About the Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
Nearly all ABA-approved law schools and many other schools require the use of LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS) for JD applicants. LSAC collects the US and Canadian academic records of law school applicants and summarizes the undergraduate work according to a standard 4.0 system to simplify the admission process. JD applicants who have studied for more than one academic year outside the US or Canada can use the Credential Assembly Service for transcript evaluation and authentication if required by the law schools to which they are applying.
There are five basic steps to complete your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) file for reporting.
- Register for Credential Assembly Service (CAS) and pay all required fees.
- Take the LSAT or use a prior LSAT score that is valid and reportable.
- Request that one official transcript be sent to LSAC from the registrar's office of each institution you attended.
- Ask recommenders to write letters and to send them to LSAC or to the law schools (as specified by each institution).
- Apply to law school(s). Once the law schools receive your completed application, they will contact us to request your law school report. When your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) file is complete and without financial holds, your report will be sent.
- transcript summarization (as well as authentication and evaluation of academic records, if applicable),
- creation of your law school report,
- letter of recommendation processing, and
- electronic application processing for all ABA-approved law schools.
Important: You should sign up and pay for the Credential Assembly Service at least four to six weeks before your first law school application deadline. It takes approximately two weeks to process a transcript or letter of recommendation from the time it is received.
NOTE: International LLM applicants can find more information on our LLM Credential Assembly Service website.
