Becoming a federal court interpreter

One of the most common questions I hear from interpreters is "How do I become a federal court interpreter?" Court interpreting is very important for obvious reasons, and the U.S. federal court system has put a process in place for interested interpreters to join the ranks.

The Administrative Office (A.O) of the U.S. Federal Court Interpreter Program decides the qualifications of potential interpreters. This office classifies interpreters into the following three categories:

1) Certified Interpreters - These are interpreters that have passed the exam administered by the A.O. There are certification exams for only three languages, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, and Navajo. There are two phases of the certification exam. The first phase is a written exam while the second phase consists of an oral exam. Overall, the process takes at least two years because each of the exams is only offered every other year.

2) "Professionally Qualified" Interpreters - Professionally qualified interpreters are interpreters for languages other than those mentioned above that meet strict requirements as outlined by the court system. If an interpreter has been previously employed as a conference interpreter for another United States agency or the United Nations, they can be determined to be professionally qualified. Another way is to be a

"member in good standing in a professional interpreter association that requires a minimum of 50 hours of conference interpreting experience in the language(s) of expertise and the sponsorship of three active members of the same association who have been members for at least two years and whose language(s) are the same as the applicant's, and who will attest to having witnessed the applicant's performance and to the accuracy of the statements on the application."

3) Language-skilled Interpreters - Interpreters that do not fit into the above two categories but who can demonstrate that they can satisfactorily interpret for the courts are classified as language-skilled interpreters.

The pay is different based on the classification. Certified and professionally-qualified interpreters are paid $355 for a full day, $192 for a half day, and $50 an hour for overtime. Language-skilled interpreters earn $171 for a full day, $92 for a half day, and $28 for overtime.

You can contact offices of federal courts across the country for more information on the specific language and interpretation needs of their courts.

For more information on everything you wanted to know about becoming a federal court interpreter, check out the website of NCSC - The National Center for State Courts.

Back to How to become an interpreter.