Legal Interpreting Guidelines in Oregon

Requirements for Certified Interpreters in Oregon

Oregon state authorities offer annual exams, both written and oral, for certification based on the guidelines of the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification.

The state of Oregon also offers federal court certification and accepts certification from member states of the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification.

Oregon offers certification in 19 languages:

Classification of Interpreters in Oregon

The Oregon Judicial Department defines legal interpreters in the following two ways:

• Certified Interpreter: An interpreter who has passed a criminal history check with no barriers to certification, passed a written English proficiency screening exam, attended an interpreter orientation workshop, passed an ethics exam, observed and documented  at least 20 hours of hearings in courts of record in Oregon, federal, immigration, or consortium member states, registered for and passed all three parts (sight, consecutive and simultaneous interpretation) of a consortium interpreter oral exam, paid all of the appropriate fees, and completed an application to obtain the Oregon certified court interpreter status.

• Registered Credential Interpreter: Interpreters who have been conditionally approved and who speak a certified language but are not prepared to become fully certified, have failed segments of the certification cycle, or have missed the deadline for the year to begin the certified cycle.

Please note that state law requires that an Oregon Certified Court Interpreter must be called to interpret first. If no certified interpreter is available, the court may use a non-certified interpreter who presents qualifications that are acceptable to the court according to ORS (Oregon Revised Statutes).

Please consult with Legal Language Services for the rules pertaining to your specific venue and language.

Common Languages Spoken in Oregon

According to a recent American Community Survey, approximately 14.37% of the Oregon population speaks a language other than English.

What’s more, almost 85% of the non-English speaking population in Oregon speaks one of the following 10 languages:

Other languages spoken in Oregon include Romanian, Ukrainian, Hindi, Cantonese, Persian, Italian, Mandarin, Mon-Khmer/Cambodian, other Pacific Island languages, Thai, Cushite, Laotian, Dutch, Portuguese, Hmong, Telugu, Polish, Hebrew and Panjabi.

*This table was created based on respondents’ written answers, the majority of whom wrote “Chinese” while others specified “Cantonese” or “Mandarin.”

Judicial Districts in Oregon

There are 27 judicial districts in Oregon that encompass 36 counties. However, certification requirements in Oregon are statewide and remain consistent across all local jurisdictions.

Call Legal Language Services at 1-800-788-0450 to find Oregon interpreters who meet state interpreting rules for courtroom trials, hearings, depositions, arbitrations and other legal proceedings.

Please Note

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 Oregon is believed to be accurate at the time of posting; however, Legal Language Services is not responsible for any errors or omissions.