Court Interpreter Certifications and VRI
Court interpreter certifications and their requirements are varied but are essential to ensure the highest quality of service to clients. Mandated by the Judicial Branch of the United States, court interpreters aim to place limited and non-English speakers on an equal playing field with native English speakers under the law. If you are bilingual and want to make a difference in the United States legal system, court interpreting could provide a meaningful career path for you. Before you start, it is always a good idea to envision where you want to end up.
Do you want to interpret high-profile cases? Is your goal to provide freelance, ad-hoc services to your local court and community?
Regardless of what your goals are, there are important steps you must take before arriving at your end destination. Putting in the work and the hours is the biggest part of establishing yourself as a credible interpreter under the eyes of the law. Passionate about setting you up for success in your new path, we can prepare you for your next step at becoming a legal interpreter and providing your services to those in need. The court has 3 main categories classifying interpreters:
1. Language Skilled Interpreters in Court
Language skilled interpreters are certified interpreters who can satisfy the minimum needs
of the court in their ability to interpret proceedings from English to the target language. At this level, a legal interpreter cannot apply for interpreter jobs working in the court as they do not meet those higher standards. As long as sufficient proof of completing 45-hours of training, and passing the State Court Exam can be provided, interpreters at this level can find meaningful work interpreting the following:
- interviews
- witness preparation sessions
- attorney-client meetings
- depositions
2. Professionally Qualified (P.Q) Court Interpreter Certifications
To qualify as a professionally qualified (P.Q) court interpreter, sufficient documentation and authentication of meeting one criteria below is essential:
- Pass the Department of State conference or seminar interpreter test in 2 languages that includes English and the target language.
- Pass the interpreter test of the United Nations in a language pair that includes English and a target language of choice.
- Is a current member in good standing of
- Hold the Legal Specialist Certificate for sign language interpreters with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).
3. Certified Court Interpreters
Becoming a certified court interpreter involves passing both the oral and written phases of the Federal Court Interpreting Exam (FCICE), which is currently offered for Spanish/English testing only. Unfortunately due to Coronavirus, oral and written exams have been postponed and although this could be viewed as a setback, it will give you more time to prepare with our online court interpreter training course.
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) and Over the Phone Interpreting (OPI) Legal Proceedings
When it comes to ensuring due process for everyone in the United States during the pandemic, VRI (Video Remote Interpreting) or OPI (Over the Phone) services in court continue to remain essential especially where language accessibility is concerned. Court interpreters have found no shortage of work with proper VRI training and it doesn't look like that is going to stop any time soon. While it felt like the world came to a screeching halt in March 2020, not even Covid-19 could stop legal proceedings from taking place. Whatever your career goals are, language connections can help get you there. Our 45 hour, 7-week online legal and court interpreter certificate training program will prepare bilingual individuals for upcoming exams and set you up for success on a meaningful path of court interpreting.
If you or someone you know is interested in our online Video Remote Interpreting Training class with live instructors, our classes are offered in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Haitian Creole or Vietnamese languages.
Get the necessary online interpreter training in order to become a competent professional interpreter. Register now for one of our online interpreter training programs: Online Medical Interpreter Training, Online Legal Interpreter Training, Online Immigration Interpreter Training
