Court Interpreters and Translators Job Description, Duties & Salary

Certification, Licensing, and Special Requirements

Certification, Licensing and Special Requirements

Certification or qualification is required in order to be employed as an interpreter for the federal courts and most state courts. The federal court system offers a Spanish-English Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination that includes both a written and oral exam; no other certification exams (in other languages) are currently offered. Rather, interpreters in the federal court system interpreting languages other than Spanish may be classified as “professionally qualified” or “language skilled/ad hoc” pursuant to standards set by the federal court system. Likewise, most states require some form of certification. Certification exams recognized by many states are given by the National Center for State Courts, the American Translators Association, and in the case of sign language, by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, which offers several certification credentials. In addition to written testing of language, vocabulary, skills, and ethics, testing will evaluate a candidate's qualifications by requiring actual interpretations.

Other Requirements

Interpreters and translators who work in courts may be required to undergo a criminal background check.

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