Immigration, a province, a regulator or a university: which report each one asks for, in the agencies' own words

The expensive mistake in this area is not choosing the wrong agency. It is buying the wrong report type from the right agency, discovering it months later, and paying again to convert it.

IRCC says so on the first screen of its ECA page, in a sentence that reads like boilerplate: “There are different types of ECAs. You need to get an ECA for immigration purposes. If you got another type of ECA, you may be able to get it re-issued, depending on the type of ECA and/or issuing organization.”

Every designated agency sells at least two report types. They do not agree with each other about what the immigration report may be used for. And the four receiving bodies that matter — IRCC, a province, a regulator, a university — publish four different requirements. This page sets out what each one says, quoting it, as read on 3 September 2026.

This is a summary of published rules, not an assessment and not immigration advice.

Each agency’s product line, in its own words

WES distinguishes the ECA from its general reports. Its ECA page: “World Education Services (WES) is designated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to provide Educational Credential Assessments (ECAs).” Its Canadian fee flow lists the ECA as a single package at C$264 (with a note that the price “does not include delivery fees, additional fees, or a 13% Harmonized Sales Tax”), and separately offers Document-by-Document and Course-by-Course reports for education, employment and licensing.

ICES publishes three types on its front page: Basic (“for applicants seeking general employment”), Comprehensive (“for applicants seeking employment in a professional occupation or admission to study at a post-secondary institution”, adding the course list, GPA and language of instruction), and the ECA for immigration. It also sells a fourth variant: an “ECA for the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO)” which includes “Secure electronic transmission to the CNO”.

CES splits the same way at Step 1 of its application: an Immigration application for a list of named programmes, and a General Use application in Document-by-Document or Course-by-Course form. Its fee table lists the Canadian Immigration Program Assessment at $241.50 per application, General Use Document-by-Document at $175 per credential, and Course-by-Course at $190 for the first credential and $175 for each additional one.

ICAS is the bluntest. Its FAQ asks, “Will an ICAS General Assessment Report be accepted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada?” and answers: “No. Only the Canadian Immigration Assessment Report will be accepted by IRCC. If you have previously received an ICAS Assessment Report, you will need to upgrade your report.” Its Canadian Immigration Assessment Package is listed at $231, tax included; the site’s news panel carried a “Fee Increases (September 1)” notice when we read it.

IQAS makes it a choice inside the form: “You must select ‘Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)’ on the ‘Confirm your reason for assessment’ page as assessments for employment, education or licensure cannot be used to apply for immigration to Canada. Be sure you request the correct assessment and submit the correct fees as all IQAS fees are non-refundable.” Its ECA application fee is $260 for one credential, $100 per additional credential, plus a $25 administration fee.

Two agencies flatly disagree about the immigration report’s second life

This is the part no aggregator writes down, and it changes what you should buy.

ICES says the immigration report is single-purpose. Its ECA FAQ: “What else can I use my ECA for other than immigration?” — “The ECA is intended for immigration purposes only. These include Express Entry, Permanent Residency, the Agri-Food Pilot and some Provincial Nominee Programs. You will need to check with the end user to determine if they will accept the ECA.”

CES says the opposite about its own report. Step 1 of its application lists, under “General Use”: “The Educational Credential Assessments (ECA) report can also be used for: TN Visa (please seek confirmation from appropriate officials before applying), Employment, Education, Licensure, Other non-immigration purposes.”

ICAS sits in between: its FAQ says the report “can be used for immigration, but also for employment, for admission to educational institutions and as part of the licencing process with some regulatory bodies.”

They are describing their own products, so all three can be correct at once. That is exactly the problem: “an ECA” is not one thing, and a claim you read about one agency’s report does not transfer to another’s.

What each receiving body actually requires

IRCC (Express Entry)

An ECA “for immigration purposes”, from a designated organisation or professional body, less than five years old both when you complete the profile and when you apply. IRCC’s Help Centre: “Yes, provided that it is still valid and that it’s an ECA for immigration purposes. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept ECA reports for five years from the date they are issued.”

Other federal programmes

The Atlantic Immigration Program branches on where you studied. For education completed in Canada it asks only for the document: “Include a copy of your diploma, certificate or degree with your application.” For education outside Canada: “You must get an educational credential assessment (ECA) for immigration… If you already have an ECA… it must be: from a designated organization below, less than 5 years old on the date you apply, for immigration.”

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot page states: “There are different types of ECAs. We only accept ECAs for immigration purposes.”

A province

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s Ontario Workforce Priority stream page: “If you completed your studies outside of Canada, you need to obtain an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report that is less than five years old on the date your application is made that proves your Canadian equivalency.” It requires you to supply the report yourself — “You must provide the OINP with an electronic copy of the ECA report when you submit your online application” — and to authorise the programme to confirm the result with the issuing organisation.

That is why WES advises applicants to “Meet Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) requirements by selecting the respective PNP office as a recipient (This is highly recommended for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.)”, and why CES publishes a free request form for “Sharing ECA report with the Provincial Nominee Program(s) (e.g. OINP)”. A report sitting in your inbox is not a report the province can verify.

One live contradiction to be aware of: OINP’s accepted-organisations list names the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada, while PEBC’s own page says “The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) – PEBC does not provide ECA Reports for the OINP. Please follow-up with the OINP for alternatives.” Both pages were read on 3 September 2026. We are not resolving it; ask OINP before you buy anything.

A regulator

Regulators publish their own accepted-provider lists, and they are shorter than IRCC’s. The College of Nurses of Ontario states that internationally earned nursing credentials “need to be verified by one of the educational credential assessment (ECA) service providers listed below” — World Education Services, ICAS, and ICES — and adds: “Credential verification from providers that are not listed on this page will not be accepted.” It also requires sequencing: “CNO must receive the education assessment report that confirms your education credential and the corresponding educational documents before you apply to CNO.”

Different regulators buy different products from different agencies. CES publishes separate application instructions for Inspire Global Assessments (formerly NCAS) and for the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador — both of which use its Document-by-Document general report, not its immigration ECA, with a conversion route for applicants who already hold the immigration one.

And IRCC is explicit that none of this is transferable in the other direction. Its Help Centre answer to whether an ECA means you can be licensed: “No. Getting an ECA to meet the requirements of the Federal Skilled Worker Program does not mean that your work experience and professional credentials are automatically recognized in Canada. You must still go through the process of getting your license.”

A university

Often nothing at all. CES — a university’s own service — says so: “The University of Toronto does not require an assessment of your academic credentials for admission, nor do most other universities in Canada.”

Where an institution does want one, it usually wants the course-level report rather than the immigration one, because it needs the course list and GPA. ICES describes the split plainly: “If you do not need to show a list of your courses, then a Basic Evaluation will suffice. If the recipient wants to see your courses, grades and credits, then a Comprehensive Evaluation is more suitable.”

Converting costs money, and the price is not small

If you buy the wrong one, every agency has a paid route out, and each prices it differently. As read on 3 September 2026:

• CES — “Assessment Report Conversion Application… You may apply to convert your General-purpose assessment to Immigration-use ECA report. Similarly, your immigration-use ECA report can be converted to a general credential document-by-document assessment or course-by-course assessment”: $135.60.
• ICES — updating a pre-existing general evaluation to an ECA: $150 per credential, “subject to the same timeline as a new ECA application”, with an estimated 4 weeks where the previous evaluation was based on official documents.
• WES — from a completed ECA: “Convert ECA to a Document-by-Document evaluation” C$58; “Convert ECA to a Course-by-Course evaluation” C$115; adding a new credential C$115.
• ICAS — converting another ICAS report to the immigration package “is considered to be a new application”, with “a returning client discount”.
• IQAS — publishes no conversion product on the pages we read; its fees are described as non-refundable “whether an assessment certificate is issued or not”.

There is also a documents trap in the other direction. ICES: “If you are applying to more than one organization with different requirements, ICES will put your file on hold until all document requirements have been met. We will not be able to proceed with one credential only.”

What to do with this

1. Write down every body that will receive a report before you buy one — IRCC, a province, a regulator, an employer, a school. The report type is decided by the receiving body, not by the agency and not by you.
2. Ask each of them two questions in writing: which report type, and which organisations they accept. Both answers are narrower than “an ECA from a designated agency”.
3. Check whether the receiving body must be named as a recipient at the time of application. OINP wants an electronic copy and an authorisation; CNO wants the report before you apply; ICES sells a CNO-specific transmission.
4. Do not assume the immigration report doubles as everything else. One designated agency says its ECA is “for immigration purposes only”; another lists employment, education and licensure. Read the one you are actually buying from.
5. Price the conversion before you buy the cheaper report. On today’s published fees, converting can cost more than the difference you were trying to save.

Related on this site: who IRCC designates, and what each is designated for, what WES’s ICAP option does and does not add, how long a report stays valid, and what an ECA result does and does not unlock.

We do not rank agencies, we do not predict outcomes, and we do not give immigration advice — paid immigration advice in Canada is a licensed activity. Everything above is quoted from the official pages listed in the sources, read on 3 September 2026.