Legal Language Services ranks Iowa as a state with moderately regulated legal interpreting requirements.
Legal Language Services ranks Iowa as a state with moderately regulated legal interpreting requirements.
Iowa state authorities periodically offer exams, both written and oral, for certification based on the guidelines of the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification.
The state of Iowa also accepts certification from member states of the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification and NAJIT (National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators).
Iowa offers certification in 20 languages:
The Iowa State Administrative Office of the Courts defines legal interpreters in the following four ways:
Not all venues in Iowa require certified interpreters, even for Spanish-language cases. Please consult with Legal Language Services for the rules pertaining to your specific venue and language.
According to a recent American Community Survey, approximately 6.81% of the Iowa population speaks a language other than English.
What’s more, more than 82% of the non-English speaking population in Iowa speaks one of the following 10 languages:
Other languages spoken in Iowa include Hindi, Tagalog, Telugu, Russian, Thai, Dutch, Japanese, Urdu, Czech, Kru/Ibo/Yoruba, Cushite, Polish, Algonquian, Norwegian, Swahili, Turkish and other specified African languages.
*This table was created based on respondents’ written answers, the majority of whom wrote “Chinese” while others specified “Cantonese” or “Mandarin.”
There are 8 judicial districts in Iowa that encompass 99 counties. Certification requirements in Iowa are statewide and remain consistent across all local jurisdictions. However, the way they handle interpreter appointments may vary.
Call Legal Language Services at 1-800-788-0450 to find Iowa interpreters who meet state interpreting rules for courtroom trials, hearings, depositions, arbitrations and other legal proceedings.
The content provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The information about legal interpreting guidelines in Iowa is believed to be accurate at the time of posting; however, Legal Language Services is not responsible for any errors or omissions.