Legal Interpreting Guidelines in Wisconsin

Legal Language Services ranks Wisconsin as a state with moderately regulated legal interpreting requirements.

Requirements for Certified Interpreters in Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin also recognizes interpreter certification conferred upon an individual by other entities including certification from another state based upon NCSC exams, the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Exam (FCICE), and the NAJIT.

Wisconsin offers certification in the following languages:

  • Arabic
  • Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian
  • Cantonese
  • French
  • Haitian Creole
  • Hmong
  • Ilocano
  • Khmer
  • Korean
  • Laotian
  • Mandarin
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Tagalog
  • Turkish
  • Vietnamese
Candidates who speak languages where no oral certification examination exists may take an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) if one is available.

Classification of Interpreters in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Judicial Department defines legal interpreters in the following ways:

  • Certified Interpreter: An interpreter who has passed a three-part oral exam, passed a two-part written exam, attended an orientation training session, passed a criminal background check and signed an oath to abide by a code of ethics.
  • Provisional Interpreter: An interpreter who has scored 65 percent or higher on two out of three parts of an oral exam, passed a multiple choice test at 80 percent or higher and/or passed a written language assessment,  attended an orientation training session, passed a criminal background check and signed an oath to abide by a code of ethics.

Interpreters in Languages Other Than Spanish (LOTS) are defined in the following ways:

  • Certified Interpreter: An interpreter who has passed a multiple-choice test at 80 percent or higher and/or passed a written language assessment, passed all three parts of an oral certification exam at 70 percent or higher, attended an orientation training session, passed a criminal background check and signed an oath to abide by a code of ethics.
  • Provisional Interpreter: An interpreter who has passed a multiple-choice test at 80 percent or higher and/or passed a written language assessment, passed two out of three parts of an oral certification exam at 65 percent or higher, attended an orientation training session, passed a criminal background check and signed an oath to abide by a code of ethics.
  • Provisional-B Interpreter: An interpreter who has passed a multiple-choice test at 80 percent or higher and/or passed a written language assessment, passed two out of three parts of an oral certification exam at 55 percent or higher, attended an orientation training session, passed a criminal background check and signed an oath to abide by a code of ethics.
  • Authorized Interpreter: An interpreter who has passed a multiple-choice test at 80 percent or higher, achieved a superior level on an oral proficiency interview, attended an orientation session, passed a criminal background check and signed an oath to abide by a code of ethics. This classification is available only to interpreters of non-Spanish languages where an oral certification exam does not exist.

Not all venues in Wisconsin require certified interpreters, even for Spanish-language cases. Please consult with Legal Language Services for the rules pertaining to your specific venue and language.

Common Languages Spoken in Wisconsin

According to a recent American Community Survey, approximately 8.29% of the West Virginia population primarily speaks a language other than English.
What’s more, almost 82% of the non-English speaking population in Wisconsin speaks one of the following 10 languages:

  • Spanish
  • Hmong
  • German
  • French
  • Chinese
  • Polish
  • Russian
  • Italian
  • Korean
  • Pennsylvania Dutch

Other languages spoken in West Virginia include Arabic, Hindi, Tagalog, Laotian, Serbian, Greek, Albanian, Vietnamese, Algonquian, Dutch, Norwegian and Urdu.

Judicial Districts in Wisconsin

There are 10 judicial districts in Wisconsin that encompass 72 counties. However, the certification requirements and programs in Wisconsin are statewide and remain consistent across all local jurisdictions.

Call Legal Language Services at 1-800-788-0450 to find Wisconsin interpreters that 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 Wisconsin is believed to be accurate at the time of posting; however, Legal Language Services is not responsible for any errors or omissions.