Subchapter 3. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Sec.
301. Interpreter Certification Reuqirements.
302. Registration.
303. Orientation Workshop.
304. Examinations.
305. Criminal Background Check.
306. Interpreter Classification.
307. Interpreter Rules of Professional Conduct.
308. Age Requirement.
309. Fees.
310. Renewal of Certification.
311. Waiver and Reciprocity of Examination Requirements.§ 301. Interpreter Certification Requirements.
To become certified or otherwise qualified, interpreters shall meet the requirements set forth in this chapter.
Source The provisions of this § 301 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349441).
§ 302. Registration.
All interpreters must register with the Interpreter Certification Program (ICP) by completing a registration form. Registration is free and indicates the interpreter’s willingness to become certified according to program guidelines. Sign language interpreters must also register with the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) within the Department of Labor and Industry of the Commonwealth as required by the Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator State Registration Act, 63 P.S. § § 1725.1 et seq. if they hold a Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) or National Association of the Deaf (NAD) certificate.
Comment Only registered interpreters who have attended an orientation workshop, passed the written examination, and passed all oral examinations required for their language of expertise can work in the Unified Judicial System (UJS). Registration forms are available on the Language Access & Interpreter Program page of the UJS website, http://www.pacourts.us.
Source The provisions of this § 302 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (349441) to (349442).
§ 303. Orientation Workshop.
Interpreters must attend a two-day orientation workshop sponsored by the ICP. Schedule A of these regulations contains a list of the topics covered by the orientation workshop.
Source The provisions of this § 303 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349442).
§ 304. Examinations.
(a) Written examination.—After completing the orientation workshop, interpreters are eligible to take the written examination. The written exam is designed to measure the interpreter’s general English language proficiency and usage, knowledge of court-related terms, and familiarity with ethical and professional conduct.
(1) Multiple choice.—The first part of the written examination consists of multiple-choice questions. All interpreters, except those who are deaf, must take the multiple choice part of the examination, regardless of the language they interpret. Schedule B of these regulations discusses the number of questions on the multiple choice portion of the examination and the minimum number of questions that must be answered correctly for an interpreter to pass.
(2) Foreign Language Assessment Exercise.—Interpreters who interpret languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination must also take and pass a foreign language assessment exercise. Interpreters who interpret in more than one language for which a full or abbreviated oral examination exists must take the foreign language assessment exercise for each language. Interpreters must pass both the multiple-choice examination and the foreign language assessment exercise.
If no full or abbreviated oral exam exists in any of an interpreter’s working languages, he or she is not required to take the foreign language assessment exercise. Sign language interpreters are exempt from taking the foreign language assessment exercise.
Comment Interpreters are advised to take the foreign language assessment exercise in the language in which they are most fluent first. Subsequently, when attempting to become certified in a second language, they must take the foreign language assessment exercise for that language before taking the oral exam. Schedule B of these regulations discusses the content, passing requirements, and time allotted for the foreign language assessment exercise. Schedule C contains a list of languages for which full or abbreviated oral proficiency examinations exist.
(b) Oral proficiency examination.—
(1) Foreign language interpreters.—Interpreters who pass the written examination must next take an oral proficiency examination. The type and format of the proficiency examination depends on the language interpreted and whether there is a full or abbreviated proficiency examination available in that language. Interpreters who interpret more than one language must be certified in each language.
(i) Languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination.—Interpreters who interpret languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination must take and pass all available parts in order to become certified. Where there is only an abbreviated examination, the interpreter must pass the available parts and agree to take the remaining parts when available in order to remain certified. Schedule C of these regulations details the contents of the full oral proficiency examination and provides lists of languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination.
(ii) Languages for which there is no oral proficiency examination.—To demonstrate linguistic proficiency, interpreters of languages for which there is no full or abbreviated oral performance examination must comply with one or more of the following requirements:
(A) pass an oral proficiency interview in their foreign language in which the interpreter’s foreign language skills are evaluated by expert raters during the course of a telephone-based interview session. Details of the oral proficiency interview are contained in Schedule C of these regulations;
(B) pass an oral English proficiency exam, such as the Versant Spoken English language test. When an interpreter’s English language skills are deemed insufficient, he or she may be asked to take and pass an English proficiency interview at the superior level at the discretion of the ICP; and
(C) agree to take a full or abbreviated test when available.
(iii) Administration of oral proficiency examinations.—The oral proficiency examination must be taken and passed in the manner, and within the time periods, described in Schedule C of these regulations.
(iv) Retaking the oral proficiency examination.—Interpreters who fail any portion of the oral proficiency examination may retake it in the manner described in Schedule C of these regulations.
(2) Sign language interpreters.—After attending the orientation workshop and passing the multiple-choice part of the written exam, sign language interpreters must comply with the following requirements in lieu of an oral examination:
(i) be certified by Register of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI), or National Association for the Deaf (NAD);
(ii) provide proof of RID, BEI, or NAD certifications (proof shall consist of a copy of the interpreter’s certificates and a valid active membership card, or a letter from RID, BEI, or NAD certifying the results of the proficiency examination and status); and
(iii) hold a relevant RID, BEI, or NAD certificate for legal interpretation as determined by the Court Administrator. A list of relevant RID, BEI, or NAD certificates for legal interpretation can be found in Schedule C of these regulations.
Source The provisions of this § 304 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (349442) to (349444).
§ 305. Criminal Background Check.
All interpreters who have satisfactorily completed the oral proficiency requirements shall be subject to a criminal background check performed through the AOPC. The following constitute grounds for failing the background check:
(a) conviction of any type of felony or a misdemeanor involving fraud, dishonesty, corruption, moral turpitude, or false statements; or
(b) any conviction related to the functions and duties of a court interpreter.
Source The provisions of this § 305 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349444).
§ 306. Interpreter Classification.
In general, there are two broad categories of interpreters: certified and otherwise qualified. For certification purposes, interpreters are divided into three groups: (1) those who interpret in a language for which a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination exists; (2) those who interpret in a language for which there is no oral proficiency examination; and (3) sign language and deaf interpreters. The classifications and certification criteria are subject to modification, revision and change. Schedule D of these regulations contains tables detailing the current classification of the three certification groups.
Comment The classifications and certification criteria are subject to modification, revision, and change based on developments such as the availability of new performance tests, the effectiveness or development of evaluation tools, reconsideration of the skill level represented by the various categories, and other related factors. Therefore, these classifications should not be viewed as definitive or permanent, especially for those in the otherwise qualified category.
Source The provisions of this § 306 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349444).
§ 307. Interpreter Rules of Professional Conduct.
All interpreters must sign a statement that they will abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct for Judiciary Interpreters.
Comment A copy of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct for Judiciary Interpreters may be found in Schedule F of these regulations.
Source The provisions of this § 307 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (349444) to (349445).
§ 308. Age Requirement.
To be certified, an interpreter must be at least 18 years of age and agree to provide proof of age if requested by any court official or member of the ICP.
Source The provisions of this § 308 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349445).
§ 309. Fees.
Interpreters shall pay all fees required during the certification process and in the future for the renewal of their certification status, and any other fees imposed for the completion of any mandated program requirements. Fees will be waived for staff interpreters employed full time by any judicial district in Pennsylvania. Schedule E of these regulations contains a table of the current ICP fees.
Source The provisions of this § 309 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349445).
§ 310. Renewal of Certification.
All interpreters must renew their certification every two years from the date the interpreter was placed on the roster by doing all of the following:
(a) Complete 16 continuing education (CE) units within the two-year compliance period. CE units may be obtained by: taking training or skill development workshops sponsored by institutes and professional organizations; taking academic courses in accredited colleges or universities in areas relevant to court interpreting; presenting as faculty in courses, workshops, or seminars on topics related to interpreting such as skill building, ethics, and professional issues; or teaching an academic course in an accredited college or university on a subject related to courts, legal interpreting, or their language of expertise. All CE units must be approved in advance by the Interpreter Certification Program administrator.
(b) Be free of any revocation or suspension under § 402 (relating to suspension or revocation of certification and roster status) or any similar sanction in any other jurisdiction.
(c) Undergo a new criminal background check when applying for renewal. Interpreters who have been found guilty of a major felony or crime will be denied renewal of their credentials. Misdemeanor offenses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if they constitute a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Judiciary Interpreters.
(d) Pay the renewal fee.
Source The provisions of this § 310 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (349445).
§ 311. Waiver and Reciprocity of Examination Requirements.
(a) Interpreters certified in another state that is a member of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Language Access Services Section.—Any interpreter who has successfully completed all the requirements of the oral proficiency examination administered in accordance with the standards of another NCSC Language Access Services Section member state may apply for reciprocity. The interpreter must have obtained a minimum of 80 percent in the multiple choice written exam and 70 percent in all parts of the oral proficiency examination and obtain a letter from the state’s program manager certifying the results. These interpreters must also comply with all additional program requirements.
(b) Interpreters holding Federal certification.—Interpreters holding a valid Federal Court Interpreter credential will be granted reciprocity under the same conditions explained above with regard to other NCSC Language Access Services Section member states. These interpreters must also comply with all additional program requirements.
Source The provisions of this § 311 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (349445) to (349446).
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