Interpreter Certification in the US

(Courtesy of Holly Mikkelson, November 2002)

The only segment of the interpreting profession where certification is mandatory at this time is in the courts. The following jurisdictions certify, qualify or approve interpreters (the terminology varies) in the indicated languages:

Federal (U.S. District) Courts - Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Navajo. Interpreters in all other languages are qualified by judges on an individual basis.

National Center for State Courts - this is a private foundation that receives a lot of government funding. At the instigation of Bill Hewitt, it founded a consortium of states that pool resources for the testing of court interpreters. It currently has the contract for administering the federal certification exam as well. The following states are members of the consortium and test interpreters in the indicated languages:

Arkansas - Spanish
California - Arabic, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese; soon to be added: Armenian, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian. Interpreters in all other languages are required to be registered, which involves taking a written and oral English proficiency exam, an ethics workshop, and an orientation workshop.
Colorado - Spanish
Connecticut - Spanish
Delaware - Spanish
Florida - Spanish, Haitian-Creole
Georgia - Spanish
Hawaii - none at present
Idaho - Spanish
Illinois - Spanish
Indiana - Spanish
Kentucky - Spanish
Maryland - Arabic, Cantonese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese
Massachusetts - Cape Verdean, Haitian-Creole, Portuguese, Spanish
Michigan - Arabic, Spanish
Minnesota - Spanish, Russian, Hmong
Missouri - Spanish
Nebraska - Spanish
Nevada - Spanish
New Jersey - Arabic, Cantonese, French, German, Haitian-Creole, Hmong, Italian, Korean, Laotian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Vietnamese
New Mexico - Spanish, Navajo
(NCSC Consortium states, cont.)
North Carolina - Spanish
Oregon - Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese
Tennessee - Spanish
Texas - Spanish
Utah - Spanish
Virginia - Spanish
Washington - Cantonese, Cambodian/Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese
Wisconsin - none at present

New York: Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese

2. Medical

Two states, California and Washington, have certification programs for medical interpreters. Washington's is administered through the Department of Health and Social Services (and includes social service interpreting as well). It is given in Cambodian, Cantonese, Korean, Laotian, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese. California's certification is only for medical-legal evaluations, meaning examinations by a physician for purposes of gathering evidence in a workers' compensation claim or a personal injury lawsuit. The test, given in Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese, deals mainly with accidents and injuries, and doesn't cover basic healthcare interpreting. Interpreters who work in hospitals and clinics are not required to be certified. Massachusetts has just passed legislation for medical interpreter certification, and the exam hasn't been given yet. It is being developed by the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association (MMIA), and will be given in Spanish initially.

3. Professional Associations

The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) has just developed a certification exam for legal interpreting and translating in Spanish. The American Translators Association (ATA) offers an exam for translation only, in Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.