paid for law school reports. Your request must be in writing and received before your Credential Assembly Service (LSDAS) registration expires. Simply send the completed Refund Request form 
available on this website or send a signed, dated letter requesting a refund. Note: Refunds for law school reports ordered but not used will not be given once any summarization has occurred.
