How to Become a Registered Spoken Language Court Interpreter
A registered spoken language court interpreter is an interpreter of a non-certified spoken language who has passed the required exams and enrolled with the Judicial Council.
1 Select Your Language(s)
The following are some of the registered languages:
|
Afrikaans |
Akan-Twi |
Albanian |
Amharic |
Azerbaijani |
|
Baluchi |
Bengali |
Bosnian |
Bulgarian |
Burmese |
|
Cebuano |
Czech |
Dari |
Dutch |
French |
|
Georgian |
German |
Greek (Modern) | Gujarati | Haitian Creole |
| Hausa | Hebrew | Hindi | Hmong/Mong | Hungarian |
| Igbo | Ilocano | Indonesian | Italian | Kashmiri |
| Kurdish | Lao | Malay | Malayalam | Nepali |
| Pashto | Polish |
Romanian |
Serbian-Croatian | Sinhalese |
| Slovak | Somali | Swahili | Tajik | Tamil |
| Tausug | Telugu | Thai | Tigrinya | Turkish |
| Turkmen | Urdu | Uzbek | Wolof | Wu and Yoruba |
Preferred language not listed?
Click here for information on becoming a certified spoken language court interpreter.
Note: All non-certified languages are considered registered languages.
2 Prepare for the Examinations
Take the candidate self-assessment tests to see if you’re ready for the exams:
- Court Interpreter Self-Assessment Questionnaire
- Court interpreter Self-Assessment Practice Exercises
- Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Court Interpreters
Use additional resources below to learn about the skills needed to pass the examinations:
3 Pass the Written Exam and the Oral Proficiency Exam (OPE) in English
You must pass both exams in any order.
What is in the Written Exam?
The Written Exam tests a candidate’s knowledge of the English language, court-related terms and usage, and ethics and professional conduct. See the Written Exam Overview for more information.
When can I take the exam?
Now, the exam can be taken throughout the year by appointment.
What is the exam fee?
$141.80
This fee is subject to change.
Register for the Written Exam
What is in the OPE English Exam?
The OPE English exam measures the candidate’s ability to communicate in spoken English. See the Candidate Information Bulletin for more information.
When can I take the exam?
Now, the exam can be taken throughout the year by appointment.
What is the exam fee?
$181.75
This fee is subject to change.
Register for the OPE English
4 Pass the Oral Proficiency in Your Target Language
What is the OPE target language exam?
The OPE in your target language measures the ability to communicate in the target language.
Check if your target spoken language is available for the OPE target language exam
When can I take the exam?
Now, the exam can be taken throughout the year by appointment.
What is the exam fee?
$181.75
This fee is subject to change.
If the target language is available for testing: Register for the OPE target language exam
If the target language is NOT available for testing, proceed to step 5.
5 Congratulations on passing the exams!
Now that you have passed the exams, you are ready to enroll with the Judicial Council as a registered spoken language court interpreter. The Court Interpreters Program will email you the application packet.
Once we have processed your application, your name will be added to the Master List of Certified and Registered Court Interpreters, and your new identification badge will be mailed to you.
If you have passed all exams and have not received the enrollment packet, please email: CourtInterpreters@jud.ca.gov
The Court Interpreters Program welcomes you to this profession, which provides essential language access to the largest judicial system in the nation.