Legal Language Services ranks Washington as a state with heavily regulated legal interpreting requirements.
Legal Language Services ranks Washington as a state with heavily regulated legal interpreting requirements.
Washington 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 Washington also accepts certification from the NJITCE (National Judiciary Interpreter & Translator Certification Examination) and the Oregon Court Interpreter Certification Program.
Washington offers certification in 13 languages:
Washington also offers a registration credential to interpreters of the following languages:
The Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts defines legal interpreters in the following two ways:
Not all venues in Washington require certified interpreters. Please consult with Legal Language Services for the rules pertaining to your specific venue and language.
According to a recent American Community Survey, approximately 17.49% of the Washington population speaks a language other than English.
What’s more, almost 78% of the non-English speaking population in Washington speaks one of the following 10 languages:
Other languages spoken in Washington include Mon-Khmer, Cambodian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi, Amharic, Cushite, Pajabi, Arabic, Laotian, Samoan, Romanian, Persian, Italian, Polish, Thai, Tamil, other Pacific Island languages, Portuguese and Norwegian.
There are 31 judicial districts in Washington that encompass 39 counties. Certification requirements in Washington are statewide and remain consistent across all local jurisdictions.
Call Legal Language Services at 1-800-788-0450 to find Washington 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 Washington is believed to be accurate at the time of posting; however, Legal Language Services is not responsible for any errors or omissions.