Interpreter Resources

Compensation Schedule

Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 4411(d) and § 4431(d), the Court Administrator establishes the following reasonable fee schedule for onsite, video, and telephonic interpreting services rendered by certified and otherwise qualified interpreters in judicial proceedings and other court services.

Updating Interpreter Information

It is the responsibility of the interpreter to maintain current personal information on file with the program. Please click here for more information.

 

2024 DVTA Summit "Embracing and Leveraging the Innovations in T&I"

Sept. 7, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Widener University Law School in Wilmington, DE

The Delaware Valley Translators Association (DVTA) is hosting their summit on the theme “Embracing and Leveraging the Innovations in T&I." The event is approved for 6 CEUs, including one in ethics.

First Judicial District Interpreter Shadowing Program

The First Judicial District Interpreter Shadowing Program is accepting applications until Aug. 22, 2024. This is a free program in which participants have the chance to shadow staff interpreters working in Philadelphia on a monthly basis and develop their working knowledge of the court system. Interested candidates should contact the program coordinator Elizabeth McCarrick at Elizabeth.mccarrick@courts.phila.gov.

 

Skill-Building Workshops

 

Language of Justice Institute

Widener University's Delaware Law School offers bilingual professionals a program to prepare for the state court interpreter certification exams. In collaboration with the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Courts) Delaware Law School developed a specialized program through a grant provided by the State Justice Institute. This program seeks to enable participants to become interpreters working in the legal field and court systems. Weekend courses introduce participants to legal and court interpreting roles, skills, ethics, and terminology. The program concludes with a written test and an oral exam. After completion of the final assessment, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion and three academic credits. To learn more follow the link below.

MAGNA VOCE Interpreter Education

This company provides scholarly-focused educational opportunities for aspiring and professional interpreters working in the legal, medical and community contexts. Instruction is aimed at helping participants to assemble a theoretical and methodological toolbox and in the development of strategies for use in any interpreting scenario. Workshops are a balanced combination of theoretical principles and skills practice accompanied by constructive instructor and peer criticism. The goals of the curriculum are linguistic competence, well-developed interpreting skills and an awareness of the humanistic and ethical considerations present in everyday work. Its workshops are grouped into series called enrichment, boot camp, legal, ethics and responsibilities, and community interpreting. They cover the spectrum of knowledge necessary for becoming a successful interpreter. From a six-day fundamentals course introducing the concepts of interpretation to skill-building seminars in the simultaneous, consecutive and sight modes of interpretation, note-taking, and ethical practices. Many of its workshops are language neutral. All the seminars are approved for CEU credits by the Interpreter Certification Program. For a complete description of workshops and a schedule of upcoming seminars, cost and other details, follow the link below. Follow the link below for current listings.

Cross-Cultural Communications Trainings

Cross-Cultural Communications (CCC), a Maryland-based agency specializing in training for community and medical interpreting is offering a number of seminars that can be of benefit to candidates seeking to improve their skills in preparation for taking their certification exams, as well as for already certified legal interpreters looking for continuing education opportunities. Click on the link below to access CCC's lineup of seminars.

National Center for Interpretation

This established and nationally recognized institution located at the University of Arizona offers training for legal and medical interpreters year-round. Its many courses and skill-building workshops are available to interpreters of all levels and languages; from beginners to experienced ones. Among its many offerings is the respected Agnese Haury Institute, an intense two and a half weeks legal interpreting summer program offered annually. The center also sponsors nationwide training workshops in the three modes of interpretation to prepare candidates for state and federal oral examinations. More recently, it has developed a program for medical interpreters preparing for their new certification test. Follow the link below for complete detailed information about its many program offerings.

New Mexico Center for Language Access

The Center provides training through four non-credit certificate programs for bilingual persons interested in helping those with linguistic needs throughout the justice and healthcare systems. Justice System Interpreting is designed to prepare individuals for work throughout the justice system. Persons interested in pursuing court interpreter certification are ideal candidates for this program. The Justice System and Medical Language Access Specialist programs are designed to train individuals who are called on to provide language access services as part of their regular work in the justice system and healthcare industry. Medical Interpreting is designed to train interpreters who facilitate linguistic and cultural communication between patients and healthcare providers. Courses are available online and some require an internship. For more detailed information about these programs follow the link below.

Online Training

The following companies have been approved as providers of online training for candidates pursuing certification by the Pennsylvania Interpreter Certification Program and CEUs for certified interpreters looking to comply with continuing education requirements in order to renew their certification. Please go to our Continuing Education page to learn about the updated rules for online training during the judicial emergency. Follow the links below to obtain detailed information about the variety of courses and training offered by each company.

  • American Pie Seminars - This provider has many instructor led webinars held on-line through GotoMeeting.com which are approved by the ICP for CEU credit. Only instructor led seminars which include a final test or evaluation of the participant’s skills are approved for CEU credits. For additional information regarding class schedules and fees, please contact American Pie Seminars, Hortensia Torres-Comas, at (800) 436-6234 or americanpieseminars@email.com
  • Athena Sky Interpreting provides online trainings to improve students’ skill and/or certification level. Participants perform on-the-spot exercises, obtaining feedback and learning strategies to heighten their proficiency. Exercises are provided in Spanish, English, and language-neutral form. Interpreters of all languages are welcome. Trainer Athena Matilsky is a Federally Certified Spanish interpreter. Instructor-led courses have been pre-approved for CEUs by the ICP.
  • Castillo Language Services, Inc. offers a variety of online and in-person training for legal and medical interpreters and translators including skill-building and oral exam preparation workshops for State and Federal certification exams, court, medical, community and conference interpreter training, and continuing education courses.
  • Court Interpreter Training Online (CITO) offers online professional trainings led by Victoria Dopazo. Live (not recorded) trainings with instructor feedback and exit test/quiz are approved. A certificate of attendance bearing the name of the participant and number of instruction hours must be presented to get CEUs.
  • De la Mora Institute of Interpretation offers a wide variety of online, in-person, and individually designed trainings for interpreters of all levels, from beginners to certified professionals looking to improve their skills or obtain CEUs. Specific prep courses for written and oral exams for both state and federal certification are available; as well as instructor led and self-paced training. Instructor Agustin de la Mora is a Federal and Medical Certified interpreter and a nationally recognized trainer. Visit the website for a current list of courses.
  • Interpretrain offers self-paced professional webinars. Students have an opportunity to get the trainer’s live feedback and have their questions answered throughout the entirety of the courses. To pass the course and receive a certificate, students must score 80% or more on the quizzes. A certificate of attendance bearing the name of the participant and number of instruction hours must be presented to obtain CEUs. Go to the website to see the list of available courses.
  • Jacobo Gallegos Interpreting & Training provides continuing education to both foreign and sign language certified interpreters nationwide. Forensics and weapon terminology are specialties. Visit the website for detailed offerings and complete information.
  • “Learn the American Accent: Communication Skills for the Courtroom Interpreter,” led by Lynda Katz Wilner. Improve your speech clarity in the courtroom. Learn 10 rules to help you master the American Accent. Enroll in this multi-media, self-paced, interactive, on-line course. This course includes 49 brief video lessons, 10 RULES tip sheets to download, audio file to download for challenging words and phrases, post-course assessment, and certificate of completion for 1.5 continuing education units (CEU) pre-approved by the ICP. Once completed, you can return repeatedly to practice your speech. Follow the link to access the course HERE.
  • Linguist Education Online has a wide array of training for legal and medical interpreting. Offers preparatory courses for state and federal written and oral exams as well as webinars for already certified interpreters looking for CEUs. Many courses are instructor led. Go to the website for an up-to-date list of courses available.
  • Rogelio Camacho Seminars As a provider of continuing education both online and in-person for Spanish court interpreters and translators since 1992, Rogelio Camacho Seminars has presented over 500 translation webinars, seminars, workshops in the United States and other countries around the world. Translators, interpreters, and professional organizations have applauded his presentations for their high quality, original content, and dynamic style. Translating Court Terms into Spanish is a sample of available trainings. Follow the link above for more information about upcoming seminars.
  • The NAJIT Academy is an exciting educational project under the direction of the NAJIT Training and Education Committee offering webinars and other educational opportunities. This initiative is intended to provide a variety of subjects in many different languages to meet the needs of NAJIT friends and members. Follow link for current offerings.

  • Texan Translation webinars are language-neutral, instructor-led, and taught on Saturdays by a Federally Certified Court Interpreter and Certified Translator. Students, beginners and retirees can qualify for discounts, and some classes are free each year. For more information, email marco.hanson@texantranslation.com or call (512) 992-5467. 

  • Transinterpreting offers professional training and continuing education for court, medical and community interpreters. It has exam prep courses for both written and oral state, federal and medical certification tests. Many classes are instructor-led and approved for CEUs. It also offers tutoring, accent reduction, and vocabulary and terminology learning classes. Follow link for complete information.

Training and Practice Tools

Testing & Certification

Practice Exam Kits

  • English Practice Exam Kit (Temporarily unavailable for updating)
  • Spanish Practice Exam Kit (Temporarily unavailable for updating)

Self-Study Materials

Oral Exam Practice Exercises

Resources for American Sign Language

Project CLIMB (Cultivating Legal Interpreters from Minority Backgrounds) is a multi-year grant, which serves to increase the number of interpreters of color and/or from heritage signing backgrounds by creating career paths for specialization in legal interpreting for practitioners from these underrepresented communities.

In addition to providing direct training opportunities to over 150 interpreters from underrepresented communities, the Project CLIMB website serves as a rich resource for the larger legal interpreting community by compiling a wide variety of toolkits, a legal dictionary, materials, and webinars to support interpreters aspiring to or currently working in legal settings.

Colleges & Universities

The following colleges and universities offer courses, certificates and training in court interpretation:

Affiliated Organizations

The following organizations provide information and translation, training resources, workshops and professional development through conferences and publications:

Neighboring State Interpreter Programs

 

General Information

‌
Becoming an Arabic Interpreter
‌
Common Oral Exam Performance Deficiencies
‌
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Requirements
‌
Professional Development of Court Interpreters of All Languages
‌
Professional Development of Spanish Court Interpreters
‌
Qualifications & Self-Assessment Questions
‌
Resource Guide For Court Interpreters