Legal Interpreting Guidelines in Mississippi

Requirements for Certified Interpreters in Mississippi

Mississippi state authorities periodically offer exams, both written and oral, for certification in Spanish and other languages based on the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification.

According to the Mississippi Code of 1972 and other laws for court procedures, complainants, defendants and witnesses part of any court or grand jury proceedings who are deaf or who have a language barrier have the right to an interpreter. If legal interpreters are not available locally, judges may request the presence of a certified or otherwise qualified interpreter from outside the state if it is deemed necessary in court proceedings.

Classification of Interpreters in Mississippi

Mississippi defines legal interpreters in the following ways:

• Certified Interpreter: An interpreter who has attended a two-day ethics and skill-building workshop, scored a minimum of 80 percent on a written exam, passed an oral proficiency interview, scored a minimum of 70 percent on a three-part oral exam, submitted to a criminal background check, provided verification if U.S. citizenship or the legal right to work in the U.S. and taken the Interpreter Oath

• Registered Interpreter: An interpreter who has attended a two-day ethics and skill-building workshop, scored a minimum of 80 percent on a written exam, passed an oral proficiency interview, submitted to a criminal background check, provided verification if U.S. citizenship or the legal right to work in the U.S. and taken the Interpreter Oath.

• Non-Credentialed Interpreter: An interpreter who has not met the above requirements.

Call Legal Language Services at 1-800-788-0450 to find Mississippi interpreters for courtroom trials, hearings, depositions, arbitrations and other legal proceedings.

Common Languages Spoken in Mississippi

According to a recent American Community Survey, approximately 3.82% of the Mississippi population speaks a language other than English.

What’s more, almost 88% of the non-English speaking population in Mississippi speaks one of the following 10 languages:

Other languages spoken in Mississippi include Italian, Gujarathi, Kru/Ibo/Yoruba, Russian, Panjabi, Cajun, Japanese, Urdu, India (not elsewhere classified), Mandarin, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Greek, Laotian, Swahili, Telugu, Tamil and Thai.

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

Judicial Districts in Mississippi

Legal interpreting requirements apply to all courts and their judicial districts in Mississippi, including without limitation, municipal court, justice court, youth court, county court, circuit court, chancery court, and grand jury proceedings.

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