Would you like to become a Certified Court Interpreter in California? Due to the Civil Rights Act, and the Language Access Plan implemented in California, as well as through the United States. Government funds have been allocated to hire certified, registered or qualified court interpreters and translators. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the USA. This is how I decided to become an interpreter. At first, I was not sure if I wanted to work for the courts.

Back in college, I decided to work as District Translator. Obviously, the difference in the pay rate is significantly more favorable to Court Interpreters, but with that comes more training, more knowledge, and more responsibilities (higher and faster interpreting skills, performing well under pressure in high profile and difficult cases, continued education classes, etc.).

The Acts mentioned above made it mandatory for courts, hospitals and other institutions to provide interpreters. Courthouses are among the ones with the most demand for interpreters. In order to comply with the law, they must hire certified court interpreters, when available, and registered or qualified interpreters (when there is no bilingual test for other languages).

Legal interpreting is a demanding job that requires an extensive understanding of the legal framework of the country as well as foreign languages skills. The following skills are the most important: consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, and sight translation from the source language into the target language. A description of those skills will be provided below.

1. Master a foreign language, culture, and traditions

Assuming you already speak a foreign language fluently, and that you are also familiar with their history and culture. You can start training to become an interpreter. Contrary to popular belief is not only about being bilingual or speaking multiple languages.

Being bilingual is a good start but is like a basketball or football player who plays at the park. In order to get to the big leagues, one needs to train/learn new words and techniques every day. If you do not like studying, and do not have a curios mind. Reconsider your decision. Do you still want to become an interpreter?  If you have a passion for learning, and for helping people communicate objectively. This is for you.

If you feel one of your languages is stronger than the other(s), do not get discouraged, we all start somewhere. Even if you think one of your languages is significantly weaker than the other one. Usually, interpreters and translators are more fluid and faster in their first language than in their second or third language(s). Although, that is not always the case. 

There are some institutions that would only let interpreters or translators work into your first language. However, I can attest to have met and work with great interpreters who are far better than native ones.

Those are the professionals who have dedicated their life to studying and improving themselves, every day. They have my outmost respect and admiration.

Okay. If you do have the skills mentioned above, great. They are many other skills that you also need to master in order to realistically increase your chances of becoming a Certified Court, Interpreter, Medical Interpreter, Community Interpreter, Special Education Interpreter or even a Diplomatic Interpreter.

Although, having a legal background does help, is not mandatory. The best way to prepare for this career and for the tests, contrary to popular belief is not only about taking a test even if you a PHD in a foreign language, or even a degree in translation studies. Remember interpreters work with speech and translators with text. The most important skills to develop in order to become an interpreter are the following:

Consecutive interpreting is this mode of interpretation in which the interpreter waits until the speaker has finished his/her statement before rendering into the other language.

Simultaneous interpreting is when the statement or speech is being transferred into the other language in real time. Some languages might require a small delay because their grammatical structures are vastly different. This technique is used in opening statements, closing statements, jury instructions, etc.

Sight translation is the interpretation of a text on a document or even a mobile device from one language into another one by way of speech. Like text to speech, so to speak.

Becoming a legal translator

If you rather work with documents or transcribing, and having more time to research words, consider becoming a translator. In fact, I think being a translator helped me a lot with the sigh translation section of the test.

My experience as a translator allowed  me to better restructure the sentences when delivering the message into the target language, smoothly.

If this is the case, your first stop should be the American Translators Association (ATA). There, you will be able to find resources and workshops on how to prepare for the test.

Seriously consider an interpreter training program rather than studying on your own.

Although, some people have managed to develop great interpreting techniques on their own and memorize thousands of legal words, most certified interpreter hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

This is according to data provided by the California Judicial council. Many of the interpreters I have the pleasure of working with hold JDs back in their country of origin, or even from the United States. But for some reason they like interpreting better.

Networking is especially important in this filed. You are not alone.

There are national and local legal interpreting associations that offer workshops, training, and most importantly networking events (hopefully they will bring them back after Covid). I am a member of Najit, Aijic, and IGA. I like the local ones better for networking with colleagues.

Gain some work experience

The next step is to gain some experience. You can look for a part-time or voluntary job at a legal firm to get some hands-on work experience. Ask for permission to shadow other interpreters. Go to the courthouse and be an active listener at all different kinds of proceedings.

You might see an interpreter in action. This will help you understand how court interpreting actually works. Needless to say, this will also add a lot of value to your resume.

Schedule and take your Court Certification test

The last step is to become certified in your home state. Please note that the US court website is for Federal Certification, not for state certification.

After getting certified, you can then start working as a certified court interpreter employed by the court. You also have the option to work full-time, part-time, freelance, or even work on a contract basis.

Your income will increase as per your experience and skills.  Remember, if at first, you do not succeed try again. I suggest you take the test even if you do not think you are 100% ready.

If you keep postponing it, you might not do it after all, or you lose your edge and forget you have memorized. Also, by taking the test you will win either way, at the very least you know exactly what to study, your areas of weakness, or you might find out that you were in fact ready and aced all parts of the exam.

The first one the written test on a computer, and the oral and sight translation component is the second and last component of the test, given on different dates after you pass the written. In California, Prometric is the one that administers the test. 

For additional information please visit the official website of the local court in your state to know more about testing and local training programs.

For instance, this official webpage of California Courts, it offers detailed information about how one can become a certified legal interpreter. There is also a a free Court Interpreter Self-Assessment Practice PDF that you can download and test your skills.

After 8-12 weeks of taking the test. You will receive a letter from Prometric notifying you of your scores.

If you passed the test. A welcome package by the Judicial Council will follow. Complete it and send everything back as soon as possible. Then just wait for your official badge.

Once you have it you can start working with agencies, direct clients or the courts.

Good luck on your endeavor of becoming a certified court interpreter!