The State Courts System has developed a statewide program to assist judges and trial court administrators in assessing the qualifications of court interpreters. The Court Interpreter Certification and Regulation Program designates interpreters through the use of written and oral language proficiency examinations. The Office of the State Courts Administrator (OSCA) currently offers full oral qualifications examinations in the following languages: Amharic, Arabic, Cantonese, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Abbreviated oral examinations are offered in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian and Turkish. State certification of interpreters was implemented on May 6, 2008, the designations of Language Skilled and Provisionally Approved were implemented on May 1, 2014.

Court Interpreter Update:  Amendments to the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.560 and 2.565

On December 8, 2016, the Florida Supreme Court issued in re:  Amendments to the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, (Fla. 2016), which approves a number of minor technical changes to Rule of Judicial Administration 2.560, and adopts new subdivision (f) of rule 2.565.  The amendments are effective immediately and may be summarized as follows:   

• Rule 2.560 (e)(3) is amended to add a reference to subdivision (e)(2) to clarify that only after determining a certified, language skilled, or provisionally approved interpreter is unavailable and further finding a registered interpreter is unavailable, may a nonregistered interpreter be appointed.
• Subdivision (e)(5) of rule 2.560 is amended to add a reference to subdivision (e)(2), as it may otherwise appear only appointments made under subdivision (e)(3) are subject to the requirement that additional findings must be made in subsequent proceedings.
• Subdivision (f) is added to rule 2.565 to provide explicit direction as to submission, filing, and service of the written declaration required in exceptional circumstances as provided under subdivisions (d) and (e). Though there is a preference that such declaration be executed prior to the proceeding to which the written declaration is relevant, it is recognized that circumstances may make that impossible or impracticable so procedures for after-event compliance are specified.

To access all related case filings in SC15-1594, please refer to the following case docket webpage at:  http://onlinedocketssc.esr990.com/DocketResults/CaseByYear?CaseNumber=1594&CaseYear=2015.

 Quick Reference Links:

• Florida Rules for Certification and Regulation of Spoken Language Court Interpreters
• Registration Application and Information 
• Court Interpreter Continuing Education Requirements, Forms and Information

Are you up to date?

In order to receive program announcements and important updates, program participants must notify CICRP program staff of your current mailing and e-mail address within thirty days of a change. Update requests should be submitted in writing by sending an e-mail to interpreters@esr990.com, a facsimile to 850-414-1342, or by mail to Court Interpreter Certification and Regulation Program, Florida Supreme Court Building, 500 S. Duval Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399.

Links of Interest

• National Center for State Courts
  • Self-Assessment Questions and Study Guide for People Interested in Court Interpreting
  • Common Oral Interpreting Exam Performance Deficiencies
  • Publications and Resource Materials
• The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators
• American Translators Association
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
• Court Interpreter Circuit Profiles, November 2009
• Recommendations for the Provision of Court Interpreting Services in Florida's Trial Courts, Commission on Trial Court Performance and Accountability, November 2010
• Recommendations on Shared Remote Interpreting in Florida's Trial Courts
• AOSC16-105, In Re:  Shared Remote Interpreting Services in Florida’s Trial Courts