The California Court Interpreter Program: certified and registered tiers

California maintains the largest state court interpreter program in the United States, administered by the Court Interpreters Program (CIP) of the Judicial Council. The program covers all California superior courts and oversees credentialing, ethics, and continuing education for spoken-language and sign-language interpreters in California state court proceedings.

Two tiers, depending on language

California uses a two-tier credentialing system based on whether a certification examination exists for the language in question.

"Certified" status applies to interpreters in the spoken languages California has designated for certification examinations. As of the most recent Judicial Council list, the designated certified spoken languages are:

• Arabic
• Cantonese
• Eastern Armenian
• Farsi (Persian)
• Filipino (Tagalog)
• Korean
• Mandarin
• Portuguese
• Punjabi (India)
• Russian
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

American Sign Language is also a designated certified language in California. ASL interpreters become California certified court interpreters through reciprocity: since January 1, 2024, the Judicial Council recognizes the Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L), formerly offered by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), and the Texas Board for the Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) Court Interpreter Certification.

"Registered" status applies to interpreters in all other spoken languages, including the indigenous Mesoamerican, Southeast Asian, and African languages that come up regularly in California courts. Registered interpreters pass the Judicial Council's Written Exam, an Oral Proficiency Exam in English, and an Oral Proficiency Exam in their other language where one is available.

What both tiers require

• Compliance with California Rules of Court, rule 2.890 (Professional conduct for interpreters), and completion of the required ethics course for newly enrolled interpreters
• Continuing education to maintain status (30 hours every two years)
• 40 qualifying professional interpreting assignments in each two-year compliance period
• Annual renewal with the Judicial Council ($100 fee)

How state and federal credentials interact

California certification qualifies an interpreter for state court proceedings throughout California. It does not qualify them for federal court interpretation; that requires the separate Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination (FCICE) for Spanish, or, for other languages, qualification by the court as a Professionally Qualified or Language Skilled/Ad Hoc interpreter. Spanish is the only language in which an interpreter can hold both California state certification and federal certification.

Which tier you need

For a California state court proceeding in a designated language, the court must appoint a Certified interpreter. For a proceeding in a non-designated language (such as Mixteco, Mam, or Hmong), the court must appoint a Registered interpreter. A court may use an interpreter with neither credential only when no certified or registered interpreter is available, within the limits of California Rules of Court, rule 2.893. For a federal court matter, the answer depends on the language. In criminal and other cases brought by the United States, federal law requires a federally certified interpreter (offered today only for Spanish) when one is reasonably available.

AMS arranges certified and registered interpreters for California state and federal court matters. When booking, share the case caption and the language; we will confirm the correct credential tier in writing before assignment.