The Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination (FCICE) is administered by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. It is the credential the federal judiciary uses to qualify staff and contract interpreters for federal court proceedings.
Which languages are covered
FCICE is currently administered only in Spanish/English. The federal courts also recognized Navajo and Haitian Creole certification historically, but those examinations have been on long-term suspension. For languages other than Spanish, federal courts rely on a Language Skilled designation or on professionally qualified interpreters credentialed through state programs or NAJIT.
What the examination tests
FCICE has two stages. The written exam tests English and Spanish proficiency at a high level, including legal vocabulary, idioms, and reading comprehension. Candidates who pass the written are eligible to sit for the oral examination.
The oral examination tests the three working modes of court interpretation:
- Sight translation: rendering a written document aloud in the target language in real time, in both directions.
- Consecutive interpretation: rendering one speaker's statements after they finish speaking, typically in question-and-answer format that mirrors witness examination.
- Simultaneous interpretation: rendering a speaker's words continuously, with only a few seconds of lag, while the speaker continues to speak. Tested in both monologue and judge-instruction format.
How hard is it
FCICE is widely considered one of the most demanding language credential examinations in the United States. The Administrative Office does not routinely publish pass-rate statistics, but practitioner reports and academic research consistently describe single-digit oral examination pass rates. Many candidates take the examination multiple times. The written exam itself screens out a substantial portion of registrants; the oral exam screens out the majority of those who pass the written.
What the credential means in practice
A federally certified court interpreter is qualified to interpret in any United States District Court. Federal certification does not expire and there is no recertification requirement, though individual courts may have local rules about continuing professional development and active interpreting practice. Federally certified interpreters command higher rates and are typically the first choice for high-stakes federal matters: criminal trials, civil rights cases, immigration appeals reaching federal court, and federal grand jury proceedings.
AMS supplies federally certified Spanish interpreters and state-certified or otherwise qualified interpreters for federal court matters across the United States. When the matter is in federal court, ask for federal certification explicitly.